6,698 results
- Earth
Antimosquito coils release toxic fumes
Researchers have measured several pollutants in smoke emitted from so-called mosquito coils, which people burn at night to fend off insects.
- Animals
One-Two Poison: Scorpion starts with a cheap shot
A South African scorpion economizes as it stings, injecting a simple mix first, followed by a venom that's more complicated to produce.
- Animals
Leashing the Rattlesnake
Even in the 21st century, there's still room for old-fashioned, do-it-yourself ingenuity in experimental design for studying animal behavior.
-
- Ecosystems
After Invasions: Can an ant takeover change the rules?
A rare before-and-after study of a takeover by an invasive ant species shows the interloper quickly disassembling the basic rules of the invaded community.
- Health & Medicine
Shots stop allergic reactions to venom
An immune therapy prevents allergic reactions to the sting of the jack jumper ant, a pest common to Australia.
- Math
Prime-Time Cicadas
Cicadas are flying, plant-eating insects. Most cicada species have life cycles that span 2 to 8 years. They spend most of their lives underground before emerging as adults. In a few species, almost all the individuals in a given location come out of hiding at the same time. These are known as periodical cicadas, and […]
-
Fly Genome Creates a Buzz
Scientists try to make sense of an insect's myriad genes.
-
Milestones for Malaria: Parasite, mosquito genes decoded
Unraveling the DNA of a malaria-causing parasite and of a mosquito that carries it may suggest new ways to combat the deadly disease.
- Math
Catching Flies
Archerfish and baseball outfielders appear to use different strategies to snag a projectile. Archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix) are famous for their unusual way of hunting insect prey. Upon spying an insect on a twig or a piece of foliage hanging above the water surface, the fish shoots it down using a strong, accurately aimed jet of […]
- Chemistry
Catnip repels pest
Known to repel cockroaches and mosquitoes, catnip oil also works against termites.
-
Whazzits get their own insect order
Insect specimens that have puzzled museum curators for decades turn out to represent a lineage so odd that scientists have named a new order just for them.
