Animals
- Animals
Coconut crabs are a bird’s worst nightmare
A biologist witnesses a coconut crab taking out a blue-footed booby and documents the balance of the animals in an Indian Ocean archipelago.
- Animals
These spiders may have the world’s fastest body clocks
Three orb-weaving spiders may have the shortest circadian clocks yet discovered among animals.
- Animals
The Lord Howe stick insect is officially back from the dead
New genomic sequencing confirms that stick insects discovered near Lord Howe Island are the assumed-extinct Lord Howe stick insect.
- Animals
This deep-sea fish uses weird eyes to see in dark and light
The eyes of deep-sea fish called pearlsides contain cells that look like rods but act like cones.
- Animals
Crested pigeons sound the alarm with their wings
Crested pigeons have specialized feathers that signal danger when they flee from an apparent threat.
- Animals
Honeybees fumble their way to blueberry pollination
Blueberry flowers drive honeybees to grappling, even stomping a leg or two down a bloom throat, to reach pollen.
By Susan Milius - Animals
EPA OKs first living pest-control mosquito for use in United States
Feds approve non-GM male tiger mosquitoes for sale as fake dads to suppress local pests.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Face it: Sheep are just like us when it comes to recognizing people
Sheep trained to recognize celebrity faces demonstrate that the animals have face-recognition capabilities similar to humans and other primates.
- Ecosystems
Invasive species are a growing global threat
'The Aliens Among Us' describes how invasive species are colonizing — and disrupting — ecosystems worldwide.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
Here’s why some water striders have fans on their legs
A fan of tiny, elegant plumes on their legs helps certain water striders dash across flowing water without getting wet.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Alligators eat sharks — and a whole lot more
Alligators aren’t just freshwater creatures. They swim to salty waters and back, munching on plenty of foods along the way.
- Animals
Leafhoppers use tiny light-absorbing balls to conceal their eggs
Leafhoppers produce microscopic balls that absorb light rather than reflect it and help camouflage the insects’ eggs.