Insects (including Butterflies) News

April 30, 2025

Top Headlines

Study on the Reproducibility of Behavioral Experiments With Insects Now Published

Apr. 25, 2025 — A recent study provides evidence that some results of behavioral experiments with insects cannot be fully reproduced. So far, possible reproducibility problems have been little discussed in this ...

The Oldest Ant Ever Discovered Found Fossilized in Brazil

Apr. 24, 2025 — A 113-million-year-old hell ant that once lived in northeastern Brazil is now the oldest ant specimen known to science, finds a new report. The hell ant, which was preserved in limestone, is a member of Haidomyrmecinae -- an extinct subfamily that ...

Insects Are Disappearing Due to Agriculture -- And Many Other Drivers, New Research Reveals

Apr. 22, 2025 — Insects are disappearing at an alarming rate worldwide, but why? Agricultural intensification tops the list of proposed reasons, but there are many other, interconnected drivers that have an impact, ...

Evidence of Potential Bed Bug Insecticide Resistance in Gene Mutation

Apr. 22, 2025 — Urban entomologists have discovered a gene mutation that could contribute to bed bug insecticide ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:49pm EDT

Even Sublethal Insecticide Dose May Disrupt Pollinator Mating Process

Apr. 21, 2025 — Insecticides can help protect crops against troublesome pests, but they also pose a risk for beneficial insects such as pollinators. A new study provided insight into how even sublethal doses of ...

Curious Isolation: New Butterfly Species Discovered

Apr. 17, 2025 — A new butterfly species, Satyrium curiosolus, was discovered in a recent study at Blakiston Fan in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. It has unique evolutionary history, having likely remained in ...

New Pollen-Replacing Food for Honey Bees Brings New Hope for Survival

Apr. 15, 2025 — Scientists have unveiled a new food source designed to sustain honey bee colonies indefinitely without natural pollen. The research details successful trials where nutritionally stressed colonies, ...

Scientists Discover That Fruit Fly Larvae Can Sense Electric Fields

Apr. 9, 2025 — While it may be an unfamiliar sensation to humans, electroreception is relatively commonplace in the animal kingdom. Sharks, bees and even the platypus all share this ability to detect electric ...

Declining Insect Biodiversity in the Tropics

Apr. 8, 2025 — Ecologists are investigating the decline of insect populations in the world's tropical forests. Insects, the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth, are experiencing alarming declines, ...

Rain Barrel Basics: Conserving Water but Not Mosquito Habitats

Apr. 7, 2025 — Researchers surveyed residential rain barrels to determine how often mosquitoes took up residence in rain barrels and what preventative measures would most effectively keep mosquitoes out. Taking ...

Sensing Sickness: New Method for Boosting Bee Health

Apr. 2, 2025 — Honey bees are dying at alarming rates across the United States. Beekeepers in the United States lost more than 55 percent of managed colonies last year. A new study supports a novel method for ...

Picky Eaters by Day, Buffet by Night: Butterfly, Moth Diets Sync to Plant Aromas

Apr. 3, 2025 — The scent of blooming flowers and fresh plant life is not just a perk of springtime; it is a key driver in the survival and evolution of butterflies ...

Bees Actively Adjust Flower Choice Based on Color and Distance: Updating 'Flower Constancy' Beyond Darwin's Theory

Apr. 3, 2025 — Since Darwin's time, the phenomenon known as flower constancy -- i.e., where insects consistently visit the same flower type even when many others ...

Migrating Flies Vital for People and Nature

Apr. 2, 2025 — Buzzing insects may be seen as pests -- but globally, hundreds of fly species migrate over long distances, with major benefits for people and nature, new research ...

New Warnings of a 'Butterfly Effect' -- In Reverse

Mar. 31, 2025 — A new study warns that global climate change may have a devastating effect on butterflies, turning their species-rich, mountain habitats from refuges into traps. Think of it as the 'butterfly ...

Rare Disease Drug Nitisinone Makes Human Blood Deadly to Mosquitoes

Mar. 26, 2025 — A study found when patients take the drug nitisinone, their blood becomes deadly to ...

Ecologists Document Utah's Bee Species and Say Beehive State Is Rich in Bee Diversity

Mar. 25, 2025 — Understanding bee distributions is essential to protecting these vital pollinators. Since conservation efforts and policies are often made at the state level, maintaining state-specific bee species ...

Insecticides May Contribute to Bigger Problems With Certain Weeds

Mar. 25, 2025 — Insecticides may help growers hoping to protect their crops from harmful insects, but they also may contribute to a larger amount of some weeds, according to a new ...

Teaching Kids About Bugs Benefits the Environment

Mar. 24, 2025 — Pro-environmental behavior increases among school students who participate in insect-related citizen science projects, according to new ...

Chimpanzees Act as 'Engineers', Choosing Materials to Make Tools Based on Structural and Mechanical Properties

Mar. 24, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that chimpanzees living in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania employ a degree of engineering when making their tools, deliberately choosing plants that provide ...

Wingless Shapes the Fly Intestine

Mar. 18, 2025 — A study reveals how the Wingless signalling pathway shapes the embryonic intestine of the Drosophila fly, activating a mechanism involved in calcium transport. The finding redefines the role of ...

Natural Insect Predators May Serve as Allies in Spotted Lanternfly Battle

Mar. 18, 2025 — Insect predators found in the United States could help keep spotted lanternfly populations in check while potentially reducing reliance on chemical control methods, according to a new ...

How a Hummingbird Chick Acts Like a Caterpillar to Survive

Mar. 17, 2025 — For the first time, scientists described a hummingbird chick potentially mimicking a poisonous caterpillar to avoid getting ...

The Long Wait for Bees to Return to Restored Grasslands

Mar. 13, 2025 — Recovered grasslands need more than 75 years of continuous management to regain their biodiversity because specialized pollinators are slow to return. A new finding underscores the importance of ...

Social Media Can Help Track Species as Climate Changes

Mar. 13, 2025 — Social media can help scientists track animal species as they relocate in response to climate change, new research ...

Temperature During Development Influences Connectivity Between Neurons and Behavior in Fruit Flies

Mar. 12, 2025 — The rate of development of poikilothermic animals, such as insects, fish, and reptiles, is determined by environmental temperature. A research team has recently demonstrated how temperature can ...

Mosquito Pain Receptors Are Less Sensitive During Extreme Heat

Mar. 12, 2025 — Hotter temperatures may render natural insect repellents less effective against mosquitoes, according to a new ...

No Need to Wing It: Bat Activity in Winter Analyzed

Mar. 12, 2025 — Winter in the South can bring about a sharp change in conditions that impact forests and their many inhabitants. However, new research finds that, despite these seasonal shifts, forest management ...

Butterflies Choose Mates Because They Are More Attractive, Not Just Easier to See

Mar. 11, 2025 — A simple neural change alters mating preferences in male butterflies, aiding rapid behavioral evolution, researchers ...

Study Raises the Possibility of a Country Without Butterflies

Mar. 6, 2025 — A sweeping study for the first time tallies butterfly data from more than 76,000 surveys across the continental United States. The results: Butterflies -- all of them -- are ...

The Yucca and the Moth: How Extreme Weather Impacts the Timing of Biological Events

Mar. 5, 2025 — A study sheds light on how extreme weather events impact phenological processes, specifically the flight period of butterflies and moths and the flowering time of plants, with implications for food ...

Insect Populations Are Declining -- And That Is Not a Good Thing

Mar. 5, 2025 — Using two species of flies from different climates -- one from the cool, high-altitude forests of Northern California, the other hailing from the hot, dry deserts of the Southwest -- scientists ...

1,400 Species Found in Guts of Asian Hornets

Mar. 4, 2025 — A study of Asian hornets has found about 1,400 different species in their ...

Select Corn Lines Contain Compounds That Sicken, Kill Major Crop Pest

Feb. 26, 2025 — The corn earworm causes the loss of more than 76 million bushels of corn in the United States annually, and there is mounting evidence that increasingly extreme weather events and temperatures will ...