Insects (including Butterflies) News

May 22, 2025

Top Headlines

Bed-Netting Prototypes to Target Malaria-Causing Parasites

May 21, 2025 — Scientists have fabricated two bed netting prototypes targeting malaria-causing blood parasites. They designed netting systems to deliver antimalarial drugs called Endochin-like Quinolones (ELQs) that destroy Plasmodium parasites transmitted by ...

Bees Facing New Threats, Putting Our Survival and Theirs at Risk

May 19, 2025 — A new report identifies the top 12 emerging threats that could accelerate pollinator losses within the next 5-15 years, according to ten of the world's leading ...

Fitness Fight: Native Bees Struggle Against Invasive Honey Bee

May 19, 2025 — New research has revealed that high densities of European honey bees could be harming Australian native bees' 'fitness' by reducing their reproductive success and altering key traits linked to ...

Palaeontologists Discover 506-Million-Year-Old Predator

May 13, 2025 — Palaeontologists have discovered a remarkable new 506-million-year-old predator from the Burgess Shale of Canada. Mosura fentoni was about the size of your index finger and had three eyes, spiny jointed claws, a circular mouth lined with teeth and a ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:49pm EDT

Butterflies Hover Differently from Other Flying Organisms, Thanks to Body Pitch

May 13, 2025 — Butterflies' flight trajectories often appear random or chaotic, but their hovering patterns can potentially provide critical design insights for ...

Invasive Salmon, Clams and Seaweed Are Next Threats to Biodiversity in Britain

May 12, 2025 — Pink salmon, Purple Asian clams, marine invertebrates that form spaghetti-like colonies and a nematode worm that causes extensive deaths of trees are ...

Heat and Land Use: Bees Suffer in Particular

May 9, 2025 — In a new study, researchers are investigating the interaction of major global change drivers on ...

Can Frisky Flies Save Human Lives?

May 9, 2025 — A scientist decided to find out why a bacterial infection makes fruit flies promiscuous. What he discovered could help curb mosquito-borne diseases and manage crop ...

Wasp Mums Use Remarkable Memory When Feeding Offspring

May 9, 2025 — Wasp mothers have stunning brainpower when it comes to feeding their young, new research ...

A 'Roadmap' of the Fruit Fly Brain

May 7, 2025 — Researchers have gained comprehensive insights into the entire nervous system of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The study describes in detail the neurons that span the entire nervous system ...

Discovery: A Better, More Targeted Termite Terminator

May 6, 2025 — Researchers have identified a chemical that kills about 95 percent of a western drywood termite colony without off-target effects on ...

Are Agricultural Pesticides an Environmental Threat?

May 5, 2025 — A study has demonstrated that pesticides can negatively affect non-target species living in agricultural environment. However, the effects varied greatly depending on the substance ...

Flower Strips Could Save Apple Farmers Pest Control Costs

Apr. 28, 2025 — Planting wildflowers in apple orchards could save farmers up to 3,000 per hectare a year, according to a new ...

Personality Test for Bees

Apr. 17, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that honey bees from the same colony have different preferences in terms of defensive behavior. While some are still hesitating, others are already ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 and moths. New research reveals how the daily ...

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 are also present -- has been understood as a ...

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 ...

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 ...