Butterflies learn faster when a flower is rewarding than when it is not, and females have the edge over males when it comes to speed of learning with rewards. These are the findings of a new study, by ...

We've all noticed how much insects love to fly around lights. But why? Many answers have been proposed; some have suggested that insects have a direct attraction to the light itself; others have said ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Summer beckons in the northern latitudes. As ...

Tom Wassmer is crouched down in a pasture, staring very intently at some cow manure. Wassmer is pointing at a nondescript dung beetle, no bigger than a grain of rice, with a shiny black head and a ...

All around us, insects are speaking to each other: jockeying for mates, searching for food, and trying to avoid becoming someone else’s next meal. Some of this communication is easy to spot—like the ...

Researchers have shown that damselflies learn how to choose the right mate when two species co-exist locally. The choice of mate is not only a matter of genetic and instinctive behavior, as has often ...

La Trobe University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. I recently wrote about how important it is to be able to identify plants and animals. Knowing the names of species that live ...

I remember when people casually referred to all striped invertebrates as “bees,” when all insects were “bugs” and any such thing that buzzed in their vicinity required hosing with lethal poison. Some ...