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Category Archives: Ecology
What happens when two queen bees meet?
Your Name: Dominic Your Bug Question: Hi, I have a question in my head that I know only an Entomologist can answer. it’s about bees. I tried searching for answers on the internet haven’t found any. My question is, What … Continue reading
Do insects get trapped in water drops? Why aren’t they constantly drowning?
Frankwmcarr Question: Is it true that very small insects (e.g., ants) can get trapped inside water drops due to the high surface tension forces of water? We got this question in the comments of Nancy’s post, What do Bugs do … Continue reading
Hooks, Graspers, Spikes, and Stalkers … Oh My! How [Some] Insects Have Sex
Written by Nancy Miorelli I’d give this post a PG13 rating. Please don’t take dating advice from insects. Keep everything consensual in your love life. And now, everything you ever wanted to know about insect sex. Actually, that would take too … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology
Tagged Bug, Insect, mate guarding, mating wheel, penile spines, reproduction, reproductive biology, SciComm, sex, sexual selection, traumatic insemination
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Why Do Butterflies Eat Dirt, Poop, and Dead Things?
Written by Nancy Miorelli Puddling The short of this answer is that butterflies have a behavior where they sit on river banks, dead stuff, or poop and lap up the salts and minerals. It’s a behavior that can be seen in … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Ecology
Tagged Butterfly, Lepidoptera, mud-puddling, puddling, tongue
2 Comments
Why do social insects die facefirst in the nest?
Written by Joe Ballenger First and foremost, I’m really glad we got this question: From: Katharine I’ve been keeping an eye on a wasp nest in my grandmother’s yard for a while. Since we just had a cold snap, I … Continue reading
Why don’t spiders have wings?
Your Name: Anarely Your Bug Question: Hello, I was wondering, why are the exact reasons that spiders don’t have wings? Is it possible for them to evolve and get them or what is stopping this from happening? I’m sure the … Continue reading
The mystery of the old stable: Why are there flies all over the place?
Written by Joe Ballenger Flies can be tricky to talk about. There are well over 100,000 described species, and it’s likely that there’s at least one million which haven’t been described yet. Most are small enough to not be noticed, … Continue reading
Black Out: How Do Insects Survive the Winter
Written by Nancy Miorelli What if the world went suddenly dark? Or cold? Or both? We all know what fate the dinosaurs had, but what would happen to insects? Before we get going on a wild goose chase through a … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Evolution
Tagged Black out, caves, climate change, Darkness, dinosaurs, Environment, ice age, Insects, meteorite
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Symbionts in insects part 1: What do they do?
@BugQuestions I was asked today about bacterial symbionts in insects, very disappointed I could only think of half a dozen. Any good ones? — Jimmy Conway (@InsectophileJim) January 22, 2015 This is a question we received a very long time … Continue reading
Posted in Chemistry, Ecology, Physiology
Tagged Microbial ecology, Physiology, Symbiosis, Symbiotes
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Why are cicadas showing up dead on my porch?
We get a lot of letters in our inbox, and some of my favorite inquiries are ID requests where someone also notices something interesting going on. Here’s an example of one such question: Your Name: Becky Boots Your Bug Question: … Continue reading
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