Category Archives: Ecology

Mosquitoes love cheese! Here’s why.

Posted on September 10, 2015 by joeballenger2005

This week’s post is not a direct user submission, but it’s a picture that’s so neat that I wanted to highlight it with it’s own blog post. The picture is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a picture of a mosquito attempting to … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

What did these wasps manage to get themselves stuck in?

Posted on September 2, 2015 by joeballenger2005

We get a lot of neat pictures in our inbox, and I think this is one of the cooler images we’ve gotten because there’s a lot going on in this picture. I’m not 100% certain of what the wasps are … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Ecology, Education, Taxonomy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Stink bugs: Telling the good ones from the bad ones.

Posted on August 30, 2015 by joeballenger2005

At about this time of year I expect to start getting a lot of questions about the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, or the BMSB as I like to call it. It’s an introduced stink bug from Asia, which has quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ecology, Education, News, Pest Management | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Why is this chrysalis always dripping?

Posted on August 20, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Post written by Joe Ballenger This post is going to be odd, because I’m going to start with a confession: This question initially stumped me, and it actually took me a couple weeks to fully figure out what was going … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do wasps bite, and does their saliva have any defensive properties?

Posted on August 17, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Today’s question comes to us from a friend of mine, through a conversation on FB instant messenger. Wasps are a huge group, and at least 150,000 types of bees, wasps and ants have been described by scientists. Despite the fact … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Chemistry, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology, Pollination, Research, Taxonomy | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Adventure Time! In The Rain Forest!

Posted on August 13, 2015 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli Posting for the next week or so may be more sporadic than usual. We try very hard to post twice a week usually around Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. We totally appreciate you and your patience as Joe … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Education, News | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Honeybee genetics: how do they work?

Posted on August 5, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Your Name: Farhad Your Bug Question: Hello. I read in a book that worker bees are clones. But how this can happen? Can you explain? Tonight’s question comes from Farhad, who emailed us and asked how bees can be clones. … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Developmental Biology, Evolution, Physiology, Pollination | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Is there any truth to the rumor that ants eat cows, people and crops?

Posted on July 1, 2015 by joeballenger2005

@BugQuestions I once read a short story called "Leningen Versus the Ants." Any truth to ants eating cows, devouring crops, etc? Thanks! — Permanent Side Eye (@sarahkerr81) February 19, 2015 If you’ve never read the short story Leiningen Versus the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ecology, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

How do I deal with an infestation?

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Polistes fuscatus

Post written by Joe Ballenger and Nancy Miorelli By far the most common question we receive is about infestations and having just found a cockroach in my house myself, I thought it would be a good time to say something … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Culture, Ecology, Pest Management | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

June beetles: what are they, and how do I deal with them?

Posted on June 11, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger @BugQuestions Nothing in particular, it is just you provide helpful advise prior to them attacking me (trying to get to my floodlight).. 😛 — intrepid wanders (@intrepidwanders) May 28, 2015 Since it’s June, I’ve been getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments