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Category Archives: Physiology
Do Insects Have Taste Buds?
Insects do smell and taste and the sensation is different. We’re not exactly sure what the insect experiences when they are tasting vs smelling but behavioral studies have shown us that they are are different. If the insect is picking up airborne volatiles we say that they are “smelling”. If they come in direct contact with it – like a fly landing on your pizza – we call it “tasting”. If you want some fancy words to throw around, insect tasting is technically referred to as contact chemoreception or gustatory chemoreception. Continue reading
Posted in Chemistry, Physiology
Tagged bugs taste, can insects taste, insect taste buds, insects smell, insects taste, maxillary palps, taste buds
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Healthy Insect Relationships: How Insects Court Each Other
Written by Nancy Miorelli A while back I wrote an article about how insect relationships are a bit … non consensual. And these kinds of articles flood the internet because it’s all the hype and drama that you’d want to … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Physiology
Tagged beetle, bug love, bug mating, cicada, gift, insect courtship, insect love, insect mating rituals, insect sex, katydid, mating, sperm packet
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Don’t Get Choked Up Over It! Can Insects Choke?
Written by Nancy Miorelli This brilliant gem came from a five year old. Kids ask the best questions, don’t they? https://twitter.com/voraciousbrain/status/913123165735354368 And here’s the thing. We have covered spitting and vomiting which insects definitley can do. But insects can’t actually choke … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Physiology
Tagged black death, bubonic plague, Bugs, choke, feeding, flea, Insect, Insects, plague
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Do male insects have sex hormones?
Written by Joe Ballenger This is a really good question, for a number of reasons. There are sources which claim that male insects don’t contain sex hormones, but as far as I can tell, this goes back to a 1995 … Continue reading
DDT: The Situation Today
Written by Joe Ballenger I wanted to dedicate another post to some of my other concerns about the pro-DDT movement. When I read posts which advocate DDT reintroduction in the US, a small amount of attention is paid to issues … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Economics, Evolution, History, Law, Pest Management, Physiology, Uncategorized
Tagged DDT, Evolution, History, India, Pesticide Resistance, Pesticides, Politics
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Is oxygen the reason insects were so big way back when?
Written by Joe Ballenger I read a few things on the size of insects and the decrease of size from there ancestors to now are related to the oxygen levels from then to now. I was wondering if anyone has … Continue reading
Are Brown Widows as Dangerous as Black Widows?
Written by Joe Ballenger As a rule, Widows have pretty nasty venom. I was knocked on my butt for about 3 days after a bite I received from a Southern Widow (Lactrodectus mactans) after mishandling her. These sorts of incidents … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Pest Management, Physiology
Tagged Arachnology, Biochemistry, Black Widow, Brown Widow, Medical Entomology, Medicine, Spider, Spider Bites, Spiders, Toxicology, venom, Venomous
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Never growing up: why are there insects which *don’t* go through metamorphosis?
Written by Joe Ballenger If someone begins a statement with ‘this might be a dumb question, but…’ my ears usually perk up, because it’s very likely that something interesting is about to follow. @Stylopidae whoa! this is a dumb question, … Continue reading
Posted in Developmental Biology, Physiology, Taxonomy
Tagged Development, Environment, Food, genetics, Genomics, Neoteny, Paedogenesis, Parasites, Parasitoids, Physiology, reproduction, reproductive biology, sex
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