Tag Archives: ants

“What are those white things inside an ant nest?”

Posted on December 7, 2021 by JoanieTheEntomologist

Last Friday I was tasked with collecting some fire ant decapitating flies (Pseudacteon curvatus). Lucky for me, the season for collecting these flies hasn’t completely ended. Also, to my surprise, there are still a lot of visible fire ant mounds … Continue reading →

Posted in Identification | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Announcment – New Writer – Joanie Mars

Posted on June 26, 2017 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli I am so excited and honored to introduce Joanie Mars as our new writer. When Joe and I started this little project about three years ago, we had no idea that it was going to grow … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How much water can ants drink?

Posted on September 29, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Your Name: charles Your Bug Question: How much can an ant drink of water? I thought this question about how ants drink was really cool. It’s a question that has a pretty simple answer at first, … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Physiology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

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

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

Are Anthills Waterproof?

Posted on June 4, 2015 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli A few weeks ago I answered a question about what insects do when it rains. Which then prompted this question – what about ants? What about their nests? They are on the ground after all. Well, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How do you identify fire ants?

Posted on May 22, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Question submitted by Bridget Mendel’s first grade class. Fire ants are a really big problem. They’ve got a really nasty attitude towards both people and other bugs. They’re really common, and it’s too easy to step … Continue reading →

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

Which Bug Has World Domination?

Posted on May 7, 2015 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli There are a lot of bugs on the planet. We currently know of about one million species. Beetles alone make up ¹/₅ of all known species on earth! So if you were to name every species on your fingers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What Do Bugs Do When It Rains?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli It’s been raining here for the past week and a half. I feel like I should have invested in an ark instead of a new computer. And if you think I’m exaggerating (okay, but only slightly) we’ve gotten … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments