Some beetles “drink” using their butts, and scientists are starting to understand how. Red flour beetles, a major agricultural pest, open their anus to get water vapor in the air…
Category: Animals
Capybaras thrive, even near humans, because they’re not picky eaters
Capybaras, the world’s largest rodent, naturally live in vast grasslands, wetlands and rivers throughout South America. Their name literally means grass eater in the Tupi language, which is indigenous to…
Volcanic sulfur may make barn owls grow redder feathers
Life on a volcanic isle appears to give barn owls a blush of red-brown plumage. The high-sulfur environment on such islands influences the birds’ coloration, researchers report March 13 in…
Scientists have now recorded brain waves from freely moving octopuses
For the first time, scientists have recorded brain waves from freely moving octopuses. The data reveal some unexpected patterns, though it’s too early to know how octopus brains control the…
Static electricity helps parasitic nematodes land on victims
LAS VEGAS — Some species of parasitic roundworms can catapult themselves high into the air to latch onto fruit flies and other insects. Experiments now reveal that leaping Steinernema carpocapsae…
This fish could expand what we know about one odd deep-sea ecosystem
Off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica sits a deep-sea chimera of an ecosystem. Jacó Scar is a methane seep, where the gas escapes from sediment into the seawater, but…
Honeybees waggle to communicate. But to do it well, they need dance lessons
In a castaway test setup, groups of young honeybees figuring out how to forage on their own start waggle dancing spontaneously — but badly. Waggling matters. A honeybee’s rump-shimmy runs…
Rare video of tigress and three cubs in Thailand | Stories
Incredible footage of a tigress and her three cubs was recorded in western Thailand last year. With only 148-189 wild tigers in all of Thailand, a tiger sighting is rare…
Righting the wrongs of history and building a sustainable future | Stories
Heirs’ property is defined as land passed down through family generations without a written will. This was not uncommon in areas where, due to segregation or poverty, access to legal…
Through droughts and displacement, Rebecca Adams builds a better life | Stories
The night before we met, an elephant herd passed through Rebecca Adams’ small village in the heart of northwest Namibia’s arid Huab River Valley. “They pushed over a fence to…
