These eggs shed light on an 'arms race' between cowbirds and mockingbirds
Cowbirds are infamous for being absentee parents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their chicks will have a difficult childhood. Like cuckoos, cowbirds are brood parasites, which means they leave their eggs in the nests of other species, dodging the duties…
Mowing for monarchs
You might think that mowing fields wouldn’t benefit monarch butterfly populations. New research, however, shows that disturbances like mowing — at key times — might help boost the iconic butterfly’s numbers.
9 companion herbs to help repel insects
Strategically planting these herbs in your garden can help deter plant pests … and are a delicious harvest as well.
Winning images showcase Earth's beauty from land to sea
Now in its eighth year, the Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition celebrates “the outstanding work of the most highly talented image makers out there and offer up a powerful insight into the landscapes, wildlife and nature of the planet,…
New buzz around insect DNA analysis and biodiversity estimates
Researchers on the remote forested island of Hauturu, New Zealand have compiled a staggering inventory of invertebrate biodiversity using DNA sequencing, adding a significant number of invertebrates to GenBank – an open access database of all publicly available DNA sequences.
A tasty Florida butterfly turns sour
(University of Arizona) A 15-year study led by University of Arizona entomologist Katy Prudic found that, when living apart from the unsavory bug it mimics, the viceroy butterfly becomes yucky, making biologists rethink old theories about animal mimicry.
Monarch butterfly conservation groups fight to conserve the species
According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, an organization that monitors monarch butterfly populations, the number of monarch butterflies observed at 97 sites in 2018 was dramatically lower than the year before. In fact, the numbers dropped as much as 86%. That’s a startling statistic and is much higher than scientists expected to see. Worse yet, looking back twenty to thirty years, the records showed a population around 4.5 million, which means the rate has been dropping consistently…
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