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more about #insects more comments → Klebert L. Hall: If those are the footsoldiers, just imagine how pretty the cavalry officers must be! -Kle. more » tamoko: Like something out of Star Gate... more » Bootknife-Jackson: Dig that Deco! ...sorta like Love that Joker! ..hm... anyone think 5 also looks like a baboon? more » Bill-Lee: It's like looking at the Egyptian Empire (the New Kingdom period) from the future. more » The Curse of Millhaven: They also look like they incorporate very exotic circuit boards. Nice stuff. more » ♠ Final ♠: The scarab and spider would be mine... if my hot air balloon didn't have a leak more » icelight: Is #2... a gilded hermit crab? That's adorable! more » IraeNicole: Ooh I know someone I would love to give number 5 to. She would love it. more » RandomFrequentFlierDent: If I were fancy and classy with a better wardrode I would love to wear these. more » Vulcan Has No Moon: "Who knows how much research into sexual selection has been flawed because researchers forgot the crucial ingredient of female freedom?" Female prefe... more » corpore-metal: Bah! Who needs to be nice guy or a bad guy when you can be an evil genius and build all your own children or pleasure bots! (Peels of loud sardonic a... more » DrMathochist: Other studies of sex among water striders had kept the population contained in a limited area, where females had access to very few males. Compare th... more » Chip Overclock: He's just not that into you. #science more » Cal Hawks: The less aggressive ones got that "Quiet cool" They're like the Fonz! #science more » Indigen: That's good for waterstriders. Now do you believe it has anything to do even remotely with humans? If you say yes, is there a way I can filter your c... more » -
#design
Footsoldiers In The Gilded Insect Cyborg Army
Surveillance drones don't have to be ugly or camouflaged. Hiding in plain sight is often the best way to get secret information, and that's why this gilded insect and its brethren look like gorgeous pins and necklaces. More » -
#evolution
Why Aggressive Men Finish Last
Among the tiny insects known as water striders, males who aggressively attempt to mate with females don't wind up with as many offspring as their more gentlemanly counterparts. How can aggressive mating ever be a losing strategy?
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#radioactiveart
The Mutant Art of Radioactive Insects
Science illustrator Cornelia Hesse-Honegger records mutations of insects found near radioactive disasters, including Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Her watercolors offer a rarely-seen view on the long-lasting effects of radioactive contamination on living beings. More » -
#district9
The Real Household Pests That Inspired District 9's Aliens
While District 9 is certainly an allegory for racism and apartheid in South Africa, not all of its South African inspirations are political. Neill Blomkamp's aliens were inspired, in part, by a common Johannesburg pest: the Parktown Prawn. More » -
#triviagasm
30 Real Animals with Science Fiction Names
It's no secret that many scientists are great fans of science fiction, and sometimes tributes to characters and authors end up in their work. We list 30 species, alive and extinct, that bear scifi-themed names. More » -
#invasivespecies
Britain Uses Imported Bugs To Combat Invasive Plant Species For The First Time
A team at University of Leicester is using nature against itself for the first time in Europe. They are calling it "biocontrol"; the team is bringing in sap-sucking insects from Japan to control an invasive plant species called Knotweed. More » -
#madscience
Parasitic Fungus Turns Carpenter Ants Into Its Own Personal Zombie Army
Scientists have discovered a fungus in Thailand that takes over ant brains, compelling them to mindlessly do the fungus's bidding. We've heard about parasitic ant zombification before, but scientists have no idea how the fungus controls the ants so effectively. More » -
#madscience
Cyborg Insects Could Save Your Life
It sounds like the oddest conspiracy theory ever, but amazingly, the Pentagon is behind a plan to turn crickets, cicadas and katydids into cyborg chemical detectors to help protect soldiers from chemical attacks. Your tax dollars at mad science work? More » -
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#madscience
Headless Fire Ant Zombies Are Your Friends
Farmers fighting invasions of fire ants have a new weapon in their arsenal. It's a natural, non-toxic way to kill the ants by turning them into zombies whose heads pop off. More » -
#sciencephotography
How Would You Like A Giant Poison Stinger Buried Deep Inside Your Brain?
Here you can see an ant shooting a dose of venom straight into a centipede's head. The centipede is translucent, so you can actually see the stinger in its brain. And there's more. More » -
#madscience
Mosquitoes Have the Most Annoying Mating Habits in the Animal Kingdom
In this video of mosquitoes on the verge of mating, scientists reveal something that laypeople might already have known. Even in the act of love, mosquitoes are really annoying. More » -
#evolution
A Parasite that Induces Love in its Host
A Brazilian wasp has evolved a very peculiar mind-control power in order to reproduce: It induces love in a species of caterpillar. The wasp lays its eggs in a baby caterpillar, which grows normally as the eggs grow inside it. Eventually, larvae burst out of the caterpillar's body, and that's when things get weird. The caterpillar covers the larvae with silk, and will protect them quite violently until they are full-grown wasps (you can see that in this picture). In fact, the caterpillar refuses to eat or leave until the wasps hatch. More »
