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Articles on Insects

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Aedes aegypti, found across much of the U.S., spread Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other viruses. Mailson Pignata/iStock via Getty Images

Female mosquitoes rely on one another to choose the best breeding sites − and with the arrival of spring, they’re already on the hunt

Female mosquitoes don’t want to lay their eggs alone, but they don’t want sites that are too crowded either. Understanding what guides their choice could inform new control strategies.
The queen, on the right with a larger, darker body, is bigger than the worker bees in the colony and lives several times longer. Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images

Why do bees have queens? 2 biologists explain this insect’s social structure – and why some bees don’t have a queen at all

A queen’s main job in the hive is to lay eggs and pass genes on to offspring. But many bee species do just fine without queens or big colonies.
Ermine moths are deaf, but have an intricate wing structure that protects them from bats by producing warning clicks when they fly. HWall/Shutterstock

We’ve found out how earless moths use sound to defend themselves against bats – and it could give engineers new ideas

The ermine moth’s wing structures are fascinating because they rely on a mechanism we teach our engineering students to avoid
Temperature sensitivity makes western fence lizards vulnerable to climate change. Greg Shine/BLM

Climate change is already forcing lizards, insects and other species to evolve – and most can’t keep up

From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough.

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