Ferns have evolved a mutually beneficial relationship with ants, but this happened late in their evolution. A recent study shows that old dogs can learn new tricks.
Researchers have been estimating the vast numbers of insects, including many pollinators, migrating at one location in the Pyrenees. But climate change and habitat loss could affect their abundance.
The Wild Garden, a rhapsody of colour and life in Mickleton, Gloucestershire.
Michael Garlick
An insect’s physical shape and characteristics indicate which species it belongs to, but sometimes species appear remarkably similar. DNA technologies can help identify and discover species.
A pollinator garden at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kan., with nine species of native plants.
USFWS Mountain-Prairie
Wild turkeys were overhunted across the US through the early 1900s, but made a strong comeback. Now, though, numbers are declining again. Two ecologists parse the evidence and offer an explanation.
Mark Wong, The University of Western Australia and Raphael Didham, The University of Western Australia
Sometimes it seems the night is just buzzing with insects. But are there really more insects out at night? We analysed all the evidence on insect activity across the day–night cycle to find out.
Cicadas climb up a tree at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the Brood X emergence in 2021.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rock dust is only part of the story of soil. Living creatures, many of them too tiny to see, keep that soil healthy for growing everything from food to forests.
Climate change complicates plant choices and care. Early flowering and late freezes can kill flowers like these magnolia blossoms.
Matt Kasson
The US Department of Agriculture has updated its plant hardiness zone map, which shows where various plants will grow across the country. Gardeners should take note.
Many common insects seem to disappear during autumn and winter – but they are still around. Making your garden a good winter habitat can help these vital pollinators survive and thrive.
Aedes aegypti, found across much of the U.S., spread Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other viruses.
Mailson Pignata/iStock via Getty Images
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.
Robber flies visually track their prey before spearing it with their proboscis.
Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido
Not much is known about the predator fly Laphria saffrana. New research identified how they count the wingbeats of their favored prey, letting it slip out of focus before adjusting their heads.
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