The blow fly’s antenna is a specialized organ that helps the fly detect food quicker than its competitors.
heckepics/iStock via Getty Images
Flies often beat out competitors for food because of their specialized sensing organs called antennae.
Springtails (Fasciosminthurus quinquefasciatus) are found in any damp soil.
Andy Murray/chaosofdelight.org
With more than one species for every person on the planet, soils are the most diverse habitat on Earth.
Yellow underwing moths were one of the species in the study.
Eileen Kumpf/Shutterstock
But pesticides and climate change are threatening moths’ future.
The common pipistrelle.
Rudmer Zwerver/Shutterstock
New research has found that bats avoid solar farms – but the findings should not hinder the transition to renewable energy.
A bumblebee flying over a blooming bramble bush.
Legonkov Vladimir
Native common wildflowers provide large amounts of pollen and nectar for insects – but many are undervalued by the public.
Fotoz by David G/Shutterstock
Cicadas don’t need to bathe to stay clean.
The first specimen of Bipalium admarginatum was found by George Verdon in the jungle of a tropical island.
George Verdon
A strange worm found in the jungle, then harvested and preserved in… gin, provides a better understanding of the evolution and genetics of flatworms.
What strategies are the best to make forests more resilient and better adapted to new climate conditions?
(Claude Villeneuve)
Can planting trees help us solve the climate crisis? Probably, but to what extent?
Farmed landscapes have become less hospitable habitats for insects.
Protasov AN/Shutterstock
Farms have become less friendly for our insect friends – this must be reversed if we want food to eat.
A tsetse fly (Glossina sp) in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania.
Minden Pictures/Alamy
New research on what attracts blood-feasting flies to blue objects could help minimise the impacts of those insects on people and animals.
Shutterstock
Picking the correct flowers is a crucial job for honey bees, so it’s no wonder they are incredibly efficient at it. But how can such little brains do it?
Many insects are attracted to wildfires and lay their eggs in the tissues of fire-killed trees.
(Aaron Bell)
If the spring fire season in Canada is any indication, fire-loving pyrophilic insects will continue to thrive well into summer.
Walkley Bank Allotments, Sheffield, UK.
Richard Bradley / Alamy Stock Photo
Maintaining a diversity of insects may be key for crop pollination in cities.
Female glow-worms attract males with a chemical reaction in their abdomen.
Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
Artificial light is making it harder for male glow-worms to find bioluminescent females.
Ruby E Stephens
New research suggests insects have pollinated flowers since the pollen-bearing blooms first evolved more than 140 million years ago.
vasekk/Shutterstock
Some of the most important discoveries made in health and genetic science are thanks to the humble fruit fly.
Farmland birds like the corn bunting have seen their numbers plummet since 1980.
Aurélien Audevard
Insect-eating birds such as swifts and yellow wagtails are particularly vulnerable.
Getty Images
There’s a lot of enthusiasm for wildflower fields and bug hotels. But before introducing these insect-saving measures, we need to better understand when they help – and when they don’t.
Théotime Colin
Australia is the last continent to be invaded by the dangerous honey bee parasite, and has an opportunity to be the first to eradicate it.
The Sooty blue butterfly (Zizeeria knysna ), a common yet easily missed resident species in grassland habitats.
Charl Deacon
Butterflies are sentinel species – their interactions with landscapes help scientists understand other insects better.