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INSECT DIVERSITY
How did insects conquer land? A 324-million-year-old fossil with 24 legs and paddle-like abdominal limbs suggests some of their earliest ancestors may have lived in water before becoming terrestrialA 324-million-year-old fossil from Texas offers new insights into early insect evolution. This ancient creature possessed an unusual 24-leg...- Science says butterflies taste with their feet, here’s why evolution put chemical sensors on their legsButterflies have specialized sensory structures on their legs, known as gustatory sensilla, that allow them to detect chemicals when they l...
- In 1966, scientists wiped out almost every insect on tiny islands in Florida. Within days, wildlife began returningEcologists Daniel Simberloff and Edward O. Wilson conducted a groundbreaking experiment in 1966. They removed nearly all arthropods from ti...
- A 1994 study placed tire reefs in concrete canals in California and Arizona; invertebrate densities tripled, and fish densities rose 20-fold near reefsConcrete canals, while conserving water, harmed aquatic ecosystems. Researchers tested old tires to create habitats for canal wildlife. Inv...
- In 2018, Natasha Whetzel helped burn 20 acres at Delaware’s Hurley Tract to restore habitat. 10 weeks later, native purple love grass had spread extensively, transforming the site into habitats for birds and pollinatorsConservation work in southern Delaware is helping restore and protect important habitats within the Nanticoke River watershed. At Middlefor...
- Why bees are disappearing from some ecosystems - And what their decline could mean for food, plants and human lifeThe dramatic decline in bee populations is attributed to the loss of natural habitats and intensive farming methods. Pesticides and climate...
- Ants know how to find the best path forward: What bees, flies and cockroaches teach us about better decisionsSmall insects teach us significant lessons about decision-making among humans. Ants exhibit decentralized foraging which leads to the disco...
- In 1988, English farmer stopped cultivating his entire 377-acre wheat farm; 35 years later, it became one of central England’s biggest refuges for scrub, woodland and rare wildlifeNearly 40 years ago, an English farmer made the decision to stop intensive wheat farming, paving the way for the Strawberry Hill nature res...
- A Florida homeowner swapped lawn grass for old soaked cardboard, mulch and native plants without digging up the lawn; the result was a low-maintenance front yard ecosystem where pollinators, birds, edible plants and people could coexistA Florida homeowner transformed a conventional grass-covered front yard without removing the existing lawn. The project used soaked cardboa...
- Since 2016, the Netherlands has used 37.2 million tonnes of lakebed sediment to build seven wildlife islands covering 1,300 hectaresIn the Markermeer region of the Netherlands, innovative artificial islands have been crafted using dredged materials from the lakebed. The ...
- In the 1500s, European settlers brought pigs to North America as travelling food; more than 6 million feral swine now occupy at least 35 statesEuropean pigs introduced centuries ago became invasive feral swine across North America. These adaptable animals now inhabit diverse enviro...
- In 2001, Denmark turned a 19-km straight river into a 26-km winding one, but decades later researchers found nature was still struggling to rebuild what humans had destroyedDenmark's Skjern River restoration has skillfully reshaped a once-straight channel back into a meandering waterway. This innovative initiat...
- In 2001, a scientist began rebuilding a rainforest on about 5,000 acres of burned Borneo grassland; the restored habitat became a refuge for orangutansA Dutch researcher regrew a rainforest on 5,000 acres of scorched land in Borneo. Willie Smits began restoring degraded land near Samboja i...
- Earlier this year, Smithsonian scientists decoded the pheromones that determine whether bee daughters stay home or leave. It produced surprising clues about how simple insect societies evolve into complex communitiesBee pheromones: New research reveals queen bees use chemical signals to guide daughters. These pheromones influence whether daughters remai...
- In 1875, Charles Darwin first suggested two plant species might be carnivorous, new study finds unique flower matches legendary naturalists' hypothesis. Check how does it catch insectsCatching insects comes with a potential drawback. Many carnivorous plants depend on insects for pollination and risk trapping the very visi...
- The hidden danger inside Spain's eucalyptus forests that worries scientistsSpain's eucalyptus plantations appear green but support fewer native birds and insects. These monocultures lack the diverse vegetation and ...
- Madhavan rarely goes to the market to buy veggies, explaining how his terrace garden fulfils 70% of his seasonal vegetable requirements: ‘The easiest ones to grow…’Dhurandhar star Madhavan almost never visits the supermarkets to buy vegetables. Reason? He has his own balcony garden which yields fresh s...
- 5ft tall, 7ft wingspan and a striking black-and-white body: IAS officer shares video of black-necked stork. Why is this giant bird ‘Near Threatened’?IAS officer Sanjay Kumar recently shared a video of the black-necked stork, highlighting its impressive height of nearly 5ft and wingspan e...
- In 1922, California introduced mosquitofish to eat mosquito larvae; within four years, they were in 30 counties and were later linked to native-species declinesIn 1922, California introduced mosquitofish in hopes of controlling mosquito populations. Although they were initially viewed as a solution...
- No boss, no meetings, yet every bee knows exactly what to do. German scientists reveal how bees stay organised without managersGerman scientists have identified a gene that governs task allocation within bee colonies. This gene, doublesex, controls neural circuits r...
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