Researchers were surprised to find how widespread this magnetic property was, not only across families of bees but also beetles, wasps and flies.
Articles on Social insects
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Artificial lights at night are causing serious disruption to these insect night shift workers. That’s a problem for everyone.
99.96% of bee species do not die after stinging. So why does everyone think they do?
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.
Scientists are learning amazing things about bees’ sensory perception and mental capabilities.
A colony-building fern that grows in treetops on Lord Howe Island has adopted a lifestyle similar to social insects, turning our understanding of the evolution of biological complexity on its head.
Bees aren’t the only species that has a queen.
The evolution of a mother’s bond with her offspring marked a major change in the story of life.
Bush flies and blowflies all vomit on their food, but other flies are a little more polite at the dinner table and don’t vomit at all.
New study shows parasitic Escovopsis fungus attacks the bacteria leafcutter ants use to protect themselves.
Insects aren’t known for having big brains, and slime moulds and fungi don’t have any. So how do they solve challenges that test the ingenuity of human transport engineers?
Many fruits, nuts and other crops rely on bees to pollinate their flowers at just the right time of year. Many farmers rent bees to get the job done at pollination time.
Ants produce their own antimicrobial chemicals to fight bacteria.
New research shows stingless bees will assassinate their queen if she makes the wrong royal match.
They shoot, they score … if there’s a sugary reward at the end of it.
Insects have often been described with words like “disgusting” and the idea of eating them horrifies some people. But this needs to change as they can be an important food source.
Insects developed technology long before we did, so perhaps they can show us how to use it without damaging the planet.
By working together, social insects are able to fix a small failure before it becomes a larger one.
Termite damage costs Australian homes at least a billion dollars each year – but they are absolutely vital for ecosystems.
To understand why insects sting and why the stings of such tiny animals hurt so much, we first needed a way to measure the pain they cause. So I created a sting pain index.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor in Entomology, University of Sydney
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Principal Scientist and Head of the Plant Health Theme, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
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Senior Lecturer in Zoology, University of Hull
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Lecturer, Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester
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PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester
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Post-doctoral Research Associate, Queen Mary University of London
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Professor, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
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Adjunct associate, CSIRO
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Director of the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO
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PhD student molecular microbiology, University of East Anglia
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Research Fellow, Queen Mary University of London
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Senior Ecologist, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Biology, Brunel University of London
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Lecturer in Ecology, University of New England
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Entomologist, Southwest Biological Institute, University of Arizona