Entomology

Insect photo

A new study pieces together the puzzle of insect evolution

When did insects evolve wings? Did you know that insects are crustaceans? Or that lice and insects that undergo metamorphosis share a common ancestor? A groundbreaking new study reveals some fascinating new things about these creatures that make up 80 percent of the world’s known species.

A new study pieces together the puzzle of insect evolution
Mealworm dish in a Yunan Restaurant

A Dutch supermarket is bringing edible insects into the mainstream

A Dutch supermarket is bringing edible insects into the mainstream
The giant hornets found in northern China can grow up to two and a half inches long.

China's giant, killer hornets are straight out of a horror movie

China's giant, killer hornets are straight out of a horror movie
Monarch butterfly (Photo: Karen First)

The monarchs were missing this summer ... and we and weather were to blame

The monarchs were missing this summer ... and we and weather were to blame

Sex and the Single Pest

Sex and the Single Pest

Experts look to edible bugs to help ameliorate food scarcity

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says insects will be a viable solution to food scarcity. Edible insects are picking up momentum in the United States and in countries like Thailand, where the edible cricket industry is already worth $30 million.

Experts look to edible bugs to help ameliorate food scarcity

Bug farmer working to introduce insects to European diets

Bugs are a popular source of protein in a lot of the developing world, but eating insects are almost unheard of in the developed world. A farmer in Spain, though, wants to change that and make bugs a regular source of protein in European diets.

Bug farmer working to introduce insects to European diets

Haute Cuisine: Spanish Farm Makes Bet on 'Bug Revolution'

In a warehouse in Spain, a French farmer is raising what she hopes will be the next big thing in French and European cooking: insects.

Haute Cuisine: Spanish Farm Makes Bet on 'Bug Revolution'

Eat-a-Bug Cookbook

Not only should we consider eating insects for environmental reasons; they can also be tasty. David George Gordon has just released an updated version of his Eat-A-Bug Cookbook, brimming with recipes that feature crickets, grasshoppers, ants, spiders, centipedes, and their kin. He joins host Steve Curwood from Seattle.

Eat-a-Bug Cookbook

Invasive insect species on the move, with big consequences

Global trade has made it remarkably easy for exotic insects to move from one side of the world to another. Once they arrive, they can totally devastate an ecosystem.

Invasive insect species on the move, with big consequences

New research finds rapid evolution in plants to resist predatory insects

Researchers at Cornell conducted a five-year experiment that documented how plants evolve quickly to account for changing environmental conditions. The research explains how key features of plants, horseradish's bite, chili pepper's spice, is really a defense against insects.

New research finds rapid evolution in plants to resist predatory insects

How Insects Influence Plant Evolution

From the spice of the chili pepper to horseradish’s bitter bite, many plant traits are evolutionary adaptations to insects.

How Insects Influence Plant Evolution

Trio of U.S. researchers traveling the world, documenting ants

There are literally thousands of different species of ants around the world. A trio of American researchers are traveling the world, to museums and natural habitats, to take high-quality pictures of them, to preserve and make accessible their complex diversity for scientists around the world.

Trio of U.S. researchers traveling the world, documenting ants

Close-Up Photos of Ants Show Species Diversity

A team of scientists from California is touring European natural history museums to photograph ant collections. The images are being posted to a free website so anyone can study. Ari Daniel Shapiro of our partner program NOVA reports from London.

Close-Up Photos of Ants Show Species Diversity
The World

Note on Emerging Science / Ants’ Social Immunity

By tending to infected nestmates, ants protect the entire colony from disease.

Note on Emerging Science / Ants’ Social Immunity