Beetle private parts shaped like a bottle-opener: time to open a Carlsberg?
Museum scientists find a beetle in the basement that has a penis that looks like a better bottle opener. So they made one.
insects
Insect radar monitors the web of life
To help understand insect populations, a new insect radar, the first for Israel, has been installed near the Hula Valley nature reserve. The area is a major rest stop for millions of migratory birds moving between Africa and Europe each year.
Ticks bite humans for warming the planet
A small rise in temperatures and ticks prefer human legs over our dogs.
Butterflies “invade” Israel in a rare migratory swarm
Unusual winter rains in Israel give fuel to plants which feed millions of new “painted lady” butterflies They keep coming, thousands of them, in what appears to be a south-north migration flight. Coming coincidentally on the first day of Spring, this “invasion” of ‘Painted Ladies’ butterflies caught our eyes in southern Netanya, Israel as a […]
Dead Sea tourism more tolerable with fly-eating trashcans?
Two designers devised a lid design for trash cans that lures in fruit flies, trapping them in a tiny death chamber – gruesome but, hey, your kitchen will be insect-free. If this could expand to ensnare regular-issue flies, this duo stands to make a mint selling to Dead Sea resorts in Israel and Jordan.
Israel’s Iconic Sabra Cactus Endangered by Invading Aphids
Israel, being on the “land bridge” that links it with Africa and Asia Minor, has always been well known for a number of biblical fruits. These include: the multi-seed pomegranates, grapes from which superb wines are now made; and of course several varieties of dates and olives. Another iconic fruit, although not native, comes from the […]
Middle East and Swiss Researchers: Bugs Not Gay
We have to laugh at this research, given the latest news that there is a gay test being developed by Kuwait to weed out homosexuals from Gulf regions: scientists from Israel and Switzerland find that while many kinds of insects and spiders “act” gay, they probably are gay by accident.
Look “Fly” in Hubert Duprat’s Jewelry Made by Insects
A French artist has stumbled upon a real-life alternative to Cinderella’s ball-gown-sewing mice: spectacular jewelry crafted by bugs. Hubert Duprat employs insect craftsmen – a species of small, hairy-winged critters called caddisflies. These cousins of moths and butterflies, sometimes called “sedge-flies”, have a genetic predisposition towards waterfront property: their habitat includes streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, […]
Dung beetles navigate by the stars
This is the first time celestial navigation has been seen in insects but the scientists believe it is common.