immature forms of an insect or animal (eggs, larvae, and pupae).

Read more about Stinky Tricks of Parasitism

Raising a kid is hard work, so wouldn’t it be easier to have someone else raise them for you? Some wasps do exactly this.... but to pull this off, they need the help of a disguise.

The shiny cuticle on the outside of an insect that holds chemicals called cuticular hydrocarbons

Victoria Kent

Read more about Periodical Cicadas of the Eastern United States

Patient Cicadas

Most insects we see do not have very long lives. Black ants can live a few years, worker bees usually live 1-4 months, and houseflies live less than one month. There are even some insects that only live for one day! On the other hand, some insects can live a very long time, such as a group of cicadas that live in the Eastern part of the United States. These cicadas belong to the genus Magicicada, or “Magic Cicadas”. They are named this because their life cycle seemed like magic to the scientists who named them.

Read more about Bacteria in the Belly of the Bee

Honeybees need the bacteria in their bellies to stay healthy, but the medicine we give them may be wiping them out.

Tyler Quigley

Life of the Leafcutter

Angelina Alameda

Learn what makes leafcutter ants unique and understand how the different castes of ant work together to provide for the colony.

Read more about All the Single Ladies

All the Single Ladies

Female orchid bee — Marked female orchid bee catching some sleep and a break from nest building.

Panama Kate

Margaret Coulombe

For biologist Kate Ihle the rainforest holds the secret of her favorite insect. Wearing their their irredesent greens and blues, orchid bees are slowing sharing their story of life in the jungle.
Also in: Nederlands | Español

Secrets of a Superorganism

Tate Holbrook, Rebecca Clark, and Brian Haney

Ants are everywhere - they thrive in forests, fields, deserts, and cities all over earth. But what is the secret behind their success? Like humans, ants are social. They live and work together in highly organized societies called colonies.
Also in: Español

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