Colonies of the red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) forage in the desert for seeds that provide both food and water. Foragers lose water while out in the desert Sun, and the rate of water loss is higher in dry conditions. To manage the tradeoff between food accumulation and water loss, …
Read More »Study: Giraffe Calves Inherit Spot Patterns from Mothers
According to a new study, published in the journal PeerJ, some features of a giraffe’s spot pattern are passed on from mother to baby. Newborn giraffes with large and irregularly shaped spots survive better during their first few months of life. Image credit: Derek Lee, Wild Nature Institute / Pennsylvania …
Read More »Biologists Find Twenty Seven New Bee Viruses
A team of scientists has identified 27 new viruses that infect European honeybees (Apis mellifera) and other bee species. Galbraith et al identified 27 novel viruses in bees. Image credit: Joanna Jankowski. “Populations of bees around the world are declining, and viruses are known to contribute to these declines. Despite …
Read More »Researchers Create Most Detailed 3D Model of Zika Virus to Date
A research team led by Purdue University structural biologist Michael Rossmann was the first to discover the structure of Zika virus — emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus closely related to dengue virus — in 2016. Using cryo-electron microscopy, the scientists created an image of the virus at a resolution of 3.8Å (Ångstrom). …
Read More »Images of Australasian Cockatoo on 13th-Century Sicilian Manuscript Spark Rethink on Medieval Trade Routes
Four sketches and a written description of a white cockatoo survive in a mid 13th-century manuscript from Sicily, now held in the Vatican Library, according to a new study. This finding, reported in the journal Parergon, suggests that trade in the waters in and around Australia’s north was flourishing as …
Read More »New Species of Parasitic Wasp Has Alien-Like Lifecycle
A bizarre new species of wasp, named Dolichogenidea xenomorph, has been discovered in Australia. Dolichogenidea xenomorph. Image credit: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries. Dolichogenidea xenomorph measures less than 5 mm and is a parasitoid, meaning that its larvae feed on live host insects. The species has a very long ovipositor, a needle-like structure …
Read More »Study: Nocturnally Migrating Insects Use Earth’s Magnetic Field to Navigate
Like many migrating birds, numerous species of nocturnal moths undertake long-distance migrations at night. Each spring, billions of Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) escape hot conditions in different regions of southeast Australia by making a migration of over 600 miles (1,000 km) to cool caves in the Australian Alps; after a …
Read More »Extinct Gibbon Found in 2,250-Year-Old Tomb of Chinese Noblewoman
The remains of a previously unknown genus and species of gibbon, Junzi imperialis, have been found in an approximately 2,200-2,300 year-old royal tomb in Shaanxi province, China. Gibbons at play (c. 1427) by the Xuande Emperor, the fifth emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Gibbons (family Hylobatidae) have played …
Read More »Bees Prefer Specific Wavelength Range of Blue Fluorescent Light
A team of scientists from Oregon State University and the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, has learned that blue fluorescent light in the 430- to 480-nm range set wild bees abuzz. Ostroverkhova et al examined responses of wild bees to traps designed to selectively stimulate either the blue or the …
Read More »Swamp Sparrows Have Time-Honored Song Traditions, Study Shows
By faithfully copying the most popular songs, swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) create time-honored song traditions that can be just as long-lasting as human traditions, according to a new study, published in the journal Nature Communications. In fact, song traditions in swamp sparrows often last hundreds of years, with some songs …
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