Tiger Beetles: The Quick and The Dead
by Summer is well on its way and the beautiful weather has everyone wanting to stretch their legs. And as a runner and insect enthusiast, I …
Category: Bugs in Our Back Yard
A Ghost Story
In the spirit(s) of the season, I wanted to share a ghost story from the lab with you all… Here in the bug lab, mysteries …
Mimics and Mystery Flyers
Have you ever seen an animal that looks somehow like a completely different one? There are actually quite a lot of these mimics out there, …
Inactivity in Animals and the “Lazy” Ants
Most of us have grown up with idea that being both efficient and productive is highly desirable. Early in school, many of us are taught …
The Buzz on Insect Sound
Anybody who has walked outside on a hot summer day and heard the cacophonous ticks, rattles and clicks of insect calls could imagine that there …
Star Wars and the Naming of Things
Choosing a name for a newfound species or group of organisms can be a rather daunting task. It should be no surprise that taxonomists and …
Springing to Life
by It’s late April and Spring has already reached many places, but it’s just getting to us here in Maine. In fact yesterday was one of the …
Damselfly in distress: How sexual conflict shapes behavior
As the days grow longer and the temperature rises, the first vestiges of animal and plant life have begun to shake off the trappings of …
Sporadic Spider Crickets
by Spider crickets, camel crickets, cave crickets–whatever you call them, they scare the life out of me! Spider crickets come from the family Rhaphidophoridae, and from a …
Wondering in Winter: Where did the bugs all go?
Here in the Northern part of the US, the blustery winds of winter are well upon us. The cold climate forces us to bundle up …