Last update: 2 hours ago

US beekeepers continue to report high colony loss rates, no clear improvement

Plants & Animals news

US beekeepers continue to report high colony loss rates, no clear improvement

Beekeepers across the United States lost 45.5% of their managed honey bee colonies from April 2020 to April 2021, according to preliminary results of the 15th annual nationwide survey conducted by the nonprofit Bee Informed ...

Plants & Animals

2 hours ago

Odd smell: Flies sniff ammonia in a way new to science

The stink of ammonia in urine, sweat, and rotting meat repels humans, but many insects find ammonia alluring. Now, UConn researchers have figured out how the annoying insects smell it, a discovery that could lead to better ...

Plants & Animals

4 hours ago

Wild bees need deadwood in the forest

How many tree species are there in the forest? How are the trees scattered throughout? How high are the individual tree crowns? Are there fallen trees or hollowed-out tree trunks? Forest scientists characterize forests according ...

Plants & Animals

4 hours ago

Cat-born parasite Toxoplasma induces fatally bold behavior in hyena cubs

Best known for its presence in house cats and a tendency to infect and alter the behaviors of rodents and humans, the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is also associated with bold behavior among wild hyena cubs and ...

Plants & Animals

4 hours ago

These sea anemones eat ants

The giant plumose anemone is an animal, but it looks a bit like an underwater cauliflower. Its body consists of a stalk-like column that attaches to rocks and other surfaces on one end, and to a crown of tentacles on the ...

Plants & Animals

4 hours ago

A study of more than 3,000 sharks has identified the most common South Florida species

The bull shark, a fearsome predator that could kill you with a single bite, turns out to be the fourth-most abundant shark species in South Florida, according to a new study of the region's sharks.

Plants & Animals

4 hours ago

Asian elephants shown to 'buzz' their lips to squeak

Everybody knows that elephants trumpet. Over the past decades research at the University of Vienna has mainly studied the elephants' low-frequency rumble. Its fundamental frequency reaches into the infrasonic range below ...

Plants & Animals

6 hours ago

Reactive and inconsistent practices strengthen invasive plants in the US

As summer unfolds, more than 500 species of invasive plants will be taking root in fields, lawns, and gardens across the US. As plants continue to move north driven by climate change, the number of invasives will only increase. ...

Plants & Animals

7 hours ago

Quantum birds: Shedding light on the mechanism of magnetic sensing in birds

Humans perceive the world around them with five senses—vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Many other animals are also able to sense the Earth's magnetic field. For some time, a collaboration of biologists, chemists ...

Plants & Animals

7 hours ago

Evolutionary change in protective plant odors help flora evade invasive species over time

Plants can't run away from enemies. Still, they would like to keep life-threatening herbivores at a distance. This can be done with odors. Klaas Vrieling of the Institute of Biology Leiden found out with his team how plants ...

Plants & Animals

8 hours ago

Discovered: How ladybugs stick to surfaces without losing legs at takeoff

NIMS, the University of Tokyo and the University of Kiel have jointly ascertained the tarsal adhesion mechanisms employed by ladybird beetles, which had been debated for decades.

Plants & Animals

9 hours ago

Putting makeup on spiders does not change their chances of being eaten by a predator

A team of researchers from the University of Florida and Arizona State University has found that removing black stripes on male jumping spiders does not increase their chances of being captured by prey. In their paper published ...

Plants & Animals

report

9 hours ago

Assessment tool shows 33 aquatic species worldwide pose 'very high risk' of invasion

A global risk-assessment tool shows 33 nonnative aquatic species worldwide pose a "very high risk" of becoming invasive in current and future climate conditions.

Plants & Animals

9 hours ago

A lone tree helps birds and bees navigate farmland, like a stepping stone between habitats

Vast, treeless paddocks and fields can be dangerous for wildlife, who encounter them as "roadblocks" between natural areas nearby. But our new research found even one lone tree in an otherwise empty paddock can make a huge ...

Plants & Animals

10 hours ago

How does the one-humped Arabian camel survive without drinking?

Research led by scientists at the University of Bristol has shed new light on how the kidneys of the one-humped Arabian camel play an important role in helping it to cope with extremes.

Plants & Animals

13 hours ago

Mongooses solve inequality problem

A fair society has evolved in banded mongooses because parents don't know which pups are their own, new research shows.

Plants & Animals

13 hours ago

Colombia has the world's largest variety of butterfly species: study

Colombia is home to the world's largest variety of butterflies, approximately 20 percent of all known species, according to a study published Tuesday by the Natural History Museum in London.

Plants & Animals

14 hours ago

Geckos might lose their tails, but not their dinner

A new UC Riverside study finds geckos are fierce hunters whether or not their tails are attached to their bodies.

Plants & Animals

14 hours ago

Songbirds and humans share some common speech patterns

If you listen to songbirds, you will recognize repeated melodies or phrases. Each phrase is made up of distinct sounds, strung together. A study from researchers at McGill University has found that the song phrases of many ...

Plants & Animals

14 hours ago