Researchers from North Carolina State University have found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in every step of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain, even though the river does not have a known industrial input of ...
Environment
7 hours ago
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78
A new study from researchers at Oxford University's Departments of Zoology and Biochemistry shows that warring bacteria will engage in suicidal attacks in vast numbers to take down competitors.
Evolution
14 hours ago
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848
Around the world, pest insects like mosquitoes often become resistant to the insecticides meant to control them, causing problems for agriculture and public health.
Ecology
May 28, 2020
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3
Diving as a lifestyle has evolved many times in the animal kingdom, and the ecology of all diving animals is essentially shaped by how long they can hold their breaths.
Plants & Animals
May 27, 2020
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194
Shea yields are likely to benefit from a diversity of trees and shrubs in parkland habitats in West Africa, according to a new study led by scientists from Trinity College Dublin. The findings have important implications ...
Ecology
May 26, 2020
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165
A species of river bird is swallowing hundreds of plastic fibers every day via their insect prey, research by Cardiff University and the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter has shown.
Environment
May 22, 2020
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362
When pollen is in short supply, bumblebees damage plant leaves in a way that accelerates flower production, as an ETH research team headed up by Consuelo De Moraes and Mark Mescher has demonstrated.
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2020
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1597
Even though insects are consumed by at least 2 billion people, most Europeans turn their noses up at the idea.
Environment
May 21, 2020
0
3
Together with an international team, Senckenberg scientist Mónica Solórzano Kraemer examined the age and origin of the Madagascar copal. In their study, published today in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, the researchers ...
Archaeology & Fossils
May 19, 2020
0
49
Like humans, insects are more likely to change their diet and try new things when in a new location, a new study has found. This discovery, led by the University of Aberdeen's Dr. Lesley Lancaster, could have serious implications ...
Plants & Animals
May 19, 2020
0
13
Insects (Class Insecta) are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include approximately 30 gladiator and icebug, 35 Zoraptera, 150 snakefly, 200 silverfish, 300 alderfly, 300 webspinner, 350 jumping bristletail, 550 scorpionfly, 600 Strepsiptera, 1,200 caddisfly, 1,700 stonefly, 1,800 earwig, 2,000 flea, 2,200 mantis, 2,500 mayfly, 3,000 louse, 3,000 walking stick, 4,000 cockroach, 4,000 lacewing, 4,000 termite, 5,000 dragonfly, 5,000 thrips, 5,500 booklouse, 20,000 cricket, grasshopper, and locust, 82,000 true bug, 110,000 ant, bee, sawfly, and wasp, 120,000 true fly, 170,000 butterfly and moth, and 360,000 beetle species described to date. The number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million, with over a million species already described. Insects represent more than half of all known living organisms and potentially represent over 90% of the differing life forms on Earth. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species occur in the oceans, a habitat dominated by another arthropod group, the crustaceans.
Adult modern insects range in size from a 0.139 mm (0.00547 in) fairyfly (Dicopomorpha echmepterygis) to a 56.7-centimetre (22.3 in) long stick insect (Phobaeticus chani). The heaviest documented present-day insect was 70 g (2½ oz) Giant Weta, though the Goliath beetles Goliathus goliatus, Goliathus regius and Cerambycid beetles such as Titanus giganteus hold the title for some of the largest species in general.
The largest known extinct insect is a kind of dragonfly, Meganeura.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
