What Do Pesticides and Chrysanthemums Have in Common?
They both contain insecticides called pyrethrins, used in ancient Persia. Today we use them in lice-killing shampoos.
Margaret S. Collins, Pioneering Black Entomologist
She was the first African American woman to earn a PhD in entomology as well as an activist for freedom in the Civil Rights Movement.
Are Insects Capable of Moral Behavior?
Some 19th-century naturalists believed that bugs could think and should therefore definitely know that biting is out of line.
Insect Jewelry of the Victorian Era
The wing-cases of gold-enameled weevils hung from necklaces; muslin gowns were embroidered with the iridescent green elytra of jewel beetles.
I Spent Three Hours Staring at an Anthill
And all I got were these fascinating observations of parasitic ants that kidnap other ants.
How Does a Scorpion Decide When to Sting?
There are actually two decisions to make: whether to sting at all and whether to use prevenom or full venom.
Camouflage Gets Weird
Some animals use chemical camouflage, even altering the way they smell in order to avoid predation.
Love, Sex, and Cyanide—The Private Life of a Toxic Butterfly
Heliconian butterflies choose mates with similar wing patterns. Their genes make them do it.
The Tangled History of Weaving with Spider Silk
Spider silk is as strong as steel and as light as a feather, but attempts to industrialize its production have gotten stuck, so to speak.
War and Pest Control
Since World War I, the connections between pest control and war have been scientific, technological, institutional, and metaphorical.