The sharpshooter‘s superpower is pee flinging. These insects consume nutrient-poor plant sap, so to get the calories they need, they have to drink 300 times their body weight each day. Keep reading
Tag: insects
Surviving Rainfall
Water striders spend their lives at the air-water boundary, skittering along this interfacial world. But what happens when falling rain destroys their flat existence? That’s the question that motivated today’s Keep reading
That Drain Life
No matter your cleaning habits, it’s possible to get some unexpected roommates. This variety is the drain fly, a species well-adapted to the moist environment of our pipes. As larvae, Keep reading
Moths in Flight
Moths and butterflies are such unique fliers among insects. Compared to their bodies, their wings are often enormous. High-speed video reveals the complex motions of their wing strokes. Some species Keep reading
Scuba-Diving Fly
Mono Lake, three times saltier than the ocean, is an extreme environment by any measure. But for the alkali fly, it’s home. This extremophile insect dives into the lake, protected Keep reading
Water-Jumping Springtails
Springtails are small, jumping insects. Semiaquatic varieties use their tails to jump off water in order to move around and escape predation. Among these water jumpers, results vary; some, like Keep reading
Pee-Flinging Sharpshooters
The tiny glassy-winged sharpshooter feeds exclusively on nutrient-poor sap from plant xylem. Since the sap is 95% water, the insects have to consume massive amounts, necessitating lots of urination — Keep reading
Moths and Beetles in Flight
Watching insects take flight in high-speed video is always mesmerizing. So often their wings look too small and fragile to lift their bulbous bodies, but they manage the feat easily. Keep reading
Fire Ant Rafts
When you run into a fire ant, you’re in for a bad day. But if you run into a colony-sized raft of fire ants, well, that’s going to be a Keep reading
Backswimmers
Backswimmers rule the surface of ponds, streams, and other bodies of water. These insects spend much of their time clinging just beneath the air-water interface, where they hunt larvae and Keep reading