insects

Jacob Katz, with California Trout, says growing bugs in rice fields could be part of the solution for boosting salmon populations in rivers statewide.

A 'Floating Fillet': Rice Farmers Grow Bugs To Replenish California's Salmon

8:00am March 07, 2018

by Ezra David Romero

Insect-rich floodplain water once supported the threatened fish, but it has been diverted. The project's end goal is to improve the likelihood that Chinook survive the trek to the ocean and back.

Edible winged ants are placed atop a fish fillet at Insects in the Backyard, a high-end bug-based bistro in Bangkok.

It's Not Just A Bug, It's A Fine-Dining Feature At This Thailand Restaurant

2:45pm December 07, 2017

by Abbie Fentress Swanson

A high-end Bangkok bistro has devoted its entire menu to insects, hoping to entice intrepid eaters to try what's been called "the future of food." But will haute bug cuisine catch on in other places?

The destructive diamondback moth has spread across the world and mutated to become immune to each new chemical pesticide designed to slay it.

National

Scientists Try To Fight Crop Damage With An Invasive Moth's Own DNA

10:35am August 28, 2017

by Devin Powell

The diamondback moth attacks cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, costing farmers billions of dollars every year. But will these lab-bred insects inherit the same stigma as genetically modified crops?

This wounded ant (Megaponera analis), with two termites clinging to it, is alive but likely too exhausted after battle to get back to the nest without help.

No Ant Left Behind: Warrior Ants Carry Injured Comrades Home

4:42pm April 12, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Don't call it empathy, scientists say. These termite-eating ants only retrieve injured comrades on the way home from a hunt, not before. But the hurt ants do recover better at home — to fight again.

Beetles in the O'Brien collection are seen through a magnifying glass on March 8.

Octogenarian Couple Donates $10 Million Insect Collection

8:41pm March 24, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Charles and Lois O'Brien love each other, and they love bugs. The two entomologists have collected more than a million specimens, which they are donating to Arizona State University.

The marmalade hoverfly might not be the flashiest bug under the sun, but researchers say it "does some very important jobs."

Bugs Abound: If You Think The Skies Are Crowded, You Have No Idea

7:00pm December 22, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A new study involving blimps, nets and radar beams reveals the staggering number of insects that fly above us each year in their seasonal migrations.

Queue Listen Now

When they are gorging themselves, the maggots' metabolic heat can reach 130 degrees.

National

For These Entrepreneurs, Cutting Food Waste Starts In A Maggot Bucket

10:09am December 13, 2016

by Luke Runyon

Instead of letting food rot, some entrepreneurs want to use it to feed insects, which can then nourish livestock. But federal regulations have been slow to catch up to the growth of insect farms.

The underwater construction skills of the caddis fly larva have caught the interest of bioengineers. The larva tapes and glues pebbles together to form a sturdy protective case.

WATCH: Lessons In Wound Healing From Our Favorite Fly

2:35pm August 09, 2016

by Elliott Kennerson

You may know the caddis fly as a fishing lure. But bioengineers hunting a better way to seal wounds and set bones say the larvae of these insects have a few tricks we should try to mimic.

Garden centipede (Lithobius forficatus), Lithobiidae, German cockroach (Blattela germanica), Blatellidae, Garden tiger moth (Arctia caja). Artwork by Dale Edna Evans.

Mo' Money, Mo' Bug Problems: Wealthier Homes Are Rich In Insects Too

5:27pm August 03, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Looking for a healthy variety of bugs? You might want to try searching in your wealthiest friend's house. Neighborhood income is a good predictor of the number of kinds of bugs in homes.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, shown wearing one of her trademark collars in 2010, now has an insect named in her honor.

Science

Insect Named For Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Step Toward Equality Of The 6-Legged Sexes

3:36pm June 02, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

A newly identified praying mantis species, Ilomantis ginsburgae, is named for the Supreme Court justice. The species is also — unusually — identified by traits specific to the female, not the male.