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Butterflies evolved 100 million years ago in North America

15 May 2023

Many researchers thought butterflies first evolved in Asia, but a global genetic analysis suggests they arose in North America, well before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct


Our attempts to kill cockroaches forced them to evolve new sex moves

28 March 2023

Some male cockroaches have adapted their mating strategy to succeed with females that have developed a distaste for the sugar used in both poisonous baits and gifts from males


The giant lacewing found in Arkansas

Giant insect thought extinct in eastern US found in a Walmart

2 March 2023

A giant lacewing found clinging to the exterior of a supermarket is the first time in 50 years the species been spotted in the eastern half of the US


A male katydid fossil from the Early Cretaceous period

Fossils reveal the dinosaur era's changing insect soundscape

12 December 2022

Bush crickets from the Triassic era onwards evolved high-frequency songs to avoid being heard by predators


Ant on a small plant

Ants have evolved to farm plants on at least 15 separate occasions

10 November 2022

Many species of tree-living ants cultivate plants that grow on trees either for food or shelter, but there is a debate over whether the practice should be considered agriculture


A worker bee is attacking a newly emerged queen

Some bee colonies have to kill thousands of ‘selfish’ wannabe queens

26 January 2022

About one-fifth of all Melipona beecheii stingless bee larvae develop as queens, but the colony accepts only one – the rest are executed by worker guards


Toxic beetle’s genetics reveals how evolution makes new organs

Toxic beetle’s genetics reveals how evolution makes new organs

25 May 2021

Rove beetles have glands in their abdomen that secrete a toxin, and they are made up of just two cell types that evolved together – which may be how other animal organs originated


E coli bacteria

Bacteria sacrifice themselves when under attack to save their colonies

10 March 2020

Some bacteria sacrifice themselves when their colony is attacked by rivals, to save their relatives and make sure their shared genes are passed on


Martin Rees

Martin Rees: Humanity's future – predictions for the next century

2 December 2019

Astronomer Royal Martin Rees makes some predictions on humanity's future, and calls for coordinated global action to ward off threats from biotech, cyber technologies and advanced AI


Bee

How killer bees evolved into chiller bees in just one decade

14 August 2019

While killer bees terrorised the US, in Puerto Rico, an extraordinary accident of evolution has transformed them into a beacon of hope against the threat of insectogeddon


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