Scicurious Animals

Methylation turns a wannabe bumblebee into a queen

bumblebee - Bombus terrestris

This bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) maybe just a worker, but with a little less methylation she could start laying eggs of her own.

P7r7/Wikimedia Commons

By Bethany Brookshire

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Animals

  1. illuistration of a pterosaur with opposable thumbs
    Paleontology

    ‘Monkeydactyl’ may be the oldest known creature with opposable thumbs

    By Maria Temming
  2. person holding bird with mask caught on its wing
    Animals

    Discarded COVID-19 PPE such as masks can be deadly to wildlife

    By Anne Pinto-Rodrigues
  3. fish swimming by coral reef
    Oceans

    Corals’ hidden genetic diversity corresponds to distinct lifestyles

    By Devin A. Reese
  4. bald eagle soaring in front of a wind turbine
    Animals

    How researchers can keep birds safe as U.S. wind farms expand

    By Jack J. Lee
  5. scores of small silver fish swimming
    Animals

    Tiny crystals give a plain fish twinkling, colorful dots under light

    By Susan Milius
  6. lion yawning
    Life

    Yawning helps lions synchronize their groups’ movements

    By Jake Buehler
  7. male fairy wrasse fish
    Life

    Flamboyant fishes evolved an explosion of color as seas rose and fell

    By Jake Buehler
  8. piles of grasshoppers on a sidewalk
    Animals

    Weather radar shows 30 metric tons of grasshoppers swarmed Las Vegas one night

    By Susan Milius

From the Nature Index

Paid Content