Animals

Animals

Blame winter for the vanishing sparrows

Changes in winter farming practices may help explain a puzzling drop in number of rural house sparrows in southern England.

Animals

Getting a Grip: How gecko toes stick

Scientists have pinned down the molecular basis of the gecko's astonishing ability to scamper up polished walls and hang from ceilings, paving the way for a new type of synthetic dry adhesive.

Animals

What’s the Mane Point? Foes and females both have role

The condition of a lion's mane apparently advertises high-quality mates to picky females and wards off male adversaries.

Animals

Male butterflies are driven to drink

Monarch butterflies that winter in California, especially males that had a demanding day, search out dewdrops as a water source.

Animals

Slithering on Air: Flying snakes glide through the treetops

The paradise tree snake flies by flattening its body and slithering through the air.

Animals

Strong Medicine: Over-the-counter remedy snags snakes

Acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—vanquishes brown tree snakes, the bane of Guam.

Animals

Hyena androgens exact high cost

Blocking androgens for spotted hyenas before they're born shows that the exposure of a female fetus to male hormones normally takes a heavy physical toll when females bear their own pups.

Animals

Deer littermates have different dads

Twin fawns may not have the same dad—the first time multiple paternity has turned up in a large, free-ranging hoofed mammal.

Animals

Dragonfly Glitter

Dragonflies bring a lot of glitter to glamour shots. Texas A&M’s entomology program offers a variety of stunning images to illustrate the considerable diversity of dragonfly species. A video captures a female laying eggs, and a sequence of images shows how junior grows up. Go to: http://stephenville.tamu.edu/~fmitchel/dragonfly/index.html

Animals

Altruistic Sperm: Mouse gametes team up to power one winner

The sperm of wood mice hook together by the thousands to form high-speed teams racing toward an egg, even though only one of the pack will get the prize.

Animals

Pesticides Mess with Immunity: Double whammy promotes frog deformities

Agricultural pollutants may conspire with parasites to cause the epidemic of limb deformity that's sweeping through North America's frog populations.

Animals

Wasp Painting: Do insects know each other’s faces?

A researcher who dabbed tiny stripes on the faces and abdomens of paper wasps says that she's found the first evidence that the insects can recognize individuals by their markings.