Animals
- Animals
For some birds, chancy climates mean better singers
In the mockingbird family, the most accomplished musical species tend to live in treacherous climates.
By Susan Milius -
- Animals
Controversial polar bear rule stands
Creature’s plight remains separate from decisions on greenhouse gas emissions.
By Susan Milius - Life
Suppress-the-mob gene found in queen termites
Gene may help keep workers from illicit, royalty-threatening reproduction.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Basking sharks head south for winter
Satellite-tagging data suggest that basking sharks migrate south to the Caribbean in winter.
- Life
Birds bust a move to musical beats
Parrots and possibly other vocal-mimicking animals can synchronize their movements to a musical beat, two new studies suggest.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
Caterpillars’ chirp could be scary
Larvae of great peacock moths might signal that they’ll put up a fight.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Swarm Savvy
How bees, ants and other animals avoid dumb collective decisions
By Susan Milius - Animals
Ants do real estate the simple way
Tracking ants with anti-shoplifter RFID tags has inspired a new, simplified view of how a colony finds a home
By Susan Milius - Plants
Yo, aphid, I’m red and I’m bad
Apple trees support the idea that red fall colors are a warning signal to insects.
By Susan Milius - Life
Early land arthropods sported shells
Ancient ocean-dwelling arthropods may have worn shells to enable their transition to land.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
Oh, he’s such a lab bird
Bold flycatchers may be more likely than shy birds to get trapped for lab studies.
By Susan Milius