Insects and Arachnids

Spiders don't have wings, so technically can't fly. But some arachnids can soar through the air with the greatest of ease.

By Mark Mancini & Talon Homer

Most of us think all bees live in colonies, or hives, but there are far more species that don't produce honey, don't sting and live mostly solitary lives underground.

By Jesslyn Shields

And we mean really loud. Like up to 100 decibels loud. Get all the buzz on what's making these bug-eyed bugs return.

By John Cooley & Chris Simon

The praying mantis is a powerful predator, and not as robotic (or as romantic!) as it seems.

By Jesslyn Shields

Black widow spider venom can be deadly but how likely are you to be bitten? It might surprise you that these arachnids are on the shy side.

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

While luna moths aren't exactly rare, they're hard to find so every encounter seems extra special.

By Jesslyn Shields

That's right - daddy longlegs isn't an actual kind of spider, but a colloquial name that's been applied to a wide range of spiders and non-spiders, insects and non-insects.

By Mark Mancini

Bees get a lot of credit for pollinating important food crops, but they get a lot of secret help from their nocturnal friends, the moths.

By Jesslyn Shields

The elephant hawk moth is breathtakingly beautiful as an adult, but as a baby ... not so much.

By Jesslyn Shields

Born pregnant? You bet. It's a survival instinct but could also explain how these garden pests spread like wildfire.

By Mark Mancini

The deadly Asian giant hornet, the largest hornet in the world, was spotted in the U.S. for the first time in late 2019. You'll want to stay far away from this creature. Its nickname? The "murder hornet."

By Jesslyn Shields

Mayflies have the shortest adult life span of any animal, but swarms of them can still be seen on weather radar.

By Jesslyn Shields

Some cicadas are annual breeders and some show up loudly about every 17 years, but all cicadas produce a "song" that can reach 120 decibels - very close to a level that can damage human ear drums.

By Robert Valdes

Work by volunteers and nonprofit organizations, such as butterfly waystations and increased education efforts, has turned around long-term population decline for some butterfly species.

By Laurie L. Dove

Fruit flies are annoying, but we also owe them a huge debt of scientific gratitude.

By Jesslyn Shields

Locusts are just mild-mannered grasshoppers until they swarm up and become monstrous. In parts of the world, locust plagues are becoming a way of life.

By Jesslyn Shields

If you've never seen a botfly, it looks rather harmless - like a basic bumblebee even. Until it lays its eggs inside a living host, and that's when things get really gross.

By Mark Mancini

Dragonflies are fast, powerful and unbelievably aggressive, using a rudimentary form of 'trigonometry' to calculate distance and move in for the kill.

By Jesslyn Shields

It's a battle of the buzzing insects. We're talking hornets vs. wasps. How do these two differ and which one has the worst sting?

By Nathan Chandler

The sting of a tarantula hawk is so painful you are advised to lie on the ground as soon as you're stung to avoid falling.

By Jesslyn Shields

Black soldier fly larvae will eat almost anything and they taste pretty good themselves, too.

By Jesslyn Shields

Tarantulas are the largest spiders in the world and, believe it or not, some can live for up to 30 years.

By Jesslyn Shields & Talon Homer

These nasty pests are developing cross-resistance to multiple classes of insecticides.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Just like bees, wasps are pollinators that are also endangered. But you rarely hear anyone pleading to save wasps. A study finds out why wasps are despised by the public and researchers alike.

By Dave Roos

Ninety percent of brown recluse bites don't have any effect at all - but the mythology around these creatures and their bites is legendary.

By Jesslyn Shields