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How photography has transformed the study of spiders and their webs
Jonathan Coddington, Curator of Spiders at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History describes how photography has transformed the study of arachnids. [...more]
Tag Archive | "insects"
Halocoryza acapulcana Whitehead
Halocoryza acapulcana Whitehead (Acapulco Saline Catarrh Beetle), described in 1966 by Donald R. Whitehead. This image is from a recent paper by Terry L. Erwin, entomologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, containing updated information on this and two other previously described species of Halocoryza Alluaud beetles (sea-side beetles of the Indian, Atlantic [...] [...more]
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Invertebrates are ignored, overlooked by conservationists, policymakers and the public
Invertebrates make up more than 80 percent of all known species and provide humans with a myriad of valuable services—from crop pollination to their use as food—yet they are overlooked and underrepresented in conservation decisions and on priority lists of threatened and endangered species. [...more]
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Lofty experiments with gliding ants reveals secrets of their unusual flight
One of the most challenging aspects of this research is simply studying these insects as they are falling, says Yanoviak, a tropical arthropod ecologist at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Small body size, rapid descent, and the long distances that they can fall, make accurate data taking a challenge. [...more]
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Tropical Research Institute entomologist David Roubik talks about his life as a scientist based in Panama
"I'm getting paid to do what I like doing," says entomologist David Roubik. He loved nature and being outdoors when he was a kid, and now he does fieldwork in the tropical forests of Panama. He loves to travel, and his research takes him around the world. Can his work, then, be called a job? [...more]
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Video: Community ecologist Sunshine Van Bael explains her work in Panama with leafcutting ants
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From chewing tough insects to soft fruit, bat teeth are highly specialized
They found that the molars of fruit-eating species had sharp outer edges that likely allow them to pierce tough fruit skin and pulp... By contrast, the molars of insect-eating species were less complex, possibly because of their smoother shearing surfaces. [...more]
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“Billy club” leaf beetle has been hiding in Smithsonian collections since 1959
A new species of Brazilian leaf beetle named Cachiporra extremaglobosa, (which translated means the “extremely globular billy club leaf beetle,”) was recently discovered by scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. [...more]
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Science Spotlight
Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)
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