Butterflies are among the most colorful and charismatic of insects, and their extraordinary diversity has been the focus of studies by amateur naturalists and professional entomologists for over two centuries. Butterflies have long been model organisms for basic biological research in the fields of behavior, population genetics, and systematics. More recently, studies of butterfly life …
Ever wonder what leafcutter ants do with all those leaves? Turns out, they’re not for eating (at least, not directly). The leaves serve as the raw organic material on which to grow the real prize – a crop of delicious fungus. The cultivation of fungus by ants is thought to have begun around 50 million …
The largest known insect of all time was a predator resembling a dragonfly but was only distantly related to them. Its name is Meganeuropsis, and it ruled the skies before pterosaurs, birds and bats had even evolved. Most popular textbooks make mention of “giant dragonflies” that lived during the days before the dinosaurs. This is …
As we pay much attention to nature conservation and supporting ethical projects, we have visited the Merlin Butterfly Sanctuary during our visit in Thailand. The butterfly sanctuary is a project setup with IUCN, in collaboration with the Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa. Merlin Beach has established a unique conservation-oriented Butterfly Sanctuary on the resort property …
