Chances are, the works of the world’s insects touch your lips every day. The coffee or tea you savor, both are pollinated by insects. Apples, oranges, cabbages, cashews, cherries, carrots,…
Twelve-year-old Sarah vividly remembers the first stargazing trip her parents took her to, about 70 kilometers from Bengaluru, just for a glimpse of the comet Neowise. Her father, who proposed…
Of the insect world’s many architects, the termites are undoubtedly the reigning monarchs. The earthen mounds that these tiny insects construct out of soil, water and their own saliva, are…
According to legend, King Solomon had a brief encounter with a “valley of ants” and his admiration for them led him to value all life forms. The resilience of ants…
The blanket of pollutants that seems to have found permanence in the air of India’s cities is not just taking its toll on human health. Pollutants are causing behavioural changes,…
A new species of ant has emerged from the leaf litter at Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa. This underground-dwelling species turned up as part of a statewide survey of ants…
Some butterflies go to any lengths to make ant-friends. Their caterpillars have evolved button-like spots on their backs to spout sugary rewards to attract ants; a special gland in their…
Alongside a global pandemic, India prepares to fight yet another battle for food security. Unlike the micron-sized virus, however, the new threat is millimeters in size but millions in number:…
Light shows put on by fireflies are not just a fascinating sight. The genes responsible for this luminescence have many applications from medicine to forensics to food safety testing. Compared…
Even as modern science grapples with the rapidly declining bee population, we could look back and take a lesson on sustainability from the ancient culture of the adivasis (the first…
Mahesh Purushottam Giri, a 35-year-old farmer from Darwha town in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra still remembers the tragedy that happened in 2017. That year, a total of 21 farmers and…
“Everyone wants honey. But no one wants the bees near them,” says 34-year-old Pune city resident Amit Godse of Bee Basket, who runs a business extricating beehives from neighborhoods that…
Growing up in a family of entomologists, bankruptcy lawyer Mark Sterling was always interested in moths. He could never quite “kick the habit” despite being busy rescuing troubled businesses. Now,…
The southern state of Tamil Nadu has recently declared Tamil Yeoman (Cirrochroa thais) as its state butterfly to symbolise its rich natural and cultural heritage, in a move aimed at…
Biopesticides are yet to take off in a major way in India because of mixed constraints, despite their enormous market potential and the national and state initiatives to promote them…
Researcher K Lakshmi Rao is habituated to bee stings. And in her quest across India, to understand what whets the appetite of the honeybee (Apis mellifera), she has been at…
This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one. To receive a weekly email with a roundup of our stories, please sign-up to our newsletter. A millennial trains to spruce…
The evolution of insects About 500 million years ago (MYA), the Earth experienced a remarkable evolutionary event. Called the Cambrian explosion, it resulted in the emergence of a plethora of…
When was the last time an insect fell in your soup? Or down your collar under a bright street lamp? Insects rarely land on window panes on a rainy night…
The shade of a tree gives a much-needed respite from the sweltering heat. While checking messages on the phone, you see a movement out of the corner of your eye.…