Insects

New Beer Supports A Butterfly That Loves Hops As Much As You

Emily Boyer — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:05:00 +0000

The hops blue butterfly is unique to Colorado. Not much is known about the insect except for one interesting fact: it lives off hops.

Human Scent Is Even Sweeter For Malaria Mosquitoes

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:05:00 +0000

People smell yummy to mosquitoes.

So yummy, in fact, that our scent is a big way the pesky insects track us down.

But just how much mosquitoes like Eau de Human may not be entirely up to the bugs.

Mosquitoes are more attracted to human odors when they're infected with the malaria parasite, scientists reported Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE.

Entomologists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine gave malaria-transmitting mosquitoes two places to land: a clean, nylon stock

Maybe It's Time To Swap Burgers For Bugs, Says U.N.

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:59:00 +0000

Yes, we talk a lot about eating bugs here at The Salt.

What Is It About Bees And Hexagons?

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:51:00 +0000

Solved! A bee-buzzing, honey-licking 2,000-year-old mystery that begins here, with this beehive. Look at the honeycomb in the photo and ask yourself: (I know you've been wondering this all your life, but have been too shy to ask out loud ... ) Why is every cell in this honeycomb a hexagon?

Bees, after all, could build honeycombs from rectangles or squares or triangles ...

But for some reason, bees choose hexagons. Always hexagons.

And not just your basic six-sided hexagon.

For Year-Round Buzz, Beekeepers 'Fast-Forward Darwinism'

Katherine Perry — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:47:00 +0000

Beekeepers In Massachusetts are taking the mission to save the bees into their own hands.

There has been a dramatic disappearance of honeybees across the U.S. since 2006. A recent U.S.