Plants are not entirely at the mercy of their herbivore enemies. Often, chemical defences ensure that the plants are inedible, or even toxic, and as a result insects and other hungry animals steer ...

A study of the unusual digestive system of an ancient group of insects has provided new insights into future biofuel production. Published in Nature Communications, the research reveals that the ...

Despite their abundance, high protein content, low cost, eco-friendliness and gustatory taste, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that only a quarter of the world's population eat ...

Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www ...

Some beetles “drink” using their butts, and scientists are starting to understand how. Red flour beetles, a major agricultural pest, open their anus to get water vapor in the air flowing into the ...

Insects outnumber humans, and indeed almost all animals, in the number of organisms belonging to this class. Scientists say they make up over 950,000 insect species, with about 25,000 being bees, ...

Some plants have evolved fascinating ways to supplement their nutrient intake by trapping and digesting insects. These carnivorous plants have developed specialised mechanisms to capture prey, ...

MR. DIXON'S letter supplies a further illustration of the curious fact that certain insect larvæ are able to feed upon poisonous plants with impunity, and can pass through their digestive system an ...

The degradation of plant defense substances by insect digestive enzymes can influence the insects' preference for certain food plants, a new study now shows for the first time. Scientists studied this ...

Whenever it rains in Kenya, insects fall a like manna which, coincidentally, means 'given for free' in some Bantu dialects. A once common rainy season delicacy in Kenya is the winged termites, which ...