This parasitic cuckoo bird shows cheaters don’t always get ahead

Birds called greater anis that can slip extra eggs into other nests create a natural test…

Climate change could increase foodborne illness by energizing flies

Warmer, more lively house flies could spread more Campylobacter bacteria by landing on more food.

Shutdown aside, Joshua trees live an odd life

Growing only in the U.S. Southwest, wild Joshua trees evolved a rare, fussy pollination scheme.

How black soldier fly larvae can demolish a pizza so fast

When gorging together, fly larvae create a living fountain that whooshes slowpokes up and away.

Male birds’ **** songs may not advertise their brains after all

A biologist backs off an idea he studied for years that the mastery of birdsong is…

This honeybee parasite may be more of a fat stealer than a bloodsucker

Inventing decoy bee larvae prompts a back-to-basics rethink of a mite ominously named Varroa destructor.

How worm blobs behave like a liquid and a solid

Blobs of worms flow like a fluid, plop like a solid and fascinate scientists.

Green darner dragonflies migrate a bit like monarch butterflies

Some dragonflies do a north-south annual migration that takes at least three generations.

Invasive asexual midges may upset Antarctica’s delicate moss banks

Fast-multiplying insects with earthworm powers have invaded Antarctica, and scientists are worried about how their waste…

Humans wiped out mosquitoes (in one small lab test)

An early lab test of exterminating a much-hated mosquito raises hopes, but is it really such…