Modern dragonflies have incredible aerobatic abilities - and they need them if they are to catch small manouverable prey in mid-air. Their secret lies in sophisticated wing design, but evolutionary aerodynamacists have found that it’s all been seen before.
When the forest around them is cleared for agriculture, Amazonian trees like Dinizia excelsa are no longer within easy reach of vital pollinating insects. Effectively isolated from others of their species, these sex-starved giants live long, but reproductively empty, lives - or so it was assumed.
Some animals convince predators to look for a meal elsewhere by making themselves taste unpleasant, either by manufacturing foul-tasting substances or by eating other plants or animals that contain poisons. Now new research has shown that chemical defences can also be sexually transmitted between partners.
The antlion is a seriously ferocious predator. These fearsome creatures bury themselves in the sand, at the bottom of a pit with sloped sides, waiting for you to stumble by. If you start to slip into its trap, the antlion will hurl sand at you until you slide helplessly into its gaping jaws, which will drag you under the surface, kicking and screaming, at which point you will be drained of your body fluids. Not a nice way to go.
Bumblebees
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