Bees have different “personalities”, with some showing a stronger willingness or desire to seek adventure than others, according to a study by entomologists at the University of Illinois.
posted by Trurl on Mar 12, 2012 - 16 comments

The University of Florida Book of Insect Records (UFBIR) names insect champions and documents their achievements. [more inside]
posted by zamboni on Nov 30, 2011 - 9 comments

The San Francisco Street Food Festival is an annual Summer event in the Mission District that features around 60 different Bay Area vendors and is attended by tens of thousands of foodies. This year the usual mainstays were joined by Don Bugito, which served up insect-based dishes and billed itself as the first "PreHispanic Snackeria." When the food truck commences permanent operations this month, it may be the first eatery in the country devoted exclusively to preparations involving insects. But they're not the only entomophagy pioneers in San Francisco, where Bug Cuisine is Booming. So just how tasty are insects? (Via) [more inside]
posted by zarq on Nov 5, 2011 - 30 comments

Busy Bugs: Termite Mounds vs. the Burj Dubai Tower.
posted by homunculus on Sep 30, 2008 - 34 comments

Violent death in the insect world - grisly yet compelling macro photographs of bug-against-bug carnage.
posted by madamjujujive on Sep 8, 2008 - 23 comments

“They’re the ant of all ants...and are moving about half a mile a year.” Crazy Raspberry Ants! (And you might want to check your computer....)
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on May 16, 2008 - 57 comments

Form and Pheromone - truly lovely beetle mosaics and insect art. (via recogedor) Previously: Living Jewels.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 3, 2007 - 20 comments

EEEK! (YouTube) [more]
posted by madamjujujive on Jul 31, 2006 - 79 comments

Meet punk, Don, Kawaii, Satan's Little Helper, and the incredibly colorful cast of characters that populate photographer Igor Siwanowicz's world. (via Mira y Calla)
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 4, 2006 - 19 comments

The Brood is Back. No, not that Brood. This brood.
posted by grabbingsand on May 7, 2004 - 14 comments

Bug Portraits by Frank Phillips. ". . .I always keep in mind the goal of capturing the bug from an angle that we humans don't normally see...and I believe that it shows in my work."
posted by Feisty on Mar 9, 2004 - 15 comments

Chinese cricket culture encompasses a 2000 year history of both singing insects and fighting crickets. The tradition continues today, with some crickets selling at market for $1200. A visitor to Shanghai explains the allure of crickets as pets while others see their value as fearsome fighters. Cricket boxes and cages make interesting collectibles.
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 15, 2003 - 16 comments

If a young worker attempts to reproduce, she is spreadeagled by her fellows and kept immobilized for hours or even days. At the end of her sentence, the best she can hope for is a reduction in rank and loss of reproductive capability. Often she is mutilated or killed.

Fascinating article about police-state behavior in insects, complete with information on mutant anarchist worker bees, ant-led coups, and parasitic self-cloning bees. (via BoingBoing.)
posted by Vidiot on Aug 6, 2003 - 5 comments

Cultural Entomology. The role of insects in human cultures from every continent :- religion, art, literature, entertainment, and as pets.
Related :- insect drawings used as teaching aids; insects as food.
posted by plep on Apr 8, 2003 - 15 comments

Some of them look like the spawn of Devil; others, however, resemble fruit-shaped fridge magnets or a beautiful jewel from Ancient Egypt, and some are so bizarre they simply defy any description. You can also think of them as natural Rorschach inkblots (consider this, this, this and this) or even Moore/Gibbons' Rorschach (compare). Those are some of Poul Beckmann's 128 hi-res, magnified, close-up studio pics of beetles, complete with binomial nomenclature and the critters' origins. via Clifford Pickover's weirdlog, RealityCarnival
posted by 111 on Jan 26, 2003 - 24 comments

The Twisted Path of Stick Insect Evolution Challenges the Theory of Evolution
Sort of... In an article on the cover of today's Nature, research on the evolution of stick insects is announced. But depending on the news source, this is either a strong challenge to the theory of evolution, or a mild revision. So who's right?
posted by rschram on Jan 16, 2003 - 48 comments

ICKY!
Sometimes I think I made the right Career move. People complain about having to write papers, study, and do too much home work, but, how would you like to hold your hand in a cage full of mosquitoes to determine if they are ready to feed in order to get your degree (in entomology)?
Don't worry, the mosquitoes used in the tests are raised in captivity and do carry not any diseases suchas the West Nile Virus.
If you're like me, you asked yourself, What do entomologists do?
posted by Blake on Aug 9, 2002 - 6 comments

Bug Dicks.
posted by brownpau on Nov 2, 2001 - 11 comments