entomology – The Loh Down On Science

Blind Date

February 14, 2020 Alex Jarnot

Ah, love – is it REALLY blind? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Male bees — you’ve got it rough. You’re born, you mate with a queen, and then you die. But, hundreds of other would-bee suitors are trying to do the same thing! How

Bee Mathletes

September 17, 2019 Jaclyn Beck

What’s smarter than a talking horse? A spelling bee? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Besides making honey, honeybees can communicate with dance, and even count! What CAN’T they do? Scarlett Howard from the Université de Toulouse BEE-searched this question. She tried to train bees

Egg-ceeding Diversity

September 12, 2019 Evelyn Hoover

Medium, large, extra-large – when it comes to eggs, does size matter? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Insect eggs come in all sizes and shapes. Fruit flies lay tiny, pointy eggs. Others, like the many-banded daggerwing butterfly, lay giant round ones — Well, relatively

Zombie Antz

July 30, 2019 Bahareh Sorouri

News flash: Zombies. . . ARE REAL. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying… I don’t mean the human living dead, but troves of zombie ANTS??!! It happens when a parasitic fungus hijacks their brains.The fungus releases chemicals into the ants that compels them to

Towering Termites

July 17, 2019 Chloe Groome

Are your next building contractors. . . TERMITES? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. These pesky bugs are a nightmare for homeowners. But – surprise! Turns out some termites are quite the little architects! African termites build towering skyscrapers out of dirt and termite spit.

Pollen Party

July 10, 2019 Loh Down Staff

Here’s a pollen puzzle: how do bees get more buck for the bang? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Consider bees known as “Buzz pollinators.” They favor plants with very sticky pollen. With their mouths and legs, they grab onto the plant’s anthers – the

Antwater Rafting

July 4, 2019 Loh Down Staff

The ants go rafting one by one. Hoorah! Hoorah! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: No, ants don’t raft one-by-one. Many types of ants are social, and act as a team . . . or in this case a crew! A team of scientists

Spider Sense

June 28, 2019 Albert Soto

As if spiders weren’t scary enough…they’re listening to us, too?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jumping spiders are vicious predators known for their keen eyesight. Not so much for their hearing, because they lack eardrums. But now researchers from Harvard and Cornell have spun

Sweet Bee

June 24, 2019 Krista Fruehauf

What’s the BUZZZZ on BEEZ? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Honey bee populations have majorly declined in recent years. It’s called colony collapse disorder, and its cause has eluded beekeepers and scientists. Until now! Nancy Moran and researchers at University of Texas, Austin found

Baking Bedbugs

May 17, 2019 Albert Soto

The newest gizmo for airport security. . . ovens? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bed bugs have been making a worldwide comeback by evolving pesticide resistance. Gross! How can we stop them?! Enter Catherine Loudon, an entomologist at the University of California, Irvine. She’s