Bug Bytes

Bug Bytes

By Glenn MarangeloScienceNatural Sciences
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Bug Bytes episodes

  • Tongue-Eating Louse
    Looking much like a roly-poly, a unique species of marine isopod is known to parasitize eight species of fish. And while it is not uncommon for fish to have parasites, this species is the only known pest to replace a host’s organ. Which organ, you might ask? We present, the tongue-eating louse.
    3 min
  • Whirligig Beetles
    When trying to avoid predators or find prey it’s helpful to look in all directions. But when you’re an animal that spends a lot of time at the surface of the water, it’s hard to do both at the same time …that is, unless you’re a whirligig beetle.
    3 min
  • Hummingbird Clearwing Moths
    There are five different species of Hummingbird Clearwing Moths in the United States. Unlike most moths that are active at night, these members of the sphinx moth family fly during the day, making them much easier to observe than their nocturnal relatives.
    3 min
  • Painted Lady Butterflies
    When it comes to butterfly migration in the United States, the species best known for making long distance treks is the Monarch. But there is another, much more globally widespread butterfly whose migration largely flies under the radar – the Painted Lady.
    3 min
  • Wasp Deception
    Pollination is a game of give and take …insects visiting flowers for the reward of nectar and plants using insects to transport pollen for fertilization. They both benefit from the interaction. But that’s not always the case.
    3 min
  • Zombie Ladybug
    Dinocampus coccinellae is a species of parasitic wasp that focuses on adult female ladybugs. Smaller than the ladybug host, the female wasp will use her needle-like ovipositor to inject an egg into the lady beetle’s body.
    3 min
  • Anteater Scarab Beetle
    For insects, it’s not quite that easy. So what’s the next best thing? Have yourself delivered to your food. After a long day, on a night when nobody is in the mood to cook, you might decide to order for delivery.
    3 min
  • Taking One for the Team
    An international team of researchers at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic found a species of termite that takes the act of self-sacrifice to the extreme.
    3 min
  • Snail Shell Spider
    Called the “Snail Shell Spider”, this species of huntsman spider has devised a unique strategy to secure a room with a view.
    3 min

About Bug Bytes

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As described by Edward O. Wilson — perhaps the best known American biologist, researcher, naturalist and author — invertebrates are "The Little Things That Run the World." And indeed they do, in so…