A blue butterfly died out in Britain 30 years ago because of disruptions to a life cycle that includes pretending to be an ant, according to a recently published study that points to smarter ways to protect wildlife.

"It only took the grass growing 0.4 to 0.8 inch taller for the species of ant it relied upon to be replaced by another," picked by bingo 5 months ago

The rare El Segundo blue butterfly is back. Once relegated to a few small and fragile reserves, the nearly extinct butterfly with electric blue wings has expanded its territory to take up residence along the bluffs of a popular beach south of the Los Angeles International Airport. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Ants can accomplish a task more rationally than our – multimodal, egg-headed, tool-using, bipedal, opposing-thumbed – selves. This is not the case of humans being "stupider" than ants. Humans and animals simply often make irrational choices when faced with very challenging decisions. picked by kakana 4 months ago

Ingredients –
100 Live Black Ants (avoid red ants, their too spicy)
1 vanilla bean split and seeds scraped out
2 Egg Yolks
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Butter, melted
12 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate picked by sholom22 2 years ago

Butterfly sex is not as elegant an affair as you might think. It seems that male monarch butterflies conduct an all-out sperm war based on a crude measure of how much sperm is stored inside a female from a previous mating. picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

Modeled after the workings of a real ant colony, scientists have created 'digital ants' that can protect your computer from viruses and worms. picked by Ankabout 1 month ago

Ants from an attacking colony will come up to inspect them, and they’ll be curled up just like a dead ant. Then moments later they uncurl and walk away. picked by doggylives 2 years ago

Scientists have been studying how ants behave in colonies and have found that they willingly plug "potholes" with their bodies, testing the holes first to see what size ant is needed, then allowing the colony to march right over them for the greater good! picked by BrownTrout 3 years ago

Trap-jaw ants bite with a force of over 300 times their own bodyweight. Uninvited visitors to a nest of trap-jaw ants can expect a vicious response. picked by Jaxomlotus 3 years ago

Tiny radio transmitters were fitted to ants by scientists to study their house-hunting habits. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

A bunch of ants devour a dead gecko from flesh to bone in a matter of a hours. Pretty cool time lapse. picked by lostsoul135 1 year ago

Ants! I understand they are also good chocolate coated. picked by Bornbad 1 year ago

Next time you see an army of ants scurrying around, bear in mind that they may be following orders.

For scientists have shown that the insects talk to each other and are more intelligent than anyone ever realised.

They discovered that ants communicate by stroking a natural 'washboard' on their abdomen with a body part that resembles a plectrum. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

The name alone is enough to induce a shudder: the Asian needle ant. picked by Bornbad 12 months ago

Photographer Kjell Sandved has made it his life's work to capture them and create this amazing butterfly alphabet, with every letter from A to Z and every number from 1 to 9. picked by MissWinkle 2 years ago

MEXICO CITY - Satellite images show illegal loggers have clear-cut large swathes of trees in the heart of a monarch butterfly reserve in Mexico, threatening the entire population with extinction, according to a leading researcher. picked by bevissimo 2 years ago

Army ants tired of potholes take one for the team, throwing their bodies into rough spots to make a smoother road for their sisters. picked by AutumnLotus 3 years ago

These destructive little varmints cause 6 billion dollars worth of damage a year in the USA alone, not to mention their bites burn like the poisonous flames of hell. Now scientists fight back with an ant-specific virus. picked by VooDooPeacock 3 years ago

I couldn't tell where this video was actually taking place but it is a pretty bizarre annual festival. Some guys dressed like clowns run through the streets whipping people with sticks with festivities culminating in a shower of fire ants! Sounds like fun huh? picked by BrownTrout 3 years ago

Life really stinks for Argentine ants. New research shows that while alive, the ants produce two odoriferous chemicals that prevent their compatriots from immediately carting their bodies away to the 'morgue'.
*word of the day...Pupae* picked by Bornbad 7 months ago