Insects & Invertebrates
Insects lack the vital organ needed to breathe so how on earth do they survive?
Here's exactly how insects breathe without lungs
"Its venom feels like it’s been inflicted by a gun shot." It might look harmless but don't be fooled as it delivers the world's most painful sting, leaving you in agony for 24 hours or more
It may only be 2.5cm but it sure packs a punch. Here's all you need to know about bullet ants
"They hide in the nooks and crannies of our beds, then come out at night to slurp up our blood like a smoothie…" 8 animals that could be in your bed
We like to think that we choose who we share our bedrooms with, yet sometimes, mother nature has other ideas.
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Weird wings, glass bodies and 9,000-mile relay races: Meet the world’s 9 most bizarre butterflies
The insect world is full of weird and wonderful evolutionary designs, and these remarkable species prove that butterflies are far stranger than you might expect
“They shunt the toxic burden to their eggs.” Queen bees have a morbid way of protecting themselves against chemicals
In a beehive, it’s all about survival of the fittest – and it turns out the queen bee will go far to ensure she is the healthiest of them all.
“The victim's muscles go rigid, abdomen, chest and back cramp, then cardiovascular collapse can follow.” 8 most dangerous, deadliest animals in Colorado
Sprawling for a whopping 3.5 million acres of wilderness, the state of Colorado includes habitats ranging from sprawling forests to semi-arid shrublands, and alpine tundra to lowland plains.
'They gorge voraciously on slugs and snails, injecting them with paralysing toxins that break down the tissues, before sucking up their digested remains.'
Despite their stunning display, these insects have a ruthless routine as larvae. Kate Bradbury investigates glow worms
“Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano.” This painful stinging creature makes bizarre nests and defends them by drumming
The warrior wasp has a unique way of defending its nest – before delivering one of the most excruciating stings on the planet
Google wants to release millions of mosquitoes across the US. Here’s why
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has applied for a permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency
“Once they descend into the cave, they trudge 150m in the pitch black, feeling around with their trunks.” 9 weird animals found in caves
What lurks in the dark depths of caves might send shivers down your spine…
Do animals have oral sex?
The behaviour has been observed in animals in the wild – but does it have a biological purpose?
Scientists fed toads barbaric chemical-shooting beetles. What happened next shocked them
The bombardier beetle has an insane defence mechanism. Here's how they do it
"100 million years ago creatures living in a coastal lagoon, fringed by trees, had just had a sexual encounter when they would be entombed forever"
The astonishing 2020 discovery, found fossilised in amber in Myanmar, was hailed as a ‘spectacular find’ by scientists.
"You’ll see a beautiful, delicate, glassy animal. The whole body is encased in a transparent hinged ‘clamshell’ arrangement…"
Nick Baker takes a look Daphnia pulex and how its reproduction strategy helps future generations survive
They spend 17 years hidden beneath the forest floor – then all emerge together in one extraordinary, glorious eruption
The natural phenomenon known as Cicada Prime Day has a fascinating explanation behind it
At 12cm it's the world's largest, most gruesome bug – and can suck the life out of prey many times its size, like drinking one giant protein smoothie
All you need to know about the deadly giant water bug that attacks anything that moves - even humans, hence its nickname 'toe-biter'.
Think you’re seeing a giant, humongous spider? Think again… as all is not what it appears
Meet the puppet master...
"Symptoms involve fever, severe headaches, seizures, and disruption of the sleep cycle and death" 10 most dangerous, deadliest insects on the planet
Small but deadly! From disease spreaders to stingers to voracious swarms, read all about the world’s most deadly and dangerous insects.
Are false widow spiders really a danger to children?
False widow spiders are one of the few spiders in the UK capable of delivering a venomous bite to human, but does that justify all the scaremongering? Matt Shardlow from Buglife explains.
"Unable to break free from their obligatory olfactory pursuit their blind faith impels them to run themselves to exhaustion and eventual death"
"Its scarily large fangs, which are easily strong enough to bite through shoes and pierce skin, can inject venom deadly enough to cause severe illness and death"
Unsurprisingly, the deadliest spider in the world is native to Australia – and requires one victim to take 12 vials of antivenom to survive its lethal bite
Why do some people suffer more bug bites than others?
Meet Britain’s very own tarantula – the purse-web spider, complete with huge fangs
Does Britain have tarantulas? Yes says Nick Baker, or at least a spider that belongs to the same family. Meet the purse-web spider
“There were hundreds crawling across the trail.” Huge, hairy animals surround stunned hiker in Texas desert
Tamara headed to a Texan national park with the hope of spotting a black bear – but stumbled across something more ominous
