Insects & Invertebrates
These are the most dangerous caterpillars in the world – one even contains enough venom to kill a human
Caterpillars might look like harmless, fuzzy little creatures, but some pack a surprisingly dangerous punch
Australian ‘insect detectives’ discover stick insect as long as a toothbrush in Queensland rainforest
A 16cm-long stick insect found in Northern Queensland's Mabi Rainforest in one of two new species revealed in a recent study.
"Those that injured their legs above the femur had their whole legs lopped off." From undertakers to surgeons, 10 strange jobs that keep a colony running
Ants are more than just tiny insects—they even have specialized jobs that rival the human workforce
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Two tiny new species discovered with their own built-in front doors – they can close them and shut themselves away
The snails were found in Komarnica Canyon, Montenegro, which is thought to be full of species currently unknown to science
Think your home is free of bugs? Think again! The average US house is home to a whopping 93 different species
We are not alone in our homes
"Prey are suspended in the air in a tangled web of tunnels and trip-wires." 10 most terrifying spider webs built by some of the deadliest spiders on Earth
A web is not just a home to a spider - oftentimes, it's also a trap.
Why jellyfish can still sting when they're dead
Peter Richardson explains how jellyfish are able to sting you even if they're dead
The giant woodlouse that measures 3cm long and lives on the coast
Meet the giant woodlouse (sea slater) that can only survive in the damp zone between land and sea
"But as he matures and the lure of sex calls, he takes risks…"
The pea crab is a small, parasitic pea-sized crab that’s most content living inside its bivalve host. Nick Baker explains more
It looks like it's wearing a sequinned jumpsuit and has a penchant for fighting and getting 'all shook up'
Meet the Elvis worm, a deep-sea creature with iridescent scales, dazzles with its shimmering armour
"The uninvited guest sinks its syringe-like mouthparts into the meaty organ and begins draining it of blood." Discover the gruesome tongue-eating parasite
What’s grosser than gross? A parasite that eats your tongue – and then lives in your mouth, as your tongue. Meet the nightmarish Cymothoa exigua.
"If it were human-sized, its speed would equate to 800kmph – faster than a speeding bullet"
Did you know the fastest insect runs at 2.5m per second? Pretty impressive says David Butvill
Wasp spider found in North West England for the first time
The brightly coloured spider is an exciting find, but its presence in the north of England highlights a wider problem.
How do bees make honey? The astonishing process that turns nectar into liquid gold
Do you ever think about how bees make the tasty honey you enjoy on your toast? Stuart Blackman gives a step-by-step guide to this rather sophisticated production line
It looks like a snake, has a snake’s eyes and even flashes a forked, snake-like tongue – but this is far from a snake
This orange creature has one remarkable trick to keep it safe
“They burrow their way into open wounds and bodily openings, such as the ears, laying hundreds of eggs." Human flesh-eating parasite returns to the US
After a successful eradication in the 1950s, this screwworm has made its way back to the US.
Do any animals hold funerals?
Humans are not the only animals that mark death – across the animal kingdom, scientists have documented behaviours that seem remarkably similar to mourning, vigils and even funerals.
"In a gloriously tragic act of self-sacrifice, she stops eating and dies of starvation before her young hatch".
Mother octopuses never meet their babies, as they stop eating and die of starvation before the young hatch. However, that’s probably a good thing.
"Imagine a small chipolata sausage to which some joker has tastelessly attached a mole cricket" 12 weirdest insects on the planet
The insect world is definitely a weird one - and there are some that are even weirder than the others. Discover some of the world's strangest and bizarrest insects
"She may eat parts of her own arms to essentially accelerate her own demise." 8 females with the worst, most horrible, lives ever
In the animal kingdom, it's often females that wield the power - but that doesn't mean they have it easy.
They might look like splodges of bird poop, but these white blotches are actually living animals – and they can’t move
Spiders weave sticky, deadly webs to trap prey, so how do they avoid getting stuck themselves?
Just how spiders avoid getting stuck in their own webs involves complex anti-adhesion mechanisms, says Helen Smith
"They have the ability to supercool. They lower the freezing point of fluids in their cells, so that ice crystals don’t form"
Nick Baker takes a look at one of our toughest and fascinating winter insects, the snow flea
Can spiders really be beautiful? Definitely! Meet the world's prettiest, most stunning spiders, from bright blue tarantulas to vivid peacock spiders
We take a look at the most colourful members of the spider family
