Maybe science has misunderstood the dining style of big monarch butterfly caterpillars. What insect watchers have called defense against the toxic latex a milkweed plant oozes may not be avoidance at ...

Of all the animal on the planet, insects are among the most feared and reviled. Some sting (wasps, and bees) and some bite (mosquitoes, horse flies, and blackflies). Others are agricultural pests or ...

Monarch butterflies and their close relatives thrive on poisonous milkweed, thanks to genetic mutations that block the effects of the plant’s toxins while allowing the poisons to accumulate in the ...

Scientists now understand how certain animals can feed on picturesque, orange monarch butterflies, which are filled from head to abdomen with milkweed plant toxins. In high enough concentrations, ...

As Eric Carle once wrote, there was a “very hungry caterpillar.” It hatched from an egg and began its search for food. After about two weeks, it became a big, fat caterpillar — 2,000 times its ...

Of all the animal on the planet, insects are among the most feared and reviled. Some sting (wasps and bees) and some bite (mosquitoes, horse flies and blackflies). Others are agricultural pests or ...