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Leon Neyfakh is the staff writer for Ideas. Amanda Katz is the deputy Ideas editor. Stephen Heuser is the Ideas editor. Kevin Hartnett is a writer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His last article for Ideas was about choosing Congress by lottery. Guest blogger Simon Waxman is Managing Editor of Boston Review and has written for WBUR, Alternet, McSweeney's, Jacobin, and others.
The Mimic Octopus - Brainiac
Newly Discovered Wasp Species Enslaves Spiders
Photo via Northrup Spiders spend a lot of time crafting their webs in hopes of making a meal out of all manner of winged insect--but a recently discovered species of wasp is found to use the spider's engineering prowess to its own advantage. Through a not yet understood chemical process, the wasps are able to, quite literally, enslave the unsuspecting spiders to build a nest for their larva, and after all that hard work, become their first meal. Sure, it seems pretty dastardly, but researchers say it's evolution.According to a study published by a Brazilian team in the Journal of Natural History , and reported by Correio Braziliense , the newly discovered wasp species, a member of the Hymenoptera family, is able to control some spiders through a chemical process that remains a mystery. How the Wasp Enslaves the Spider A female wasp will target a spider and immobilize it with an unknown venom injected into its mouth--at which point the wasp lays its eggs on the spider's abdomen.
Nairobi - Mit ihrem Hunger helfen sie dabei, den Hunger der Welt zu stillen. Weil Bienen auf Eiweiß angewiesen sind, tragen sie - sozusagen nebenbei - Pollen von Pflanze zu Pflanze. Als Bestäuber sichern die kleinen Insekten damit das Überleben von Wild- und Kulturpflanzen - und damit unsere Nahrungsgrundlage. Doch seit Jahren leiden die Bienenvölker, vor allem Europa und Nordamerika wurden von einem großflächigen Bienensterben heimgesucht.
