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Female black widow spiders often mate with and eat only one male – but in one species the female will mate again, meaning males die even though they may not father offspring
William Mullins / Alamy Honeybees produce a warning pheromone when parasites infect their hives – and the social stress caused by the warning might be more devastating than the parasites themselves. A one-cell fungus called Nosema ceranae can infect the guts of individual bees, causing a disease called nosemosis. Similar to tapeworm infections in humans, nosemosis apparently makes bees hungrier and reduces their resistance to pesticides and probably viruses, but it is not particularly fatal. Yet, nosemosis is one of the top reasons honeybee populations are on the decline. Advertisement Chr...
Honeybees produce a warning pheromone when relatively harmless parasites infect their hive – and the social stress this chemical causes might lead the colony to collapse
Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images When a person looks at their mobile phone, around half the people nearby will start checking their phones within 30 seconds. Such a rapid, automatic response is probably due to people mimicking each other without realising it – what scientists call the “chameleon effect”. While such mimicry is thought to have evolved in human societies to help people bond with each other, mimicking mobile phone use might have the opposite effect, says Elisabetta Palagi at the University of Pisa, Italy. Advertisement “We have a need to follow the norms imposed on us by peopl...
ADVERTISEMENT How to use slow-feed haynets and slow feeders without endangering your horse’s limbs, hooves, and teeth If you’re using a slow feeder, it’s probably because you want the best for your horse. You know horses in the wild graze and browse up to 16 hours a day, and you want to offer a way for your horse to have a similar feeding regimen in his domestic environment. Good for you! And all the better for your horse. Occasionally, though, slow feeders create health or welfare issues of their own. It’s important to keep the risks in mind (and mitigate them) as you choose, monitor...