Swarms of Bees

Bees are kind of a big topic for some of us here at ODU.  Over the weekend, I had a swarm of bees in the oak tree in my front yard!  The other people in my household were… less thrilled than was.  Actually, I was thrilled. To me, when a bunch of honeybees swarm, it’s a…

Blue Monkey Balls!

Yep. You read that right. And the picture confirms it. From the album: Timeline Photos By I fucking love science Across the animal kingdom, males can be brightly colored to attract females. Vervet monkeys also fall into this category, but only with their scrotums which are bright blue. However, this coloring comes with a catch:…

Giant, fluorescent pink slugs found near Narrabri

  Giant, fluorescent pink slugs found near Narrabri.   There’s a reason I have a “strange creatures” category of posts. This isn’t the only hot pink creature around, either.  In 2008, a hot pink millipede was named # 3 in the Top 10 New Species of 2007:   So, before you say you won’t eat something…

The Plague of Locusts 2013

Deciphering the Strange Mathematics of Cicadas [Video] In the Hampton Roads area, the plague of locusts predicted for this year hasn’t really started yet–and it probably won’t, since we’re not in the direct path.  I used to discuss locusts and mating cycles in class–a previous textbook offered it as an example. This year is a…

Journal Club: Scarlet macaw genome sequenced | Maniraptora

  Journal Club: Scarlet macaw genome sequenced | Maniraptora.   One of the questions we spend a chapter discussing is what makes a species unique.  We talk about DNA and speciation and chromosome copies.  This research is interesting from an evolutionary perspective, because it shows how the scarlet macaw is different from a chicken: how…