Insect biology, behavior, identification, and ecological roles. Reuse existing sections where they fit; additional topic depth is optional.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
What is the hardened foam case a praying mantis builds to protect its eggs called?
The foam comes from glands in the mantis's abdomen and hardens into a case that can hold 100 or more eggs.
What job do the youngest worker ants usually do inside the nest?
Young workers begin with brood care, then take on outside jobs like foraging as they age.
Which behavior are female praying mantises best known for?
Females do it only sometimes, and the male's body supplies nutrients that can help her lay more eggs.
What information does a honeybee share with the hive by performing the waggle dance?
The straight run of the dance points toward the food, and its angle from vertical matches the direction from the sun.
Which flower product do honeybees turn into honey?
Bees store nectar in wax comb and fan it with their wings until most of the water evaporates, thickening it into honey.
What do honeybee workers use to build the six-sided cells of their honeycomb?
Six-sided cells stack with no gaps, so a comb holds the most honey using the least wax.
Why are many praying mantises green?
European mantises hatched in cool conditions turn green after a moult in warm sunlight, and experiments showed the ones matching their background survived better.
Praying mantises get their common name from the prayerful position of which body part?
The front legs fold like pocketknives and carry sharp spines that grip captured prey.
Army ants build temporary living nests out of what?
The living nest, called a bivouac, shelters the queen and brood while workers link legs together.
Leafcutter ants don't eat the leaves they cut. What do those leaves feed?
Ants can't digest raw leaves; the fungus breaks the leaves down into food the colony can eat.