A bumblebee given a two-step puzzle box, one that required rotating a red tab before a second disc could be pushed aside to reach a sugar reward, had no prior experience with either step. Given enough ...

We've all noticed how much insects love to fly around lights. But why? Many answers have been proposed; some have suggested that insects have a direct attraction to the light itself; others have said ...

Even the humble fruit fly craves a dose of the happy hormone, according to a new study from the University of Sussex which shows how they may use dopamine to learn in a similar manner to humans.

We humans are versatile and accomplished navigators, but insects might have navigation skills that are even better. For them, it's literally a matter of life and death—and that's why we decided to ...

To adapt to their environment and learn from past experiences, animals need to learn to associate stimuli in their environment (e.g., a particular sound or scent) and the rewards or threats that these ...

Differences in genes and brain wiring between forest and desert flies could help explain how climate change impacts insects. Scientists have shown how insect populations, foundational to food chains ...

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Birds and the Bees. Insects experience the world very differently from humans--but they still have a lot to teach us. Behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk explores ...