[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FDkJZCMuE[/youtube]
A robot the size of a fly that is able to perform the agile maneuvers of the ubiquitous insects has been created bu scientists in the United States. This “robo-fly”, built from carbon fiber, weighs a fraction of a gram and has super-fast electronic “muscles” to power its wings.
Continue reading… “World’s smallest flying robot takes off”
Since he was a child, Russian artist Vadim Zaritsky has loved and collected butterflies. He knows many other collectors and it saddened him to see them throw away damaged butterfly bodies. Then he found a creative way of recycling them. Zaritsky uses the wings to make collages: (Pics)
Continue reading… “Russian artist makes collages from butterfly wings”
Assassin bug
The assassin bug is less than a centimeter in length and that is something for which, quite possibly, we can be truly grateful! The bug is found in Malaysia and has a trick up its sleeve once it has finished its dinner. It attaches the empty carcases of its victims on its back – a ploy thought to be an attempt to avoid becoming a victim itself. (Photos)
Continue reading… “Assassin bug carries victims on its back to fend off enemies”
Imidacloprid is in a lot of commonly used products.
The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)…
Continue reading… “Use of common pesticide, Imidacloprid, linked to Bee Colony Collapse”
Water strider inspires super-buoyant material.
Among the lightest solid materials in existence are Aerogels, and they are created by replacing the liquid component of a gel with a gas – this results in their extremely low density, and has earned them the nickname of “frozen smoke.” Now, scientists have created a new type of aerogel that is inspired by the feet of the water strider. The material is reportedly so buoyant, that a boat made from one pound (454 grams) of it could carry about 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of cargo.
Continue reading… “Insect inspires super-buoyant aerogel”
Two-and-a-half inch monster has jaws longer than its legs.
A new species of wasp discovered on the Indonesian island Sulawesi is two-and-a-half inches long, and has jaws so vast that its discoverer admits, ‘I don’t know how it can walk.’ (Pics)
Continue reading… “‘King of Wasps’ – giant new species of wasp discovered in Indonesia”
The Harvard Monolithic Bee (or “Mobee”) pops up within an assembly scaffold,
which performs more than 20 origami assembly folds.
A new technique inspired by elegant pop-up books and origami will soon allow clones of robotic insects to be mass-produced by the sheet.
Devised by engineers at Harvard, the ingenious layering and folding process enables the rapid fabrication of not just microrobots, but a broad range of electromechanical devices…
Continue reading… “New “pop-up” technique spawns robotic insects”
Researchers are a step closer to finding a reliable power source for the bug-borne sensors.
Scientists have been pushing hard to outfit robobugs, or some may call then insect cyborgs, with tiny electronic sensors–saying these insect-machine mash-ups could prove invaluable in applications ranging from search-and-rescue to espionage. (Video)
Continue reading… “Cyborg insect power breakthrough”
Scientists created the monster ants in the laboratory by activating ancient ancestral genes.
Monster ‘supersoldier’ ants with huge heads and jaws have been created by activating ancient genes. Scientists believe the monster ants may be a genetic throwback to an ancestor that lived millions of years ago. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Monster supersoldier ants created by genetic scientists”
“Zombie” fly parasite causing decline of honeybee population.
A pile of dead bees was supposed to become food for a newly captured praying mantis. Instead, the pile of bees ended up revealing a previously unrecognized suspect in colony collapse disorder a mysterious condition that for several years has been causing declines in U.S. honeybee populations, which are needed to pollinate many important crops. This new potential culprit is a bizarre and potentially devastating parasitic fly that has been taking over the bodies of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Northern California.
Continue reading… “Parasitic flies attack honeybees turning them into zombies”
WonderLand
Photographer Nadav Bagim (aka AimishBoy) is an Israel-based 30-year-old student who has created a beautiful series called Wonderland using insects he found in his apartment or on plants outside his window. (Pics)
Continue reading… “WonderLand – amazing macrophotography of insects by Nadav Bagim”
A former park ranger from America found the heaviest ever recorded giant weta on New Zealand’s Little Barrier Island.
Mark Moffett, a former park ranger, has revealed how he spent two days tracking down a giant insect on a remote New Zealand island – and got it to eat a carrot out of his hand.
Continue reading… “World’s heaviest insect weighs 3 times more than a mouse”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.