520 Million Year Old Bug-Like Creature May Have Had the First Modern Brain
Scientists say that the recently discovered 520 million year old insect brain, the oldest brain ever discovered in an arthropod, is surprisingly complex for its age, and may be the earliest example on record of a modern brain structure.
Hailed as a “transformative discovery,” researchers said that the 3-inch-long fossilized extinct arthropod found in Yunnan Province, China, shows that insects evolved to have complex brains significantly earlier than previously thought.
Researchers said that the fossilized brain, which looks very similar to brains of modern insects, may provide a missing link that offers new insight on the evolutionary history of arthropods, a group of invertebrates that includes insects, spiders and crustaceans.
Gruesome parasitic wasps surprisingly diverse
The large number of wasps within the Central and South American forests indicates that they play a significant role in the breaking down of dead wood.
lost-and-searching-in-america:
Is this a mosquito? No. It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in production, funded by the US Government. It can be remotely controlled and is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on your skin.
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(Source: the-flame-imperishable)
Why did giant insects shrink? You can thank dinosaurs
Prehistoric pests proved to be no match for the winged reptiles, and thus they grew smaller to compete for different resources.
Why do we so often refer to insects as “pests”??? They provide so many vital services to our ecosystems… And why would “Mother Nature” Network use the term? Seems like some cognitive dissonance to me…
Technoccult: Bees Are "Thrill Seekers" - Does That Mean Insects Have Personalities?
From Wired UK:
The researchers found that thrill-seeking is not limited to humans and other vertebrates. The brains of honeybees that were more likely than others to seek adventure exhibited distinct patterns of gene activity in molecular pathways known to be associated with…
