Category: Eco Tonics

Till now, we have known, humans and animals (including insects) have survival instincts. Its not just grit, its instinct. Sometime or the other, in our lives, we have experienced it too. But ever heard of plants displaying this survival strategy?

It has been widely known for some time that queen bees make use of acoustical signals for communication amongst themselves. Now researchers have discovered an assortment of behavioural cues and other social signals that goes on within the waxy walls.

Sexual cannibalism is very common in some species like the male coin spiders. Black widow and Redback female spiders are famous for slaying their partners soon after mating. The male widow spiders that are considerably smaller in size, are often seen voluntarily offering themselves to be eaten, with a hope that the female will give birth to his offspring. Sometimes, the males reaching out females are mistaken for prey and are killed even before copulation occurs.

According to a latest research conducted at Kyoto University, lone male termites that do not happen to find a female mate often end up forming homosexual pair. Such pairing gives male Japanese termites better chances of survival. Just like a couple they are seen making nests and sharing resources.

Animal camouflage is a very common technique. And when it comes to an open sea, things ought to look slightly difficult. However, for fishes like herring, mackerel, and sardines this is not the case. These fishes have a smart camouflage technique, the shimmering silver scales, that can even beat the super sight.

Humans do not welcome cockroaches. Their existence is often questionable and creepy especially to women folk. But what if you are told that the milk produced by the cockroaches are going to be the next super food of tomorrow. Bizarre!

Turtle shell, conventionally, is considered an outer covering for protection and lodging for the animal. Till date, turtle is the only living vertebrate with such a sturdy broad ribbed proto shell. However, recent study of fossil turtles, which happen to be around 260- million-year-old, has revealed that the hard and rigid protective structure of the animal is not adapted for protection rather for digging underground. Dr. Lyson, the scientist behind this discovery said that during the early (evolutionary) phase, birds’ feathers too were not employed for flying. Nevertheless, birds starting…

Scientists studying ants have always wondered how ants living in huge colonies, identify other ants belong to same colony or is an intruder or enemy ant. Researchers from The University of California, Riverside have found an answer to this question. They have found that ants communicate via diverse hydrocarbon chemicals present on the their outer shells (or cuticles).