In the 1830s a German naturalist named Renous was arrested in San Fernando, Chile for heresy. His claim? He could turn caterpillars into butterflies. A few years later, Renous recounted his tale to ...

John E. Woodmansee Photo: Tobacco hornworm on a tomato plant that has been attacked by a parasitic Braconid wasp. The white capsules on its back are the pupal stage of the tiny wasp. Braconid larvae ...

The terms "bug" and "insect" are commonly used interchangeably in everyday language, yet scientifically, they refer to distinct categories of creatures. Insects belong to the vast class Insecta, ...

New University of Washington research shows that a regulatory gene named broad, known to be necessary for development of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis, also is key for the maturation of ...

The transformation of metamorphosis evolved gradually over hundreds of millions of years. It involves both genetics and natural selection pressures on species. This insect is studied by scientists to ...

Metamorphosis is a biological process whereby an animal changes from an immature form to an adult form. It involves going through distinct physiological stages, and is seen in some fish, amphibians ...

When a caterpillar hatches from its egg, it spends the first few weeks of its life eating as much as it physically can. Then, it hangs itself upside down from a leaf or stem and sheds its outer skin ...