Author Archives: elsa
In the News: Peacock Mystique
from American Scientist July-August 2011 If peahens (Pavo cristatus) tally eyespots on their suitors’ tail feathers, they do a sloppy job. Also in this issue’s news roundup: Cave bears and ancient art, “six-winged” insects and more. Read more pdf
Himba Music from Namibia
Psychologist Disa Sauter studies how culture influences the way people express emotions such as disgust, fear and pleasure. Sometimes her work takes her to remote communities. In this segment, she recalls a musical experience in a Himba village in Namibia. … Continue reading
A Cheap Imitation Is Sometimes Best
from ScienceNOW Daily News June 21, 2011 The animal kingdom is full of fakes: tasty butterflies that look like toxic ones, harmless flies that look like bees, and spiders that look like ants, to name a few. It’s all a … Continue reading
Dying Generously
from American Scientist May-June 2011 Suicide is an evolutionary conundrum. Single-celled organisms regularly kill themselves in reaction to stresses they might have survived, but it’s not obvious why natural selection permits such volatile behavior. Read more pdf
In the News: Shivering in Europe
from American Scientist May-June 2011 Early humans lived in Europe for 700,000 long cold years before they mastered fire. Also in this issue’s news roundup: Grapes need to have more sex, methane monsoons on Titan, and more. Read more pdf
Ant Video
These videos show Camponotus femoratus ants interacting with Peperomia macrostachya seeds. (The small ants are Crematogaster levior, which live in the same nests with Ca. femoratus.) Ultimately, the Ca. femoratus carry the seeds back to their nests and the plants … Continue reading
Interview: Hanging Around in the Rainforest
In a reversal of roles, I’m on somebody else’s podcast…talking about my own research: “Insect biologist Elsa Youngsteadt explains to Curiouser & Curiouser host Jai Ranganathan why tropical ants create gardens up in trees.” Click here to check out that … Continue reading
Bats Gorge During Exercise
from American Scientist March-April, 2011 Like marathoners nursing packets of sweet energy gel, foraging bats have to nourish their hard-working muscles on the go. But recent experiments reveal that flying bats can quickly refuel not only with sugary foods, but … Continue reading
In the News: Honeybee Cooties
from American Scientist March-April 2011 For bees and wasps, flowers may be as germy as a kindergarten sandbox. Also in this issue’s news roundup: The Vikings might have taken a Native American woman back to Iceland. Data collected in the … Continue reading
Carnivorous Plant Feasts on Bat Dung
from ScienceNOW Daily News 25 January, 2011 A predator that can’t hunt won’t last very long. So when biologists found a carnivorous plant in Borneo that was bad at catching insects, they were puzzled. Just what does it eat to … Continue reading