Insect X-Men: Helmets help these odd bugs sense electric fields
Monday, July 21, 2025 - 14:41
in Biology & Nature
It’s an ant! It’s a thorn! It’s a treehopper! This group of small insects—comprising about 3200 species around the world—have evolved an extraordinary range of shapes by modifying a structure on their back called a helmet. But the appendage isn’t just for show: It gives these sedentary herbivores the superpower of detecting electric fields , perhaps helping them distinguish friend from foe, researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . “This is very cool!” says Chris Dietrich, an entomologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey who was not involved with the work. “This paper may inject new life into the search for answers to a question that has bedeviled biologists for...