The insects tag has no wiki summary.
-2
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0answers
48 views
Do cockroaches eat their shells after moulting? [closed]
I recently witnessed a cockroach eat its shell after it moulted. Do cockroaches always do this?
11
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2answers
501 views
Is it unhealthy to live with cockroaches?
There are a number of cockroaches in my wardrobe where I keep my clothes. I have noticed that the cockroaches haven't done any damage to my clothes. I haven't seen the need to get rid of the ...
1
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0answers
66 views
Are spiders an effective way to prevent moths from destroying old things? [closed]
In this video a woman with ancestry dating back ~700 years asserts that spiders are part of the reason that moths didn't eat the documents and clothing that have been storaged in a trunk for ...
6
votes
1answer
152 views
Can butterflies break off tree branches?
The are some fir tree forests in Mexico that are reputed to have butterfly populations so dense that their collective weight is sufficient to occasionally break off tree branches.
An example of this ...
7
votes
1answer
390 views
Can the rhinoceros beetle carry 100x its own weight?
Intel have posted a twitter pic depicting a rhinoceros beetle carrying 8 ultrabooks (of an unrecognizable brand) with the tagline:
#FACT The Rhinoceros Beetle can lift up to 100x its own weight. ...
6
votes
1answer
938 views
Are ants afraid of chalk and won't cross a chalk line?
Chalk
Keep ants at bay by drawing a line around home entry points. The ants will be repelled by the calcium carbonate in the chalk, which is actually made up of ground-up and compressed shells ...
1
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0answers
119 views
Are ants afraid of the smell of lemon?
From 13 Common Items for Getting Rid of Ants:
Lemons
You don’t need insecticides or ant traps to ant-proof your kitchen. Just give it the lemon treatment. First squirt some lemon juice on ...
5
votes
0answers
102 views
Is Frontline (fipronil) an effective treatment for cat fleas?
Frontline Spot On (active ingredient fipronil) is advertised as a treatment for cat fleas:
Kills fleas within 24 hours
Kills fleas for up to 5 weeks in cats
My mum recently went to her vet ...
6
votes
1answer
612 views
Can a UK house spider survive being hoovered up?
The spider species I'm most interested in is a common UK house spider: Tegenaria duellica.
There are a lot of Q&A/forums where it is suggested that it is possible these spiders can survive being ...
7
votes
1answer
247 views
Do wasps and yellow jackets leave pheremones that attract them to return to old nests?
I decided to ask this question based on the following question a user posted on DIY.
http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/16965/dealing-with-a-wasp-nest
According to the user quoting his local ...
12
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there any evidence of a “mosquito line” above which mosquitos do not travel?
Is there any scientific definition or evidence of such a thing as the mosquito line?
My first apartment in Manhattan was on the 25th floor of the Park Row building in the Financial District. The ...
5
votes
1answer
3k views
Is the smoke from one mosquito coil equal to that of 100 cigarettes?
This article makes the following assertion.
Smoke emitted from one mosquito repellant coil is equivalent to those of 100 cigarettes, thus causing harm to a large number of people in India...
Is ...
10
votes
1answer
867 views
Is the total biomass of ants roughly equal to the total biomass of humans?
According to About.com
The total biomass of all the ants on Earth is roughly equal to the total biomass of all the people on Earth.
Is the above statement just a myth or its in fact real?
Are ...
5
votes
0answers
365 views
Do “yellow”-light bulbs attract fewer bugs than standard bulbs?
I read a article on eHow which claims that that yellow light-bulbs attract fewer bugs.
Replace outdoor lights with "yellow" bulbs which attract fewer bugs than standard outdoor bulbs.
Is it ...
1
vote
0answers
241 views
Do closed closet doors keep moths out?
Some sites suggest that closed doors can keep moths out. Others report that keeping the closet doors closed does not help with moth control. So, does it?
9
votes
1answer
4k views
Were Love Bugs “Engineered” at the University of Florida?
Today while discussing cleaning cars with a co-worker, he mentioned how much he hated driving in Florida because of "Love Bugs" and stated that the "University of Florida researchers genetically ...
5
votes
1answer
794 views
Do dryer sheets repel insects?
I recently asked over on Judaism.SE about how to keep bees away from a Sukkah. I got a reply that suggested that by hanging dryer sheets around, bees would stay away.
I looked around online and seem ...
12
votes
1answer
6k views
Is Vitamin B12 an effective mosquito repellent?
In a question on Travel.SE, a user claimed that Vitamin B12, taken regularly, can be an effective mosquito repellent. Is there any evidence behind this claim?
3
votes
2answers
338 views
Is there any support for the theory that slapping mosquitoes that bite you would only attract more mosquitoes?
I've heard it several times as "common wisdom" that killing mosquitoes that bite you would allegedly release some chemicals that could be sensed by their kin from great distance.
Thus, slapping ...
27
votes
1answer
7k views
Does swatting/killing a bee cause the hive to attack?
I used to hear this all the time when I was growing up. Just ignore bees, don't swat at or try to kill them, because if they die, they'll send a "signal" to the hive that will attract dozens more. ...
13
votes
1answer
4k views
Bumble bees shouldn't be able to fly?
There is a common belief that according to the known laws of physics, bumble bees should not be able to fly.
The quote usually goes something like this:
“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee
...
7
votes
0answers
565 views
Does Marmite keep away mosquitoes?
I saw this rather weak claim in this BBC news article:
Several newspapers, including the Guardian, the Sun and the Daily Telegraph, have claimed the yeasty spread to be the perfect defence against ...
23
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2answers
4k views
Can ants lift 50 times their weight?
I've encountered this one many times over the years, mostly in those "useless facts" books and sites such as the one here.
In fact, it's been one of those bits of trivia I seem to have ...
21
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2answers
3k views
Will a mere touch kill a butterfly?
I've heard many times that touching a butterfly will remove some "special" powder from its wings preventing it to ever fly again, effectively killing it or condemning it to die of starvation.
Example ...
16
votes
3answers
3k views
Does garlic repel mosquitoes?
I have heard claims that garlic repels mosquitoes.
Specifically, this site claims that
Eating a diet heavy in onions and garlic can make you unattractive to mosquitoes.
Is there any evidence ...
35
votes
4answers
3k views
Do you eat a certain number of spiders whilst you sleep?
Over the course of your life time, the average person eats X spider/insects/whatever whilst they are sleeping.
X tends to vary according to who you ask. Is this just an urban legend?
