A bear tears into an ant nest to consume the juvenile ants within. My work shows that black bears can benefit plants by eating ants, which may be important for maintaining the ecosystems in which these interaction occur. Below are some links to press highlighting this research and bringing attention to the conservation importance of … More What bears do in the woods…
Spittlebugs (Clastoptera sp.) produce frothy wastes that are slurped up by predatory insects, such as this wasp and lady beetle. During my time at the Carrizo Plain, CA, I made some novel observations of predatory insects consuming the waste products of spittlebugs. As depicted above, spittlebugs produce masses of bubbles from liquid wastes resulting … More Spittlebugs may facilitate a plant-arthropod community
