They may not be black and yellow but these neotropical orchid bees might be the smelliest stars of the bee world! The males of these iridescent bees collect perfumes  from the flowers they visit which they then display to females. The exact perfume blend is highly species specific–males shop around for just the right combination….

Did you know? Phoresis is the scientific word for the cutest type of symbiosis in which one animal rides another one like a horse! This “horse” race may be a slow one though with contestants like a moth riding a sloth and a beetle riding a shrew. Sketch and fact contributed by Amelia Munson Sources:…

Still looking for the perfect date for Valentine’s Day? Maybe this is the year to take a leaf from the female Komodo dragon’s book. When there are no males around,  female Komodo dragons can still produce fertile eggs! When scientists first documented this they thought that they were storing sperm from previous interactions with males…

Did you know? The nine-banded armadillo nearly always gives birth to identical quadruplets! If she has a hard time telling them apart, don’t blame her: she has her hands full! Fact and sketch contributed by Amelia Munson Sources: Stockard, C. R. (1921). A probable explanation of polyembryony in the armadillo. The American Naturalist, 55(636), 62-68….

Did you know? According to lore, in Australia, Santa Claus gives Dasher, Dancer and all the other reindeer a break in favor of “Six White Boomers” or kangaroos! And they probably serve him well–although not white, male red kangaroos can cover almost 30 feet in one hop! Sketch and fact contributed by Amelia Munson ***…