Just lookin' for a home

From: Natural History | Date: September 1, 1998| Author: | Copyright information

Like the boll weevil in the old folk song, a mother goldenrod gall fly is determined to give her young a good start in life.

A parent struggling to stay awake for the 2:00 A.M. feeding of her month-old baby or a tree swallow staring into the gaping mouths of his five featherless pink chicks might be tempted to envy insects, whose parenting duties generally end with the laying of the last egg. But the life of an insect parent, or rather parent-to-be, is not carefree. Ecologists have found that for many insects, actions taken by the mother before the birth of her young are as vital to their ...

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