Sunbathing helps these bugs stay healthy
Friday, August 24, 2012 - 15:30
in Biology & Nature
Sunbathing may be healthy -- at least for one group of North American insects, the Western boxelder bug -- that apparently uses the activity to fight off germs. The bugs are known to group together in sunlit patches and release monoterpenes, strong-smelling chemical compounds that help protect the bugs by killing germs on their bodies.