Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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When the Moon Obscures the Sun, How Does Life on Earth Respond?

From fish to flamingos, here’s what scientists know — and what they hope to find out — about how plants and animals react to a total solar eclipse

A white, fluffy dog stands in front of a brown mural with other dogs

NMNH in Review: Top Discoveries by Museum Scientists in 2023

A blue bird with white and grey spots lies against a white background.

Celebrate the Holiday Season with the Museum’s Stunning Collection of Blue Specimens

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Meet the Scientist Studying the Scary Speed of Spider Jaws

A shelf of brown boxes with white bones peeking out of the top has small black beetles crawling all over them.

Meet the Smithsonian’s Spookiest Staffers: Flesh-Eating Beetles

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A Bounty of Butterflies Arrives at the Smithsonian

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How Leafcutter Ants and Other Culinary Creatures Prepare a Feast

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Meet the Scientist Who Knows the Buzz About the Northern Giant Hornet

Pages and jars of preserved plant specimens cover a counter in the foreground while cabinets full of pages of preserved plants line the background.

Iconic Photos Give Rare Glimpse of Smithsonian's Storage Rooms

Close-up of a black and yellow hornet preserved on a pin

What Mummified Shrews and Giant Hornets Reveal About Biodiversity

A small yellow frog with big eyes

Meet Seven Species Named After Musicians

A humpback whale breaches the surface of the ocean on a sunny day as three birds fly overhead.

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries From 2021

Mosquitoes are more than blood-sucking menaces. They also pollinate flowers, have intricate sex lives and eat other disease-carrying mosquitoes. (Lawrence Reeves)

The Secret Lives of Mosquitoes, the World’s Most Hated Insects

The world’s smallest moth, the pygmy sorrel moth, has a wingspan as short as 2.65 millimeters. It belongs to a group called the leaf miner moths, which could become problematic pests for more farmers as global temperatures rise. (Patrick Clement, CC BY 2.0)

Who's the Smallest of Them All? Mini Moth Gets a Big Title

There are about 160,000 species of moths and butterflies worldwide, each with unique characteristics. (Smithsonian)

Seven Bizarre Moths to Celebrate National Moth Week

Leafcutter ants can be found across Central and South America. They build gigantic, subterranean nests with complex societies. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

Thinking of Eating Cicadas? Here are Six Other Tasty Insects to Try Too

Through research on living and preserved fungus-farming ants, entomologists are learning more about the insects’ deep connection to their environment and how that relationship might evolve in response to a changing climate. (Smithsonian)

How Fungus-Farming Ants Fertilize Climate Research

The periodical cicada species, Magicicada septendecim, will erupt from the ground this spring in the mid-Atlantic region. The last time the species from Brood X appeared for their cyclical mating cycle was in 2004. (ARS Information Staff, USDA)

What to Expect When the Cicadas Emerge This Spring

Entomologist and Collections Manager Dr. Floyd Shockley cares for the 35 million specimens in the Entomology Collection at the National Museum of Natural History. He also studies the diversity, natural history and evolution of fungus feeding beetles. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

Say Hello to the Scientist Caring for Smithsonian's 35 Million Entomology Specimens

The National Museum of Natural History’s 146 million objects and specimens are studied by researchers worldwide who are looking to understand all aspects of the natural world. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

How Museum Collections Advance Knowledge of Human Health

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Inclusive Innovations: An Accessible Natural History Experience

Through the Fossil Grapevine: Museum Scientist Helps Untangle How the Fruit Thrived in the Aftermath of Extinction

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