Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/blog/smithsonian-tropical-research-institute/RSS feed for Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteenFri, 07 Mar 2025 15:30:00 +0000Bat Salad: First Record of Bats Eating Entire Leaves and Not Spitting Them Outhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-tropical-research-institute/2025/03/07/bat-salad-first-record-of-bats-eating-entire-leaves-and-not-spitting-them-out/Bats are known to chew and spit out leaves, like humans chew and spit out tobacco or coca, but this is the first continuous recording of a bat eating entire leavesFri, 07 Mar 2025 15:30:00 +0000Listen Up! Hungry Bats Emit Food Calls to Family and Friendshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-tropical-research-institute/2025/02/21/listen-up-hungry-bats-emit-food-calls-to-family-and-friends/Spix’s disc-winged bats shrieked when they were first shown mealworms, a new food for them. Were they alarmed, or were they communicating their excitement to their fellow bats?Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:00 +0000A Lifelong Passion for Tropical Insects Leads to Generous Supporthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-tropical-research-institute/2025/02/05/a-lifelong-passion-for-tropical-insects-leads-to-generous-support/A fund set up by STRI staff scientist Annette Aiello intends to provide long-term funding for the preservation and management of the insect collection at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, highlighting the importance of reference collections for the advancement of scienceWed, 05 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000