Young beetles engage in sibling rivalry when competing for parental attention just like children, scientists say
(World News Science)

Sibling rivalry is not just commonplace in human families, but in beetles too. A new study suggests young beetles of the common sexton beetle (Nicrophorus vespilloides) compete with each other when it comes to receiving care from their parents. A team of researchers, led by Darren Rebar, from Emporia State University in Kansas in the US, studied 22 generations of the burying beetle to find out more about family interactions within the species. These insects are seen as `the undertakers of the animal world` as they bury dead and decaying animals, such as mice and small birds, and, even more gruesomely, feed on their corpses. Larvae of the burying beetle...