Your Picks of 2012

This has been a wild first year for The Scorpion and the Frog. I have enjoyed sharing the world of animal physiology and behavior research with you. But even more, I have enjoyed hearing from you about your experiences, thoughts and perspectives.

I gathered data on page visits, comments, and social media attention for The Scorpion and the Frog posts and have determined your top five posts of the year. Here are Your Favorite The Scorpion and the Frog Posts of 2012 (in no particular order).

1. The “Love Hormone” Pageant pits six hormones against one another in a contest for the title of the “Love Hormone”. The "Love Hormone" of 2012 focuses on the big winner (as determined by reader votes), Dopamine!

2. Scientists put the philosophical question, “What Do Animals Think of Their Dead?” to the test. Their results may surprise you!

3. In Snakes Deceive to Get a Little Snuggle, we learn about boy snakes pretending to be sexy girl snakes, all in the hopes of a good cuddle.

4. Male nursery web spiders give silk-wrapped gifts to the girls that catch their eyes. But why waste a perfectly good present when a piece of junk in clever packaging will do? Sex, Lies and Spider Silk tells the story of these deceptive gift-givers.

5. Don’t Challenge a Fruit-Eating Bat to a Drinking Contest. Just don’t. Here’s why.

Thank you for your support and participation over the year. Next year should be full of new wacky animal stories. (And if you’d like to see my 2012 picks for my favorite animal physiology and behavior blog posts at other sites, click here).