Won’t somebody please think of the insects?!
Global protected areas safeguard many plants and animals, but insects? Not so much. Enlarge / This butterfly is also referred to as the Cairns Birdwing. (credit: Jodi Jacobson) Nearly 17 percent, or 22.5 million square.....»»
Insects are spreading a devastating plant disease in Italy—Britain must keep it out, say researchers
Since 2013, over 20 million olive trees in Italy have succumbed to a devastating plant disease. The same disease now threatens many more plant species, across several countries, with the same fate......»»
Bedbugs are a problem beyond Paris. They"re resurgent everywhere
Thanks to videos circulating on social media of bedbugs crawling through Parisian hotel rooms, movie theaters and public transportation, anxiety over the blood-sucking insects is high......»»
Adapting to climate change: Mutation enables flour beetles to speed up their development
Leiden biologists have found a mutation in flour beetles that allows them to speed up their development. They think that more insects can change their growth rate, which could help them adjust to climate change. The study has been published in Nature.....»»
Heat, cold, pollution, noise and insects: Too many apartment blocks aren"t up to the challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the impacts of air quality on high-rise living. However, apartments face a range of atmospheric challenges. These include air and noise pollution, temperature and weather extremes, bushfire smoke and insects......»»
Fewer insects hitting your car windscreen? Here"s why
Every summer for almost the last 20 years, volunteers from the Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, both in the UK, have been tracking car number plates. But not in the the way you might think. Their inspections aim to register the numbers of flying inse.....»»
Mountain goats seek snow to shake off insects, finds study
Losing summer snow patches may hit mountain goats hard, according to a study that suggests that goats seek out snow to avoid biting insects......»»
New database unifies the information on damage to European forests over the last 60 years
The University of Córdoba is participating in the creation of the first database that harmonizes the recording of disturbances caused by insects and diseases in forests in eight European countries by combining remote sensing, satellite images and fi.....»»
Warmer, wetter winters bring risks to river insects
Research by Cardiff University has shown that the warmer, wetter winters in the U.K. caused by climate change are likely to impact the stability of insect populations in streams......»»
Okinawa"s ants show reduced seasonal behavior in areas with more human development
Insects have an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, but our understanding of how human activities affect their populations is limited. This gap in knowledge is worrying because of the decline of insect populations and the severe c.....»»
Analysis finds diversity on the smallest scales in sulfur-cycling salt marsh microbes
At the surface, salt marshes and their windswept grasses can look deceptively simple. But those marshes are teeming with biodiversity, from the insects and migrating birds in the air all the way down to the microbes that live in the soil. Scientists.....»»
Oldest family of jewel wasps discovered in Cretaceous amber from Lebanon
Jewel wasps (Chalcidoidea) are one of the most diverse groups of insects, with more than 120,000 species described and an estimated true diversity of nearly 1 million. The chalcids are parasitoid wasps, which attack other insects to lay their eggs up.....»»
How mosquito-controlling bacteria might also enhance insect fertility
A new study reveals biological mechanisms by which a specific strain of bacteria in the Wolbachia genus might enhance the fertility of the insects it infects—with potentially important implications for mosquito-control strategies. Shelbi Russell of.....»»
Unearthing the ecological impacts of cicada emergences on North American forests
Every 13 or 17 years, billions of cicadas emerge from the ground to reproduce in eastern North American deciduous forests. One of the largest emergence events of these insects happened in 2021 when the Brood X cicadas emerged. Researchers who studied.....»»
Research shows roaches suppress immune system before giving birth
Researchers are studying the dramatic physical transformation that some insects undergo to give birth to live young. This includes suppressing their immune systems to accommodate babies, which is something some insects and people have in common. Unde.....»»
Insect researcher: Non-destructive methods are needed
New research has shed light on the importance of revolutionizing methods in entomology. A publication titled "The need for a (non-destructive) method revolution in entomology" has highlighted how to improve our understanding of insects without harmin.....»»
Study elucidates evolution of mosquitoes and their hosts
Researchers at North Carolina State University and global collaborators have mapped the mosquito's tree of life, a major step toward understanding important traits, such as how the insects choose their hosts, feed on blood and spread disease. The fin.....»»
Scientists combine evolution, physics, and robotics to decode insect flight
Some insects' wings flap without brain input. Robots help us understand how. Enlarge / A hawk moth in flight. (credit: Gregory Dubus) Different insects flap their wings in different manners. Understanding the variations.....»»
Warming and habitat loss shrink pollinator numbers. That may hit coffee, cocoa crops hard in future
Changes in the climate and land use are combining to dramatically shrink the numbers of insects pollinating key tropical crops. As those problems interwine and intensify, it likely will hit coffee lovers right in the mug, according to a new study......»»
How do caterpillars acquire chubby legs? Scientists trace the origins to a genetic program associated with crabs
Adult insects, including butterflies and moths, typically have only three pairs of legs. But the existence of extra legs in caterpillars—chubby abdominal appendages also known as "prolegs"—has long posed an evolutionary mystery to biologists. A r.....»»
200-year-old DNA helps map tiny fly"s genetic course to new lands, modern times
When Carl Fredrik Fallén, for one—and later Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt—were collecting insects for what would become Lund University's entomological collections, they wondered exactly what was that buzzing coming from their can of raisins......»»