Killer cotton and planes dropping moths wiped out these pests

The invasive pink bollworm has inflicted tens of millions of dollars in damage annually. Biotech cotton and sterile moths helped eradicate it in the US.

Rose Brandt-Arizona • futurity
Dec. 22, 2020 ~7 min

Grasshopper cages reveal trouble with shifting habitats

New research looks at what could happen to plant communities on alpine grasslands if grasshoppers from lower elevations settled there.

Peter Rüegg-ETH Zurich • futurity
Dec. 22, 2020 ~6 min


Mealworms vs. grasshoppers: Which fails the ‘yuck’ test?

Insects, like mealworms and grasshoppers, are a sustainable, climate-friendly food source. But for kids at least, grasshoppers fail the "yuck test."

Katherina Killander-U. Copenhagen • futurity
Dec. 21, 2020 ~5 min

Invasive species: biggest threat may be the most uncertain – disease

The reality TV show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here is under fire for using non-native insects while filming in the Welsh countryside.

Amy Burgess, PhD Candidate in Invasion Biology, Teesside University • conversation
Nov. 26, 2020 ~6 min

Farmer ants could teach us a thing or two

Ants have been farmers for tens of millions of years and have even solved a problem we haven't. They know how to cultivate climate-resilient crops.

Ida Eriksen-U. Copenhagen • futurity
Nov. 5, 2020 ~6 min

Want to teach kids about nature? Insects can help

Insects are plentiful and inexpensive. Even when children aren't attending school in person, they can learn from the encounters they have with insects outside.

Megan Ennes, Assistant Curator of Museum Education, University of Florida • conversation
Oct. 29, 2020 ~5 min

New wasp may be a parasite of a parasite

Researchers have discovered a new species of wasp with a role in an insect horror story playing out on the stems and leaves of oak trees.

Jade Boyd-Rice • futurity
Oct. 28, 2020 ~10 min

Beetle that can survive a car tire may inspire tough materials

Getting run over by a car isn't a near-death experience for the diabolical ironclad beetle. How it survives could lead to materials with the same toughness.

Amy Patterson Neubert-Purdue • futurity
Oct. 21, 2020 ~7 min


Monarchs lay more eggs where milkweed isn’t alone

Milkweed is key to monarch butterflies' life cycle. But adding other flowering plants may help monarchs more than milkweed alone.

U. Florida • futurity
Oct. 21, 2020 ~7 min

Cricket ‘singing’ has been the same for 300 million years

Crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers have been singing the same tune for more than 300 million years, a new study shows.

Adam Russell-TAMU • futurity
Oct. 13, 2020 ~10 min

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