topic: Insects

topic: Insects

Social media activity version | Lean version

Beetle larvae trick bees into feeding and sheltering them by smelling like flowers, study finds
European Black oil beetle larva lures unsuspecting bees by manufacturing smells that mimic floral scents, new research suggests. The larva then hitches a ride on the bee to its burrow, where it eats the bee’s eggs and pollen, and develops into an adult beetle. This is the first known instance of an animal hijacking the […]
Bogong moths support Australia’s alpine ecosystems, but face uncertain future
- Bogong moths are a critical resource for the many rare and wonderful species that live in the Australian Alps, but their future is far from certain.
- The IUCN classifies the bogong moth as an endangered species, but Australia, the only country where the moth is habitually found, has refused to recognize it as such, categorizing it instead as “data deficient”.
- Currently, a network of entomologists, ecologists, data scientists, First Nations peoples, and volunteers is working to address the data gaps, hoping to reapply for a national endangered species listing and identify the best strategies to protect the bogong moth.
- However, tracking a tiny creature that migrates hundreds of kilometers in the dark of night is no easy task.

Daniel Janzen and the long work of bringing back a forest
- Daniel Janzen’s scientific work helped reshape ecologists’ understanding of tropical forests, especially the relationships among plants, insects, pathogens, predators, and seeds.
- With Winnie Hallwachs and Costa Rican partners, he helped turn degraded ranchlands in Guanacaste into a protected, working landscape that now connects ecosystems from the Pacific coast to cloud forest and Caribbean rainforest.
- ACG’s parataxonomists, educators, field staff, directors, and neighboring communities have made the project durable through their day-to-day work, linking conservation to local employment, education, and scientific expertise.
- Janzen and Hallwachs’s more recent work on DNA barcoding and bioliteracy aims to help Costa Rica identify, study, and value the extraordinary diversity of life within its borders.

Dragonflies help protect water and ancestral Indigenous languages in Colombia
- Researchers investigating Colombia’s remote region of Guainía have identified nearly 120 dragonfly and damselfly species, uncovering a biodiversity hotspot for these insects.
- Dragonflies rely on pristine freshwater ecosystems, but their aquatic habitats face growing pressure from regional deforestation, unmanaged waste and exponential tourism.
- By naming in their ancestral languages and monitoring local dragonflies, communities are deepening their understanding of ecosystem health and connecting biodiversity and ancestral wisdom with water protection.

Social media images lead to first recording of parasitoid wasp species in Japan
Photos of a striking, iridescent wasp posted on social media by wasp enthusiasts in Japan have led to an unexpected discovery: The images are the first record of the species in Japan. The footage also helped scientists describe a male of the species for the first time. The images and a video of the wasps […]
More than 100 queen ants destined for Laos seized in Mexico
Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel delivery company reported a suspicious package to Mexico’s Federal Attorney for […]
In southern India, beekeeping helps Indigenous women earn more
A beekeeping initiative is enabling women in India’s Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot that runs parallel to India’s west coast, to strengthen their livelihoods with more reliable honey harvests. The 50 women are part of the Women for Bees project, launched in India in April 2025 by UNESCO in partnership with local nonprofit the Keystone […]
Sri Lanka intensifies fight against dengue and the mosquitos that cause the infection
- Sri Lanka has recorded more than 56,422 dengue cases from January to July 1, adding pressure to the country’s healthcare system as the caseload continues to increase.
- DENV-2 is the dominant dengue serotype causing a higher number of infections at present, health officials say.
- According to academics, unplanned urbanization and climate change are factors contributing to the spike in dengue cases in South Asia and many other regions.
- Meanwhile, the Aedes vector is evolving and adapting, increasing the mosquito’s ability to survive in constantly changing environmental conditions, researchers say.

Tiwi rangers eradicate invasive tropical fire ants in Australia’s Melville Island
- Over the last two decades, Indigenous rangers in Australia’s Tiwi Islands came together with scientists, government actors, NGOs and private enterprise to eradicate the invasive tropical fire ant species from Melville Island.
- The species threatens small animals, vulnerable sea turtle hatchlings and nesting birds, according to some studies.
- The eradication program included locating the ant nests, poisoning them at small-scale with Amdro, an insecticide bait, and then monitoring sites to ensure the eradication was complete.
- A member of the eradication effort hopes lessons of the Tiwi eradication program could be replicated in other regions of the country, like Ashmore Reef.

Stingless bees in Peru become the first insects with legal rights. Will it happen globally?
Two municipalities in the Peruvian Amazon have granted native stingless bees the legal right to exist, thrive and be represented in court. This is the first time any insect has been recognized as a rights-bearing entity anywhere in the world, according to a correspondence published in Nature. The ordinances passed in the municipalities of Satipo […]
Australian authorities seize 100,000 live cockroaches in crackdown on exotic insect trade
- Australian authorities seized more than 100,000 exotic cockroaches from a breeder in New South Wales.
- The confiscated insects include Madagascar hissing cockroaches, endemic to the island country of Madagascar, and dubia roaches, which are popular both as reptile food and collected as pets.
- Importing exotic insects is illegal in Australia, as they can become invasive or carry disease, and they cannot be legally kept, bred or sold.
- The seizure highlights the unregulated but growing trade in invertebrates across the world, especially as food for increasingly popular reptile pets.

Removal of African elephants causes coextinction of dung beetles, study finds
A field experiment in Kenya shows that dung beetles disappear when the African elephants they depend on for their fecal food and shelter also vanish locally. This is the first time that coextinction, the disappearance of one species leading directly to the extinction of another species, has been demonstrated in a large-scale field experiment, according […]
Three new ‘planking’ praying mantis species found in Australia and Papua New Guinea
Researchers have identified three new-to-science species of snake mantises, two from Australia and one from Papua New Guinea, and figured out their distribution and behavior with the help of citizen scientists. Matthew Connors, a Ph.D. candidate at James Cook University in Australia, led the effort to revisit the taxonomy of Kongobatha, a little-studied group of […]
Gold mining damages dung beetle communities in the Amazon, study finds
Small-scale gold mining is a major cause of deforestation in the Amazon, and researchers found that in Guyana it destroys dung beetle communities and prevents their recovery for decades. Gold mining causes 90% of the deforestation in the Guiana Shield, which contains a quarter of the Amazon rainforest as well as large gold deposits, according […]
Household mosquito repellents may stop bumblebees from finding their way home
A chemical used in mosquito repellents may disorient bumblebees, stopping them from finding their way back to their nests, a recent study found. Researchers in Finland exposed 123 buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), one of the most abundant bumblebee species in Europe, to a standard consumer mosquito repellent containing prallethrin, a type of pyrethroid insecticide. One […]
Why are people buying pet ants?
Move over cats and dogs. There’s a new hot favorite pet in town: ants. More and more people are raising pet ants around the world. They are small, low-maintenance and display complex behaviors that fascinate humans. But this fascination is leading to a bigger issue: an underground global trade of ants. Wild ants are now […]
Scientists mark Attenborough’s 100th birthday with newly named wasp
A tiny wasp, collected in the early 1980s in Chile’s Valdivia province, lay inside an unsorted drawer in the Natural History Museum, London, for more than 40 years. After taking a close look, researchers have recently confirmed it’s not only a new-to-science species, but also represents a new genus. The wasp, only 3.5 millimeters (0.14 […]
A Mother’s Day lesson from a digger wasp
The tiny-brained mothers who remember where every child is buried
US proposes endangered species protections for an imperiled Jamaican butterfly
- The U.S. has proposed listing a rare butterfly from Jamaica, the Jamaican kite swallowtail under the Endangered Species Act.
- The striking blue-green and black butterfly, endemic to this island country, hovers on the brink of extinction. Scientists have observed no more than 250 adults in the wild in recent years.
- Deforestation, devastating hurricanes and droughts on the island have destroyed much of this butterfly’s breeding sites; only four remain. Demand for framed butterflies used in home decor is another factor in their disappearance.
- ESA listing would bring attention to the species and stop its trade in the U.S. Conservationists hope it will also fund efforts to protect the butterfly’s habitat.

Unusual ant interaction hints at mutualistic ‘cleaning’ system
Some coral reef ecosystems famously have “cleaning stations,” where fish line up to be cleaned by other species of fish and shrimp. Entomologist Mark Moffet recently published observations of what appears to be a similar relationship in ants. In the Chiricahua Mountains of the U.S. state of Arizona, Moffet, from the National Museum of Natural […]
Novel DNA research shows massive native ant decline over hundreds of years in Fiji
Scientists conducting a DNA analysis of ant specimens collected from across the Fiji islands in the Pacific have been able to reconstruct how entire ant populations rose and fell over thousands of years. The findings, based on specimens held at museums, showed that nearly 80% of the archipelago’s 88 endemic ant species have been declining […]
Heat, fires and agribusiness squeeze traditional Amazon açaí harvesters
- Intensive farming of the popular açaí berry grew by 70% since 2015, while community cooperatives reported losses of 35% or more during recent heat waves and fires.
- Industrial açaí crops often rely on artificial irrigation and nonnative honeybees, adapting the Amazon to intensive methods rather than benefiting from the biome’s own systems.
- Market analysis indicates increasing international demand and rising prices, a trend that pushes for high-yield commercial monocultures over forest-based extraction.

Thomas J. Walker studied the songs of crickets and katydids
- Thomas J. Walker, who died on April 8th 2026 aged 94, spent his career studying the behavior and acoustics of crickets and katydids, treating their songs as a way to understand species and ecology.
- Over more than four decades at the University of Florida, he questioned conventional taxonomy by arguing for the importance of studying living insects rather than relying mainly on preserved specimens.
- He was an early advocate of making research freely available, helping to move scientific publishing online and creating the “Singing Insects of North America” website, which allowed both specialists and amateurs to identify species and access data.
- His legacy also includes the protection and development of the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory, reflecting a practical commitment to conservation, education, and public engagement with the natural world.

Researchers find ‘remarkable’ hot-pink insect in Panama rainforest
In March 2025, biologist Benito Wainwright and his colleagues were searching for katydids — leaf-mimicking insects related to crickets and grasshoppers — in the rainforest of Barro Colorado Island in Panama, when they came across an unexpected sight: a hot-pink katydid individual of the species Arota festae. The researchers captured the katydid and raised her […]
Researchers uncover 10 new moth species and 7 new genera in Hawaiʻi
Researchers in Hawai’i have described 10 new species and seven new genera of moths, highlighting how much remains unknown about the Pacific archipelago’s biodiversity. Hawai’i is home to a large number of endemic species, plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Discovery of a new species is so common, “nobody turns their head,” study […]
Eastern monarch butterfly populations increase in 2025, but challenges remain
Monarch butterfly populations in North America have been in dramatic decline for several decades. But in a glimmer of hope for the iconic orange-and-black species, the 2025 population estimate was roughly 64% higher compared to the previous year. Scientists split migratory monarchs (Danaus plexippus) into two populations — western and eastern — depending on which […]
Scientists use rapid 3D scanning to create a digital library of 800 ant species
Scientists have designed a new technique using robotics to rapidly generate high-resolution, three-dimensional images of ants. Antscan is the world’s first digitized library of nearly 800 ant species belonging to 212 genera from around the globe. They used microtomography, a technique akin to human CT scans, to capture images of internal ant organs with X-rays. […]
Works on planned luxury resort on Pemba island go ahead despite concerns
- A 4 meter high perimeter wall was built alongside a village bordering Ngezi Forest Reserve as construction to a luxury resort estate has started on Zanzibar’s Pemba island.
- A dirt road cutting through the protected forest has been widened to facilitate the transport of goods.
- Researchers warn that no environmental planning has been done and that animal and plant species could go extinct if the development goes ahead.

That “butterfly” you saw? It was probably a moth
Most people think moths are dull, nocturnal, and nothing like butterflies. That couldn’t be more wrong. In the Amazon rainforest, moths come in every color, shape, and size — and many are active during the day. In fact, while there are only about 18,000 species of butterflies worldwide, there are over 160,000 species of moths. […]
Insects are moving pharmaceutical pollutants from rivers to land; risks unknown
- Pharmaceuticals have a wide range of detrimental side effects on people. Scientists also know that pharmaceutical pollution is widespread in aquatic ecosystems, largely due to wastewater outflows and runoff.
- Studies now show pharmaceutical waterway contaminants can accumulate in aquatic insects at various life-cycle stages. These pollutants can then be transferred to terrestrial ecosystems as the insects are consumed by other species, including birds and bats.
- Research also shows that pharmaceuticals can cause changes in the physiology and behavior of insects, with potential knock-on effects for populations and wider ecosystems.
- But the full consequences of the transfer of a wide range of pharmaceutical contaminants to aquatic insects, and then via their predators to terrestrial environments and food webs, is largely unknown.

Citizen science rediscovers rare South African moth
- Citizen scientists in South Africa have rediscovered an emerald-green moth that’s been missing for nearly one-and-a-half centuries.
- A dozen male moths had their photographs posted online from 2020 to 2023, providing proof-of-life for Drepanogynis insciata.
- Until now, scientists only knew of the moth from illustrations and two faded specimens, collected around 1875 in the Western Cape town of Swellendam, and kept in London’s Natural History Museum.
- Experts say websites like iNaturalist provide many additional eyes and a virtual workforce to produce the treasure trove of information aiding rediscoveries like this one.

Pesticides found in 70% of European soils, harming beneficial life: Study
- A new study found pesticide residues in 70% of soil samples across 26 European countries, making contamination the second-strongest factor shaping soil biodiversity after basic soil properties.
- The pesticides severely harmed beneficial organisms like mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes that help plants absorb nutrients, and disrupted critical soil functions, including phosphorus and nitrogen cycling.
- Pesticide contamination extended beyond farmland into forests and grasslands where pesticides aren’t applied, likely due to spray drift, with some chemicals persisting in soil for years.
- Researchers say current regulations are inadequate because they test pesticides on only a few individual species rather than examining effects on entire soil communities and the ecosystem functions they perform.

Mosquitoes in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest prefer human blood
As deforestation and habitat loss drive down wildlife populations, mosquitoes are increasingly turning to another source for their blood meal: humans. That’s the finding of a new study in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot with less than a third of its original forest remaining. Mosquitoes in the Atlantic Forest “have a clear preference […]
How many insects does California have? We’re getting closer to an answer
California’s insects are as outsized as the state itself. Between its redwood forests and desert basins may live 60,000, perhaps even 100,000 species — though no one truly knows. That uncertainty drives the California Insect Barcode Initiative, an audacious attempt to document every insect in the state through DNA sequencing. Leading the effort is Austin […]
Ants need urgent protections from global trade, conservationists say
As the recent seizure of more than 5,000 endemic ants in Kenya reveals, ants have become part of a thriving global wildlife trade. Transnational traffickers are mopping up ants from the wild to sell them to hobbyists and collectors worldwide. In a recently published letter, conservationists are now calling for greater trade protections for all […]
When Indigenous knowledge enters the scientific record
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For most of Peru’s scientific history, Indigenous knowledge has existed outside the formal record. It shaped how forests were used, how species were managed, and how risk was understood, but rarely appeared in journals or policy. The boundary […]
An inventory of life in California
- California is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, yet much of its life—especially insects and fungi—remains undocumented, even in a state rich in scientific institutions.
- The California All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (CalATBI) is working to build a verifiable, statewide record of life, combining fieldwork, DNA analysis, and museum collections.
- By focusing on evidence that can be revisited and tested over time, the effort provides a baseline for understanding ecological change rather than prescribing solutions.
- Mongabay’s reporting follows how this foundational work underpins later decisions about protection, restoration, and management—showing why counting still matters.

‘I’m proud to be the first published Asháninka researcher’: Richar Antonio Demetrio on bees
- Richar Antonio Demetrio is the first Indigenous Asháninka scientist to publish in a high-impact journal, combining traditional ecological knowledge with scientific methodology to study meliponiculture, the farming of stingless bees.
- His first paper, published in March 2025, reveals that Asháninka communities can identify more than 14 plant species used by stingless bees to build their nests, and apply sustainable practices in honey production.
- His second warns that more than 50% of the habitat of stingless bees in the Avireri-Vraem Biosphere Reserve overlaps with areas at high risk of deforestation.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Demetrio talks about the challenges he faced from both the scientific and Indigenous communities during his studies, and about the importance of balancing Western scientific methods with age-old traditional knowledge.

Chris Grinter has spent much of his life surrounded by insects
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Chris Grinter has spent much of his life surrounded by insects — though not in the way most people imagine. As senior collection manager of entomology at the California Academy of Sciences, he oversees one of the world’s […]
Warmer climate triggers pest infestations in Bangladesh, India tea estates
- A warmer climate triggers pest infestations across tropical tea estates in Bangladesh and India.
- Since traditional pesticides fail in pest control, the producers experience significant losses in terms of production as well as earning.
- Experts recommend comprehensive solutions with integrated pest management and improvement of soil health.

Saving critical winter habitat for monarch butterflies may depend on buy-in from their human neighbors
- Monarch butterflies are in decline largely because of habitat degradation, including in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the forested mountains of Central Mexico.
- Researchers looked at aerial and satellite photography of forest cover in the Reserve over 50 years, assessing the impact of the Reserve’s protective decrees on logging.
- They found that implementation of logging bans worked well when the local community was consulted and compensated, and poorly when done without their involvement.

Extinctions ‘already happening’ in Wales as report lists 3,000 at-risk species
Nearly 3,000 species in the country of Wales, in the U.K., are now found in just a handful of locations, according to a recent report. These species include hundreds of plants, fungi and mosses, as well as 25 bird, six mammal, five freshwater fish and one amphibian species. The report, produced by Natural Resources Wales […]
Amazon’s stingless bee propolis shows potent healing power, studies show
- Researchers in Brazil identified anti-inflammatory properties of a cream made with the propolis of Amazon stingless bees, with results similar to commercial healing ointments.
- Stingless bees (meliponines) are the primary pollinators for the açaí berry, making their conservation crucial for both the Amazon ecosystem and a billion-dollar global industry.
- For one Amazon family, swapping cattle ranching for beekeeping and cosmetics is a real-world example of a bioeconomy that experts say offers a powerful alternative to deforestation.

Inside California’s race to document its insects: A conversation with Chris Grinter
- Christopher C. Grinter, Senior Collection Manager of Entomology at the California Academy of Sciences, discussed his work documenting California’s insect diversity through the California All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (CalATBI).
- He described how DNA barcoding and voucher specimens together form a lasting record of life, helping scientists track species and environmental change across the state.
- Grinter reflected on both the urgency of discovery amid biodiversity loss and the promise of new technologies and collaborations that make large-scale insect research possible.
- He spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025.

Game of tiny thrones: Parasitic ants grab power by turning workers against their queen
Queens of some ant species have evolved an unusually hostile mode for colony takeover: they infiltrate colonies of other ant species and manipulate the worker ants into killing their own queen — their mother — then accepting the intruding queen as their new leader, according to a recent study. In the world of ants, where […]
Turning outdoor exploration into environmental discovery: Gregg Treinish and the rise of Adventure Scientists
- Gregg Treinish, founder of Adventure Scientists, has built a global network of trained volunteers who collect high-quality environmental data for researchers, agencies, and conservationists. His organization bridges the worlds of outdoor adventure and scientific rigor.
- From microplastics and illegal timber to biodiversity mapping, Adventure Scientists’ projects have filled crucial data gaps and influenced policy, research, and corporate practices around the world.
- In California, Treinish’s team is partnering with the California All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (CalATBI) to help catalog the state’s immense diversity through thousands of insect and soil eDNA samples collected by volunteers.
- Treinish spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025 about scaling trust-based citizen science, the value of human observation in nature, and why adventure remains a powerful gateway to environmental action.

California’s grand insect census
- Austin Baker and his team at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are leading an ambitious effort to DNA-barcode every insect species in California as part of the statewide CalATBI initiative to “discover it all, protect it forever.”
- The project combines traditional specimen collection with modern genetic sequencing to build a comprehensive biodiversity library, revealing surprising hotspots of insect life—from foggy coasts to the species-rich Mojave Desert.
- By creating a genetic baseline of California’s insect diversity, the team hopes to track future ecological change, inform conservation priorities, and preserve the record of countless species that might otherwise vanish unnoticed.
- Baker was interviewed by Mongabay’s Rhett Ayers Butler in October 2025.

As Singapore heats up, pests are seeking refuge indoors
- In the past few years, previously spotless air-conditioned icons of Singapore such as Changi Airport and the Apple Store have experienced infestations and diseases on indoor greenery.
- Experts say the rise in extreme temperatures as the city-state loses forest cover explains the migration of flies, bees, butterflies and rats into cooler indoor environments.
- Singapore’s pest control industry is booming as a result, with the country’s National Environment Agency mandating tougher rules to curb vector-borne diseases.
- Methods used to control pest species are being challenged by animal welfare groups concerned over the growing use of glue traps, which catch protected as well as target species.

Fears of major locust swarms wane in the Sahel but agencies step up monitoring
- Fears of major desert locust swarms in the Sahel in 2025 are receding, as authorities in the region continue to monitor breeding sites.
- The FAO says control measures were carried out by teams in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria in response to earlier alerts.
- While field reporting has been hampered by limited resources and insecurity in many key parts of the region, improved remote surveillance and information-sharing tools have been strengthened.

The Great Insect Crisis
Insects underpin ecosystems worldwide, yet they are disappearing at alarming rates. In this 2019 special series, Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance traces the global scale of the so-called “Insect Apocalypse,” as reported in the mainstream media — from massive declines in flying insects in Germany to the near-collapse of arthropods in Puerto Rico’s forests. Drawing on […]
Rainwater reveals the hidden life of rainforest canopies, study shows
- Researchers developed a cost-effective way to collect DNA from species high in the rainforest canopy: they hung umbrellas to collect rainwater that washed through the trees.
- The method revealed 562 taxa across French Guiana’s Amazonian forests, capturing genetic signatures from elusive nocturnal mammals, poorly documented reptiles, and countless undescribed insects that traditional survey techniques consistently overlook.
- Comparative analysis showed old-growth forests harbored 1.3 to 1.9 times greater species diversity than in nearby managed plantations.
- This simple technique provides local communities and conservationists with a practical way to monitor their forests, as each raindrop carries genetic evidence of the species present in the area over time.

Goliath versus Goliath (cartoon)
The largest insects in the world, Africa’s Goliath beetles, are up against a much bigger behemoth—the cocoa industry. Indiscriminate deforestation for cocoa in West Africa is wiping out their home range, as well as their populations.
How urban greening is helping Singapore bounce back from widespread forest loss
Singapore, the smallest country in Southeast Asia, lost most of its original forest cover in the early 1800s to agriculture. But since the 1960s, when Singapore began pursuing urban greening initiatives, Singapore has greened 47% of its spaces, according to an episode of Mongabay’s podcast published in July. Speaking with host Mike DiGirolamo, Anuj Jain, […]
Bees have some ways to cope with a warming Earth, but researchers fear for their future
WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio (AP) — As global temperatures rise under climate change, the bees responsible for pollinating many crops are under increasing stress and scientists are trying to understand how they are affected. It’s an important question because the bees are critical to the fruit, vegetables, nuts and other foods that humans need. Scientists have found […]
Honey bees in Bangladesh suffer from indiscriminate pesticide use
Experts warn the indiscriminate use of insecticides by farmers in Bangladesh to protect their crops is harming beneficial honey bees, Mongabay contributor Sadiqur Rahman reported in March. Beekeeper Pavel Hossen, who set up an apiary on land next to a black cumin farm, hoped his honey bees (Apis mellifera) would feed on the flowers of the […]
Sheila Colla, advocate for bees, died on July 6th, aged 43
- In 2009, Sheila Colla spotted Canada’s last known rusty-patched bumblebee, a discovery that marked the culmination of years of fieldwork and a lifelong commitment to pollinator conservation.
- A pioneering scientist and professor, Colla warned early about the decline of native bees—long before it became mainstream—and translated complex research into action for policymakers, citizens, and children.
- Through bestselling books and the Bumble Bee Watch citizen-science platform, she mobilized tens of thousands to protect North America’s wild bees, emphasizing their solitary, vital, and often overlooked roles.
- Colla’s legacy lives on not only in ecological science but in the inclusive community she built—opening doors for marginalized voices in science and championing justice until her final days.

As exotic pet demands rise, invertebrates need trade protections too: Study
As the demand for butterflies, spiders, ants and other terrestrial invertebrates grows worldwide, researchers in a recent study say better policy and regulation coverage can help ensure sustainability. The researchers reviewed existing scientific studies that mention the trade in terrestrial invertebrates and found that most research focuses on the exotic pet trade, specifically of spiders […]
Agencies race to prevent new food crisis as locusts return to northern Africa
- Swarms of desert locusts are moving across parts of North Africa following ideal breeding conditions in late 2024 and early 2025, raising fears of major locust infestations moving south into the Sahel later this year.
- The Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) has conducted joint surveys and provided equipment and vehicles to strengthen ground response in countries like Libya and Tunisia.
- Mobile apps are helping to integrate Indigenous knowledge and local observations with enhanced satellite and remote monitoring of areas where desert locusts breed.
- These and other efforts are working to keep up with climate change, which has enhanced conditions that spur desert locust outbreaks, and regional insecurity which undermines already patchy monitoring of outbreaks on the ground.

Bogong moths use stars and the Milky Way to make epic migration
In Australia, millions of newly hatched Bogong moths embark on an impressive journey twice a year. Each spring, they hatch from eggs in their breeding grounds in Australia’s southeast and fly up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) further southward to spend a few months in the cool caves of the Australian Alps — a place […]
Longhorn crazy ants use ‘swarm intelligence’ to clear path obstacles
Longhorn crazy ants, named for their jerky and erratic movements, may seem chaotic, but they are actually very cooperative and efficient at retrieving food. A new study shows that through intelligence of the swarm, worker ants are able to anticipate obstacles and clear them from a path so other ants can more easily move bulky […]
Broadway Mall rewilding brings native plants and wildlife to New York City
New York City is the most densely populated city in the U.S., but along Broadway, a thoroughfare on the northern half of Manhattan’s west side, a series of small parks, known as malls, are providing a green corridor of trees, shrubs and flowers for birds and insects. The Broadway Malls are a series of small […]
Mongabay India wins best science podcast at Publisher Podcast Awards
Mongabay India’s 2024 podcast miniseries “Wild Frequencies” bagged the “Best Science and Medical” category at the Publisher Podcast Awards ceremony in London on June 11. The podcast is a three-episode series that tells stories of how researchers in India use the science of bioacoustics, or animal sounds, to better understand the lives of wildlife, such […]
‘Satellites for Biodiversity’ upgrades with new projects and launches insight hub
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) recently announced the winners of their “Satellites for Biodiversity” grant, which now uses higher-resolution satellite imagery to aid conservation efforts. They also launched an Ecosystem Insight Hub, which comprehensively documents the processes and findings of their grantees. The latest batch of six “Satellites for Biodiversity” awardees […]
Without vultures, carcasses are slow to rot and disease-carrying flies abound
- Researchers in Costa Rica found that pig carcasses decomposed twice as fast when vultures had access to them compared to carcasses where vultures were excluded.
- The absence of vultures led to a doubling of fly populations at carcass sites, which could affect human health, since these flies can carry diseases like botulism and anthrax, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Unlike temperate regions with diverse scavenger communities, the neotropical forest system showed vultures as the primary vertebrate decomposers, with few other animals eating carcasses.
- The study highlights a major research gap since neotropical vultures are represented in only 7% of existing vulture literature, despite facing similar conservation threats as Old World vultures, like habitat loss, poisoning and power line collisions.

World’s oldest ant fossil found in Brazil, dating back 113 million years
A “remarkably well-preserved” fossil discovered in Brazil, dating back 113 million years, is now the oldest ant to have ever been found by scientists, a new study has revealed. The ancient fossil was found preserved in a limestone and “represents the earliest undisputed ant known to science,” the authors write in the study. The limestone, […]
Invasive whiteflies pose a new threat to Bangladesh’s cash crops
- The invasion of sap-sucking whiteflies in Bangladesh’s agricultural farms, especially in those of coconuts, bananas and guavas, has become a serious concern among farmers as it can cause widespread damage.
- Farmers first noticed these insects in 2019 on coconut plants, and observed they affected the growth of the plants and yields. Research shows whiteflies have already made 61 types of plants as their hosts in Bangladesh.
- Though the researchers have yet to confirm how they entered the country, they suggest it could be via imported high-yielding coconut plants in 2014 and 2015.
- Researchers suggest deploying a parasitoid wasp, Encarsia guadeloupae, which is considered to tackle the invasion of the whitefly.

Traffickers slither through loopholes with wild-caught African snakes and lizards
- South Africa’s native reptiles and amphibians, including threatened species, are being illegally captured and exported for the global pet trade.
- A recent study found that eight of the 10 most-exported reptiles from South Africa are native species, most of which are not protected by CITES, the global wildlife trade convention.
- Conservationists suspect some breeders falsely claim wild-caught reptiles, such as giant girdled lizards, are captive-bred to bypass trade restrictions.
- Legal loopholes at both the national and international levels allow non-CITES-listed species to be traded with little oversight.

Lack of funds, cattle ranchers challenge Brazil’s sustainable farmers
In 2005, the Brazilian government created PDS Brasília, a sustainable settlement in the state of Pará. The settlement was designed to encourage 500 families to practice small-scale family farming, while also collectively using a standing forest to harvest its fruits and nuts, Mongabay’s Fernanda Wenzel reported in March. The 19,800-hectare (49,000-acre) settlement was created following the […]
Singapore study says roadside flowers can improve urban butterfly biodiversity
Narrow strips of flowering plants along road edges can support high butterfly diversity, a recent study from Singapore has found. In late 2023, researchers surveyed 101 road verges — strips of green planted along the side of roads — across the tropical city-state of Singapore, recording 56 species of butterflies feeding on nectar from 96 […]
Hawaiʻi’s bone collector caterpillar wears spider’s victims to survive
Researchers in Hawaiʻi have described an unusual species of carnivorous caterpillar that scavenges in spiderwebs while wearing cast-off bits of the spider’s prey. Nicknamed the “bone collector,” the caterpillar belongs to the genus Hyposmocoma, commonly known as “fancy case” caterpillars because they make variously ornamented protective cases to live in. Endemic to Hawaiʻi, they decorate […]
Ground-level ozone wreaks havoc on warming planet
Ozone as a layer several kilometers up in the atmosphere protects living beings, including humans, from ultraviolet rays. But its accumulation at ground level can be very dangerous, Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray explains in an article published in April. Ground-level, or tropospheric, ozone forms when methane, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds react […]
Solutions needed as climate change & land use fuel global crop pest menace
- Climate change is colliding with land use practices, deforestation and biodiversity loss to drive a rapidly growing threat of crop pests.
- Future warming of 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels (likely by the 2040s or 2050s, according to current projections) could see substantial losses of staple crop yields for wheat (an estimated 46% loss), rice (19%) and maize (31%) due to pest infestations, according to a recent paper.
- Temperate regions are likely to see the greatest increases in crop pests as warming creates conditions for migrating subtropical species to establish themselves in previously unhabitable areas.
- The authors underline the need for more pest monitoring, diversification of farmland crops and biotechnological solutions to meet this growing threat.

Kenya arrests 4 suspected ant traffickers, seizes 5,300 harvester ants
In two separate but related incidents, Kenyan authorities have arrested four suspects for illegally possessing and attempting to smuggle some 5,300 ants valued at about 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,250), destined for the exotic pet trade. The ants, which included the giant harvester ants (Messor cephalotes), were being trafficked to Asia and Europe. In the […]
How a young beekeeper’s initiative brought hope and profit to Sierra Leone communities
- Near Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Island, Aruna Bangura, a young beekeeper, started a beekeeping initiative using modern hives after observing a decline in bees and increased deforestation in the region.
- The initiative began with less than 20 frame hives and has now expanded to 400 beekeepers from eight communities who have built more than 300 modern hives.
- The modern hives attract more bees compared to the traditional ones and generate money for locals so they can reduce their dependence on logging to sell charcoal, which, in turn, can help reduce pressure on the forests that the bees depend on.
- Bangura faced challenges in the initial phases of the project but has since won money from the Iris Project’s Stem Prize to kick off the project with plans to expand it.

Indiscriminate pesticide use threatens Bangladesh honey bees
- In Bangladesh, honeybee populations are dwindling as unaware farmers use insecticides, particularly neonicotinoids, which disrupt their foraging and survival.
- Experts are seriously concerned about the use of chemical cocktails comprising neonicotinoids without extensive research.
- Despite worldwide concerns over neonicotiniods, Bangladesh authorities are yet to address the issue due to lack of awareness.

An arachnid in your orchid? Ornamental plant trade risks spreading invasive species
What’s new: Your recently imported ornamental tree might have a stowaway spider or lizard hidden in its branches, a recent study warns. What’s more, these accidentally transported wildlife can turn into invasive pests in their new environment, researchers say. What the study says: The increasing popularity of imported ornamental plants has resulted in a multibillion-dollar […]
One in five butterflies lost in the US since 2000, study finds
A study in the United States found a dramatic 22% decline in butterfly populations between 2000 and 2020. Previous research has focused on a specific butterfly species or regions of the country. For this study, researchers wanted to understand overall butterfly population trends across the U.S. They gathered records of 12.6 million individual butterflies across […]
2024 was worst year for British bumblebees: Report
Bumblebee numbers in Great Britain declined by almost a quarter in 2024 compared with the 2010-23 average, making it the worst year for the genus Bombus since records began, according to the latest “BeeWalk” report. BeeWalk, run by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, is an annual standardized monitoring program, in which volunteers and partner organizations record […]
Dry season predictability and temperature drive dengue cases: Study
What’s new: Rising temperatures and variation in the length of dry seasons appear to influence the prevalence of dengue fever, according to a recent study conducted in the Philippines. What the study says: Cases of dengue fever are rising globally; in the Americas, they more than doubled from 4.6 million cases in 2023 to 10.6 […]
Adjusting to temperature and providing water can help save Kenya farmers’ bees, study says
- Temperature can increase bee colony loss in dry, hot and wet seasons, and beekeepers practicing water supplementation experience up to 10% less decrease, a study says.
- Bees, particularly honeybees, are crucial for plant pollination and agricultural production, with the Western honeybee being the most preferred species globally, contributing significantly to economic growth.
- Honeybee production is affected by extended drought seasons, with dried-up water points and limited access to plants and fruits like mangoes, a beekeeper explains.
- An expert calls for the evaluation of the impact of beekeeping education on the adoption of climate adaptation practices, such as water supplementation.

Decline of Cambodia’s native bees spells trouble for country’s farming future
- Cambodia’s native honey bees play a vital role in pollinating both crops and forests, providing services that are the “backbone of Cambodia’s rural economy” according to a recent study.
- The country is home to four native honey bee species, all of which the study says are at risk of population decline due to global factors like climate change and parasites, as well as more local threats of habitat loss and unsustainable wild honey harvesting.
- Experts call on both policymakers and farmers to protect Cambodia’s agriculture and ecosystems by safeguarding the country’s wild bee populations.

16 new-to-science grasshopper species found in US, Mexico deserts
What’s new: A recent study has identified 16 new-to-science species of grasshoppers living in the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico. One of the grasshoppers was named after the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, while others reference actors from shows like Star Trek. What the study says: The grasshopper genus Agroecotettix, known to live in very […]
Petition calls on EPA to tighten pesticide rules to protect bees
Insect conservation NGO the Xerces Society recently petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to expand its requirement of data to evaluate pesticides can that hurt bees. Scientists say improving pesticide safety for bees would benefit many other pollinators, including the iconic monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), which was recently proposed for protection under the U.S. Endangered […]
Photos: Top new species from 2024
- Scientists described numerous new species this past year, from the world’s smallest otter in India to a fanged hedgehog from Southeast Asia, tree-dwelling frogs in Madagascar, and a new family of African plants.
- Experts estimate that fewer than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science, with potentially millions more awaiting discovery.
- Although such species may be new to science, many are already known to — and used by — local and Indigenous peoples, who often have given them traditional names.
- Upon discovery, many new species are assessed as threatened with extinction, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts.

A Bali farm lights up the night with a one-of-a-kind firefly lab
- Balinese conservationist Wayan Wardika joined with scientists and farmers in Indonesia to launch a firefly breeding program called the Bring Back The Light initiative.
- Fireflies in Southeast Asia are vanishing due to habitat loss, light pollution, pesticide use, and climate change.
- The team is now attempting to identify eight species of firefly it has found locally, and encouraging neighboring farmers to go organic in order to boost firefly numbers.

Monarch butterflies proposed for U.S. federal protection
A recent proposal to protect the iconic orange-and-black monarch butterfly under the U.S. Endangered Species Act could make federal protections available to help the species avoid extinction and rebound. In a press release, Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, an NGO, said the ESA listing is a science-based decision and “a […]
Studies link stronger dengue outbreak in Bangladesh to climate change
- A typical consequence of climate change, drier monsoons with sudden bursts of heavy rain has led to days of inundation and long periods of standing water, creating an ideal situation for breeding mosquitoes, which may be linked to the stronger outbreak of dengue.
- Bangladesh has experienced noticeable changes in the timing and characteristics of its monsoon season. Traditionally occurring from June to August, the monsoon now extends from July to early October.
- Dengue cases have risen dramatically worldwide, with Asia responsible for 70% of reported instances, according to WHO. Researchers indicate that temperatures between 27 and 32 degrees Celsius are optimal for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, the vectors of the viral disease.
- As of Nov. 18, the death toll from the dengue outbreak in Bangladesh is 415, with around 80,000 infected, while the country recorded 1,705 dengue-related deaths in 2023.

‘Scratching the surface’ of Nepal butterfly research: Interview with Sanej Suwal
- With 692 identified species, including more than two dozen endemic, Nepal is an important habitat for butterflies. However, research is in its infancy due to insufficient funding, limited public interest and a lack of cultural emphasis on butterfly conservation.
- Sanej Suwal is one of a handful of researchers dedicated to butterfly research in Nepal, balancing species studies with public awareness initiatives. He organized Nepal’s first Big Butterfly Count, a citizen science initiative.
- Butterflies in Nepal likely face threats from climate change, habitat loss and urbanization. Despite their importance, butterfly research struggles with minimal funding and institutional recognition, requiring more researchers and global support to expand knowledge and conservation efforts.

Prospect of mining is a bitter pill for Afro-Brazilian community known for its honey
- In northern Brazil’s Piauí state, the vast Afro-Brazilian enclave of Lagoas is home to 119 communities, making it the largest of its kind in the semiarid Caatinga biome and one of the region’s largest producers of organic honey.
- In 2019, the mining company SRN Mineração obtained a temporary permit to prospect for iron ore in the region, posing a threat to the communities’ beekeeping livelihoods as it could contaminate or destroy the bees’ food sources.
- Community leaders say they weren’t consulted by the mining company and that it continues to disrespect their presence and traditions by prospecting less than 100 meters (330 feet) from their most important shrine.

Ant queens cannibalize their sick young to prevent disease outbreak
Ant queens practice a grim but effective form of childcare, eating their own sick larvae to recycle them into new, healthier eggs. A new study shows that by consuming their infected offspring, the queens protect the rest of their colonies from deadly infections while boosting their egg production with the influx of nutrients. Researchers behind […]
Climate change could threaten newly described ‘shiny’ North American bees
- A recent study examining North American bee species belonging to the Lasioglossum genus has led to the describing of three previously unknown bee species from specimens collected from California, Arizona and Baja California.
- Due to their distinct metallic sheen, one was designated as Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) iridescens, while another was named Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) dilisena, derived from Sinhala, the majority-spoken language in Sri Lanka, with the word dilisena translating to “shining.”
- The third species is named Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) silveirai as a tribute to the late Fernando Silveira of the Federal University of Minas Gerais for his significant contribution to bee taxonomy.
- The newly described species are predominantly found in high-elevation areas in California, where climate change poses a significant threat, so scientists emphasize the importance of further research on their ecology and distribution.

25-fold surge in malaria at Indonesia gold frontier raises deforestation questions
- Diagnoses of malaria in Pohuwato district on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi soared by more than an order of magnitude in 2023, a health department official told Mongabay Indonesia.
- The rise in the disease has been linked to deforestation in the district as well as its large trade in alluvial gold.
- Global incidences of malaria have declined markedly since the 1990s after the Gates Foundation and other donors poured money into prevention programs, but progress in eradicating the disease has slowed in recent years.

Search for rare Nigerian damselflies finds forest habitats under threat
- Nigeria’s Cross River state, famed for its gorillas, chimpanzees, drill monkeys and forest elephants, is also part of an ecological region known to harbor the greatest diversity of dragonflies and damselflies in Africa.
- A Nigerian-Dutch team recently published details of three new species of dragonfly it found during its survey of four locations across the state, alongside dozens of other dragonflies and damselflies, including some that are now critically endangered.
- Many of the forests and streams the insects live in are threatened by fire, deforestation and the expansion of commercial oil palm plantations.

Streetlights make tree leaves tougher for insects to eat, Beijing study shows
Plants that grow under the glare of artificial lighting like streetlights have tougher leaves that insects find hard to eat, new research has found. This finding suggests that artificial light at night could be a potential threat to urban biodiversity, study co-author Shuang Zhang, an ecologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Mongabay in […]
Ants perform life-saving amputations on injured nestmates, study finds
- Scientists have discovered that Florida carpenter ants perform life-saving amputations on injured nestmates, a level of medical intervention previously only observed in humans.
- The ants assess wound locations and adjust their treatment accordingly, amputating legs injured at the thigh to prevent infection spread, while cleaning wounds on the lower leg.
- The amputations are remarkably successful, with about 90% of the amputated ants surviving the treatment and resuming their full range of duties in the nest, despite losing one of their six legs.
- This behavior is believed to have evolved as an alternative method of infection control in carpenter ants, which lack the antimicrobial-producing metapleural glands found in many other ant species.

In the wake of Bangladesh’s deadliest dengue outbreak, researchers respond
- In 2023, Bangladesh experienced the deadliest outbreak of dengue fever in the country’s history.
- Climate change will likely make severe disease outbreaks more common.
- Common prevention strategies, like insecticides, are becoming less effective as mosquitoes gain resistance and the nature of disease changes.
- In response, researchers, nonprofits and Bangladeshi residents are searching for ways to protect their communities and families.

EPA releases a strategy to protect endangered species from insecticides
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a draft insecticide strategy to identify protections the agency will consider when it registers a new insecticide or reevaluates an existing one. The goal is to help protects 850 endangered plant and animal species from going extinct as a result of exposure to the 450 million kilograms […]
Scientists are racing to save South Asia’s butterflies from the threat of extinction
- Butterflies are some of Bangladesh’s most prolific pollinators and important ecosystem indicators.
- Insects, including butterflies, are especially vulnerable to climate change and other human-caused ecosystem changes.
- Despite the increasing threat of extinction, few legal protections or conservation initiatives focus on preserving butterflies and other insects.
- South Asian scientists are engaging communities in citizen science to garner attention to often-overlooked butterfly species.

Study finds best plants for bee health and conservation in North America
- A new study analyzed pollen from 57 North American plant species, identifying those most nutritionally beneficial for bees, which could inform conservation efforts and wildflower restoration projects.
- Based on their findings, the researchers recommend emphasizing roses (Rosa sp.), clovers (Trifolium sp.), red raspberry (Rubus idaeus), tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris), and Tara vine (Actinidia arguta) in wildflower restoration projects, citing their ideal protein-to-lipid ratios in pollen for wild bee nutrition.
- The research found that bees require a diverse diet from multiple plant sources to obtain a balanced intake of fatty acids and essential amino acids, as no single plant species provides the optimal nutrition.
- With many bee species facing significant threats, the researchers say they hope these findings can inform conservation efforts from policy changes to individual actions like planting native flowers and reducing pesticide use.

34,000-year-old termite mounds in South Africa are still being used
- Termite mounds in Namaqualand, South Africa, are at least 34,000 years old, according to a recent study.
- The termite mounds are still used by southern harvester termites (Microhodotermes viator), making them the oldest known inhabited termite mounds by a lot.
- The discovery also unearthed organic material buried deep inside the mound, demonstrating that the termites help to store carbon at depths greater than 1 meter (3 feet).
- Scientists are planning further research to understand how much carbon is stored in these termite mounds and how fast it is accumulating.

Reimagining insect research: Interview with Roel van Klink and Leandro Nascimento
- Three out of every four known species on Earth are insects, but efforts to monitor, study and protect them have been lagging worldwide.
- A new themed issue published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society delves into four tech tools that have the ability to reshape insect research in the coming years.
- The issue highlights acoustic monitoring, remote sensing using radars, computer vision, and DNA sequencing as potential tools that could help scientists and researchers ramp up global insect biodiversity monitoring.

Beekeeping helps villagers tend coastal forests in Thai mangrove hotspot
- Community-led approaches to mangrove restoration are increasingly recognized as more effective than many state- or market-driven initiatives in terms of both ecological and economic outcomes.
- Nestled within southern Thailand’s mangrove-rich but fast-developing Phang Nga Bay, the village of Ban Nai Nang has developed a mangrove conservation model based on beekeeping.
- By rearing colonies of native honey bees and stingless bees that are important pollinators of local mangrove trees, the villagers earn money from honey sales, which in turn fund their community mangrove conservation efforts.
- Since they began their beekeeping and conservation activities, they’ve observed signs of rejuvenation in their local mangrove forests and are now helping neighboring villages to follow their conservation model through training and mentorship.

Beekeeping for Mangrove Conservation in Thailand
PHANG NGA, Thailand – Community-led mangrove restoration is proving to be more effective than traditional state or market-driven methods, both ecologically and economically. In southern Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay—a region known for its rich mangrove ecosystems but rapid development—the village of Ban Nai Nang has pioneered a unique mangrove conservation approach centered on beekeeping. By […]
Amazon deforestation threatens one of Brazil’s key pollinators, study shows
- Orchid bees, which help pollinate species from at least 30 plant families and play a big role in Brazil’s agriculture, have long been under threat from land-use change.
- Data from 1996-1997 from the Amazonian state of Rondônia show the twin spread of deforestation and agriculture drove down orchid bee abundance and diversity in this region.
- Analyzed in a recent study, the data suggest that bee diversity and abundance decline after only a decade of land-use change.
- Scientists revisited the past data collected from more than 130 sites to provide a more comprehensive baseline of orchid bee biodiversity as the region continues to face deforestation.

Mexico’s avocado industry harms monarch butterflies, will U.S. officials act? (commentary)
- Every winter, monarch butterflies from across eastern North America migrate to the mountain forests in Mexico, but those forests are threatened by the rapidly expanding avocado industry.
- Avocado production in Mexico is tied to deforestation, water hoarding and violence, and much of the resulting crop is exported to the U.S.
- Conservation groups are urging the U.S. State Department, USDA and USTR to ban imports of avocados from recently deforested lands in Mexico.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Florida growers eye agroecology solution to devastating citrus disease
- Virtually all of Florida’s citrus groves have been infected with citrus greening disease, also known by its Chinese name Huanglongbing, since the early 2000s.
- Despite billions of US dollars put toward rescue efforts, citrus production numbers are the lowest they have been since the Great Depression.
- Scientists from Argentina are now testing the agroecological method of push-pull pest management using an organic plant-hormone solution to lure pests away from citrus crops and toward “trap crops” instead.
- Proponents hope push-pull management, first developed in East Africa, could be part of the solution and lessen dependence on pesticides.

Tanzania’s ‘mountain of millipedes’ yields six new species
- Scientists have recently described six new species of millipedes found in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains.
- The six were among thousands of specimens collected by researchers studying forest ecology there and in the nearby Magombera Nature Reserve.
- Magombera was damaged by commercial logging in the 1970s-80s, and affected areas have been overrun by woody vines known as lianas.
- But teams working on the ground think that millipede diversity and abundance in liana thickets is equal to that of undisturbed forests, suggesting they may be dynamic places poised for forest regeneration with minimal human intervention.

Mini radio tags help track ‘murder hornets’ and other invasive insects
- Our increasingly interconnected world is moving insect pests around the planet, introducing invasive species that threaten agriculture and local ecologies.
- But tech is fighting back: Researchers have developed radio-tracking tags small enough to attach to invasive yellow-legged hornets in the U.K. and Europe, allowing scientists to find and destroy their nests.
- Researchers are now deploying this technology in the U.S., to address yellow-legged hornets in Georgia and northern giant hornets in the Pacific Northwest.

Night light, habitat loss & pesticides threaten Brazil’s bioluminescent insects
- Brazil’s diverse habitats house a remarkable variety of firefly species, many of which are habitat specialists, thriving in unique ecological niches but vulnerable to environmental changes.
- A new study from the Cerrado shows a drastic decline in the diversity of fireflies and other bioluminescent beetles in areas affected by habitat loss and pesticide use over 30 years and suggests that ALAN — Artificial Light At Night — might also pose a threat to these insects in the future.
- Global research has also pointed to habitat loss, pesticide use and light pollution as the main threats to firefly populations, singling out the latter as the fastest-growing threat in southeastern Brazil.
- While protected areas offer some refuge against habitat loss and pesticide use, the subtler impacts of light pollution combined with a lack of fundamental knowledge about fireflies and other bioluminescent beetles remain ongoing obstacles to effective conservation efforts.

Agroecological solutions better than pesticides in fighting fall armyworm, experts say
- Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is an invasive agricultural pest, which first hit West Africa in 2016 and quickly spread across the continent.
- Experts have now found that the pest’s impact on maize yields is no longer as severe as initially feared.
- An integrated pest management approach, prioritizing nontoxic control measures, is the best way to tackle the infestation, improve yields and protect human health, according to experts.

Bees bring honey and hope to a forest reserve in Nigeria
- Nigeria’s Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve boasts more plant species than any other montane forest in Nigeria.
- The reserve is also home to a small population of endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees.
- However, human pressures have resulted in deforestation of portions of Ngel Nyaki.
- An initiative hopes to safeguard and rehabilitate Ngel Nyaki’s habitat by training community members in beekeeping.

Like a moth to a flame: Science finally explains why insects flock to artificial lights
- New research used motion capture to reveal insects don’t fly directly toward lights but tilt their backs toward the source, trapping them in loops.
- This “dorsal light response” helps insects orient themselves in space, but near lights it backfires.
- The findings explain the familiar sight of insects circling lights, and could inform efforts to reduce light pollution’s impacts.
- Researchers suggest that reducing upward-facing lights and ground reflections could help night-flying insects.

In eastern Indonesia, a child adventurer discovers a new giant stick insect
- In March 2021, a 14-year-old boy discovered a new species of stick insect on Indonesia’s Timor Island while hiking with his father.
- Two years later, scientists published the first description of the new species in the March 2023 edition of the journal Faunitaxys.
- Davis Marthin Damaledo, now 17, a co-author on the paper, named the foot-long stick insect after a 19th-century king who ruled over his native Timor.

Photos: Top species discoveries from 2023
- Scientists described a slew of new species this past year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squid, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons.
- Experts estimate less than 20% of Earth’s species have been documented by Western science.
- Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to local and Indigenous people and have a common name.
- Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction as soon as they are found, and many species may go extinct before they are named, experts say.

Japanese butterfly conservation takes flight when integrated with human communities
- A brilliant blue butterfly species has been declining in Japan as the grassland-mimicking agricultural landscapes its host plant relies on fade, due to urban migration, the ageing of the population, and the nation importing food from abroad.
- The key lies in preserving this traditional landscape called satoyama, a mosaic of various ecosystems like grasslands, woodlands and human uses such as farms and rice fields.
- Researchers with the University of Tokyo have teamed up with the town of Iijima in Nagano prefecture and a local agricultural cooperative to maintain this mixed landscape while reintroducing populations of the butterfly, whose population has grown.
- Though it seems counterintuitive, there are many successful global projects connected via the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative, which prevent human-dominated landscapes from reverting naturally to ecosystem types like forests that rare species aren’t adapted to.

Robotic insect reveals evolutionary secrets of the fastest flapping fliers
- Insects have been incredibly successful in developing ways of flying, with an ultra-fast flapping mode that scientists thought had evolved multiple times over history.
- Now, researchers have genetically traced that mode back to a common ancestor, a major breakthrough in understanding insect flight evolution.
- To confirm their findings, the researchers built a moth-sized robot that mimicked the various ways insects take to the sky.

The man who made a pact with wild bees in Colombia’s Amazon
- Delio de Jesús Suárez Gómez, a member of the Indigenous Tucano community in Colombia, is combining ancestral knowledge with science to help pollinating bees survive the harsh conditions of life in the rainforest.
- In return, the bees provide honey for families, which is sold, and boosts the communities’ food and fruit supply through pollination.
- The newly-formed group Asomegua (Asociación de Meliponicultores del Guainía) is the result of a decade of beekeeping in La Ceiba, a community on the banks of the Inírida River near the famous Mavicure Hills.
- Bee populations around the world, which participate in the pollination of 75% of the world’s food crops, are on the decline, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Brazil’s Indigenous communities turn to native beekeeping to recover nature
- Indigenous territories located in different Brazilian biomes — the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest — are hosting beekeeping projects aimed at both generating an income and restoring local ecosystems.
- The community projects show how these efforts, associated with agroecological food production, can improve quality of life, especially in the face of climate change impacts.
- The movement began four years ago with a crowdfunding campaign to establish beekeeping in the Amazon, and today includes 53 traditional communities involved in native beekeeping across the country.

New research shines a light on Sri Lanka fireflies
- Until recently, there had been a significant absence in research on Sri Lanka’s fireflies; previous work was by British scientists a couple hundred years ago, but now a new surge in research has led to new findings in the pipeline for publication.
- Recent research has led to the rediscovery of Luciola nicolleri, a firefly not seen since its description 100 years ago, and Curtos costipennis, a new discovery in Sri Lanka.
- Glowworms are the larval stage of fireflies, and folklore has it that once stung by them, treatment would require mud from the depths of the ocean and stars from the sky, indicating a difficult cure — shot down by experts as myth, confirming fireflies do not harm human life.
- A beautiful and common sight just a decade ago, fireflies are fast disappearing from urban landscapes due to loss of habitat, increasing temperatures and pollution levels, affecting their reproduction signals in the form of bioluminescent lights.

Southern African caterpillar that feeds millions may be next climate casualty
- A new study projects a significant loss of habitat for an edible caterpillar, known as the mopane worm, in Southern Africa in the coming decades.
- Mopane worms are a key source of seasonal protein for millions of people throughout Southern Africa, but they also face pressures from overharvesting and deforestation.
- Species distribution models devised by a group of scientists project that even under a moderate climate change scenario, some regions will lose 99% of suitable habitat for the caterpillars.
- The scientists behind the study say their projections should be seen as a call to protect regional food security by preventing both climate change and biodiversity loss.

Strengthening crops with insect exoskeletons? Study says yes, by way of the soil
- Supplementing soil with insects’ cast-off outer skin after a molt can help increase plant biomass, the number of flowers, pollinator attraction, seed production, and even resilience to insect herbivore attacks, according to researchers.
- Farmers are already using insects, in particular the black soldier fly, for livestock feed and waste reduction, and this new use could help the transition to a more sustainable and circular agricultural system, scientists say.
- Along with further investments in research and development, a higher uptake in insect farming practices, by both small and industrial farmers, will improve for boosting crop productivity within circular agriculture.

In Nepal, Chepang take up the challenge to revive their cultural keystone tree
- In Nepal, the Chepang people have long relied on the chiuri tree (Diploknema butyracea or Indian butter tree) for timber, fuelwood and butter.
- According to folklore, the Chepang tribe, the chiuri tree and bats are all part of a three-pronged system of survival, as each helps the other two; that system — and the chiuri tree — has fallen to the wayside.
- Now, young Chepangs are trying to revive the chiuri tree and market the valuable fruits.

A Guarani community brings native bees back in the shadow of São Paulo
- The Guarani living in the Jaraguá Indigenous Territory in the northwestern corner of the mega city of São Paulo have managed to recover nine species of native bees that had died out in the region, today thriving in 300 hives.
- Unlike the better-known Africanized honey bees, native Brazilian bees have no stingers and are less aggressive.
- Native bees are sacred to the Guarani, who use the wax to keep bad spirits away and honey and propolis to cure a range of ailments.
- These bee species are also important pollinators: some Brazilian plants can only be pollinated by native bees.

Honey production sweetens snow leopard conservation in Kyrgyzstan
- Kyrgyzstan is one of a dozen countries where snow leopards live, but its population of 300-400 of the big cats living along its highest peaks is stressed by climate change, mining, road construction, and conflict with herders, whose livestock can be tempting prey.
- A new program by two snow leopard conservation NGOs is helping herders diversify away from livestock toward beekeeping, agroecology, ecotourism and handicrafts.
- Participants receive beehives and training, and help with education and research into the local snow leopard population via deployment of many camera traps, which so far suggest that the local populations of leopards and a favorite prey species, ibex, are stable or increasing.
- Half of the honey profits are invested back into the program to improve beekeeping education, purchase supplies, and to fund environmental projects chosen by the participants.

Ethiopia used chemicals to kill locusts. Billions of honeybees disappeared
- Kenya and Ethiopia sprayed millions of hectares of cropland and pastures with chemical pesticides in response to massive locust swarms that emerged between 2019 and 2021.
- In Ethiopia, around 76 billion honeybees died or abandoned their hives during this period, a new study estimates, arguing that chemical spraying was most likely to blame.
- The researchers said Somalia’s use of a biopesticide, on the other hand, was a better approach and that chemical pesticides banned in the EU and the U.S. because of harmful effects on the environment and human health cannot continue to be used in other parts of the world.
- Advocates for integrated pest management say that countries should track and manage locust upsurges before they reach threatening proportions.

Monarch butterflies become a powerful symbol for justice at the U.S./Mexico border (commentary)
- Monarch butterflies have become a strong symbol for advocates of biological diversity and human rights at the U.S./Mexico border.
- Though its population appears to be at the brink of a U.S. endangered species listing, their conservation along the southern border has been controversial since the former presidential administration’s wall building effort bulldozed habitat at the National Butterfly Center without properly notifying the center about the construction.
- Drawing parallels between the plight of the species and that of human migrants trapped at the U.S./Mexico border, immigration rights protests have begun featuring images of monarchs and people making butterfly shapes with their hands.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

DRC’s endangered bonobos face another threat to their survival: malaria
- Along with humans, great apes like gorillas and chimpanzees are known to get infected with malaria, but evidence about the parasite’s effects on bonobos has been scant.
- A recent study that analyzed the feces of bonobo across the species’ range found that one bonobo population showed evidence of both malaria infection and a genetic variation that would likely protect them against severe disease.
- This genetic variation was less common in other populations, suggesting that other bonobo groups could be in trouble if climate change brings malaria-carrying mosquitoes into their habitats.

Study: Online trade in arachnids threatens some species with extinction
- A recent study reveals a vast and unregulated global trade in invertebrates, posing a risk of overexploitation of some species in the wild.
- A group of scientists scoured the internet and discovered that a total of 1,264 species are being traded online.
- Tarantulas are particularly in demand, with 25% of species described as new to science since 2000 popular with collectors.
- Africa is prominent in this trade as both a source and transit hub for tarantulas and scorpions.

Moths vs. mines in Ecuador’s astounding biodiversity hotspot
- The Intag Valley in the tropical Andes region of Ecuador is among the world’s most biodiverse places, with more than half of its species found nowhere else.
- This rich cloud forest has also been targeted by mining companies seeking its vast mineral resources, like copper.
- Local communities have been organizing to protect the region from such threats for decades, in what has become the longest-continuing resistance to mining in Latin America.
- Mongabay’s associate digital editor Romi Castagnino joins the podcast this week to discuss her recent reporting trip to the valley with staff writer Liz Kimbrough, detailing the immense biodiversity, community resistance, and efforts to challenge the planned mine they witnessed.

Indigenous women record age-old knowledge of bees in Colombia’s Amazon
- A team of Indigenous Yucuna women in the Colombian Amazon are rescuing and documenting the remaining oral knowledge on bees and their roles in the ecosystem, along with the traditional classification system of diverse bee species.
- With the help of nine elders, they are documenting and sketching tales and songs to gather bee names, characteristics, behaviors, roles in their crop fields and the places where bees build beehives.
- Biologists part of a bee inventory program and the women from the reserve are working to compare each other’s findings on bee species in the Indigenous territory, where researchers say bees are better protected than other regions of Colombia.
- Some of the traditional tales and knowledge are even surprising to the women documenting it; they say the details and scientific information will be shared with the communities and local schools to raise awareness on the importance of protecting bees.

Pollinator declines linked to half million early human deaths annually: Study
- A new modeling study finds that half a million people are currently dying prematurely every year due to global insect pollinator decline because of lack of availability and/or high price of healthy foods such as nuts, legumes, fruits and vegetables.
- Robust epidemiological research has linked higher fruit, vegetable and nut intake to lowered mortality from many major chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.
- Researchers assessed the problem nationally: Middle-income countries, including Russia, China and India, are among the hardest hit, as are Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar, though surprisingly, parts of Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa were among the least affected. Wealthy nations were more immune from pollinator decline.
- Experts say multiple solutions are readily available: Wild pollinators can be significantly increased by protecting existing, and creating new, pollinator habitat at the farm and national level, by reducing and eliminating the use of harmful pesticides like neonicotinoids, and by effectively combating climate change.

Western monarch populations reach highest number in decades
- The western monarch butterfly population reached its highest number since the year 2000, with more than 335,000 butterflies counted during the annual Thanksgiving Western Monarch Count in California and Arizona.
- Western monarchs winter in California and migrate thousands of miles every year, in a migratory cycle that takes three or four generations. They are counted annually in their by volunteers at these sites.
- The population rebound is a positive development, but the species is still considered endangered and far from its population numbers in the 1980s when millions of butterflies could be seen in the trees.
- Conservation efforts include protecting overwintering sites, planting native plants, reducing pesticide use and supporting conservation initiatives; the public can also participate in community science projects and make simple changes in their gardens and communities.

For Tanzania’s traditional beekeepers, modern hives just don’t buzz
- Tanzanian beekeepers prefer traditional log beehives to modern hanging frame beehives, says a new study.
- Traditional beehives have a negative impact on surrounding woodlands in the country’s semiarid Chemba district, according to researchers.
- The high cost of modern hives are one deterrent to their wider adoption, but so are strong cultural attachments to traditional beekeeping.
- South African-pioneered agave log hives mimic traditional ones and could offer an alternative.

Poisoned by pesticides: Health crisis deepens in Brazil’s Indigenous communities
- A recent report reveals communities in Brazil’s Mato Grosso region are contaminated by the agriculture industry’s increasing use of pesticides. About 88% of the plants collected, including medicinal herbs and fruits, on Indigenous lands have pesticide residue.
- Samples discovered high levels of pesticides in ecosystems and waters far from crop fields, including carbofuran — a highly toxic substance which is banned in Brazil, Europe and the U.S.
- Experts blame the lack of control by government officials for widespread environmental damage and an escalating health crisis among Indigenous populations, as communities report growing numbers of respiratory problems, acute poisonings and cancers.
- A spokesperson for the biggest agrochemical companies operating in Brazil disputes the findings of the report and numbers of people far from crop regions affected by pesticide usage.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2022 (Photos)
- A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula, an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world’s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022.
- Scientists estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Even among the most well-known group of animals, mammals, scientists think we have only found 80% of species.
- Unfortunately, many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction.
- Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to locals and have a common name. For instance, Indigenous people often know about species long before they are “discovered” by Western Science.

‘Bizarre’ newly classified scorpionfly shines light on Nepal’s insect diversity
- After closely examining long-held specimens of insects from Nepal, University of Göttingen zoologist Rainer Willmann has newly described and classified a previously unknown genus of scorpionfly he named Lulilan.
- These scorpionflies have an extremely long abdomen and tail and large genital structure that the male uses to grasp the female during copulation.
- Researchers say the presence of scorpionflies, which are threatened by development, insecticides and disease, indicate a healthy environment — and could be a positive sign for the diversity of Nepal’s insect life.

How many ants live on Earth? At least 20 quadrillion, scientists say
- Biologists scoured hundreds of studies of ant populations around the globe to arrive at a startling new estimate of their numbers: 20 quadrillion, or about 2.5 million for every person on Earth.
- Even this estimate is low, the scientists say, as it does not account for ants living underground, and there is not much data from Northern Asia and Central Africa.
- Because ants are vital to the health of our ecosystems, researchers stress the importance of learning more about their abundance and their response to environmental change.

Climate change is hammering insects — in the tropics and everywhere else: Scientists
- A new review paper finds that climate change is pounding insects in a wide variety of ways all over the world.
- Because insects are so sensitive to temperature change, climate change is impacting them directly, including potentially decreasing their ability to breed.
- But climate change is also causing insects to change their behavior as it shifts seasonal beginnings and ends, risking that insects will act out of sync with the rest of the environment on which they depend. Climate change-intensified drought, extreme precipitation, lengthening heat waves, and fires are also harming insects.
- The best way to protect insects? Combat climate change and safeguard micro-habitats.

Photos: Newcomer farmers in Brazil embrace bees, agroforestry and find success
- New female farmers that are part of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) are embracing beekeeping and agroforestry on land that was previously unproductive and worn out by pesticides and fertilizers.
- The workers’ movement seeks to rectify land inequality by helping families occupy, settle and farm on land throughout the country.
- People are initially given unproductive land and are taught agroecological techniques based on organic and regenerative farming.
- In the past five years since they started tending to the land, the new beekeepers and farmers say there have been improvements in soil quality, reduced soil erosion and higher bird and native bee diversity in the region.

In temperate Nepal, climate change paves way for tropical dengue fever
- Nepal is experiencing its worst outbreak of dengue fever in recorded history, which health experts attribute in part to a changing climate.
- Wetter monsoons and warmer temperatures have made for ideal breeding conditions for the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
- Poor water and waste management are also factors, allowing for water to stagnate for long periods and giving the mosquitoes a place to lay their larvae.
- Experts say it will take a combination of personal responsibility — to eradicate mosquito-breeding grounds — and government leadership — to coordinate the public health response — if dengue is to be eradicated in Nepal.

Local coverage of Nepal’s ‘Himalayan Viagra’ harvest lacks eco focus, study says
- Yarsa gunbu, better known outside Nepal as the Himalayan Viagra, accounts for two-fifths of the country’s non-timber exports.
- Every year, hundreds of thousands of Nepalis head for the hilly regions to harvest this fungus-mummified caterpillar larvae from the wild, leaving schools, farms and entire villages deserted.
- A new study analyzing domestic news coverage of yarsa gunbu has found that much of the reporting focuses on the scale of the harvest and the exorbitant prices that the commodity can fetch.
- The study authors have called on the media to emphasize other aspects of the yarsa gunbu trade, including the ecological cost from harvesting, and the social cost when schools are bereft of teachers.

Expedition reveals the amazing nocturnal fauna in the Amazon Rainforest
- Project Mantis carries out research expeditions to the Amazon to record the often-overlooked fauna that emerge when night falls over the world’s largest rainforest.
- Its researchers focus on insects and other small animals, with an emphasis on praying mantises, in the process describing species not yet known to science.
- Their night explorations include an innovative photography technique that uses ultraviolet light to capture the fluorescence emitted by some nocturnal animals.

Trouble in the tropics: The terrestrial insects of Brazil are in decline
- New research from Brazil shows terrestrial insects there are declining both in abundance and diversity, while aquatic insects are largely staying steady.
- Given a dearth of long-term data on tropical insects, the scientists took creative means to collect data, including contacting 150 experts for their unpublished data.
- Scientists believe the usual global suspects are behind Brazil’s insect decline: habitat destruction, pesticide use, and climate change.
- Experts say tropical countries need more resources, including long-term funding, to discover with greater certainty what’s happening to insects there. Large-scale insect loss threatens many of Earth’s ecological services, including waste recycling, helping to build fertile soils, pollinating plants, and providing prey for numerous other species.

Monarch butterflies are officially endangered
- The iconic monarch butterfly has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, meaning the species is likely to go extinct without significant intervention.
- The number of migratory monarch butterflies has dropped more than 95% since the 1980s, according to counts at overwintering sites in California and Mexico.
- Renowned for their impressive migrations of more than 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) over several generations, the monarch decline is driven by habitat loss, herbicide and pesticide use, logging at overwintering sites in Mexico, urban development and drought.
- Experts say that planting milkweed, reducing pesticides and protecting overwintering sites for butterflies are measures needed to protect this beloved species.

Authorities and Yobin communities clash as deforestation spikes in Indian national park
- Namdapha National Park is India’s third-largest national park and is home to thousands of species, including tigers, clouded leopards and an endemic species of flying squirrel that has only been observed once by scientists.
- Satellite data show deforestation has increased in the park over the last two decades.
- Members of an Indigenous group called the Yobin have been living in portions of the park for generations, but park authorities consider Yobin settlements to be “encroachments” and the main driver of deforestation and poaching in Namdapha National Park
- In the last few months, authorities have destroyed at least eight Yobin settlements inside the park.

Is invasive species management doing more harm than good? (commentary)
- Conservationists may be thwarting their own efforts, as well as causing harm to wildlife, in their battle against invasive species, a new op-ed argues.
- In numerous cases, non-native species have been shown to benefit wildlife, while their management – from toxic chemicals to culling – may be causing more harm than good.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

‘Beenome’ project aims to boost bee conservation with genetic mapping
- Scientists have announced a plan to map the genomes of at least 100 bee species, representing each of the major bee taxonomic groups in the U.S., to help them determine which bees are more vulnerable to climate change and pesticides.
- A recent study found that of 46 U.S. bumblebee species on record, most had been negatively affected by temperature change over the past 120 years, more so than by precipitation and floral resources.
- A recent court ruling in California allows insects to be covered by the state endangered species act, protecting four native bumblebee species and setting a precedent for similar insect protections in other states.
- At the individual level, you can help bees by cultivating bee habitats, avoiding pesticide use, and planting pollinator-friendly plants in your own yard.

High tech early warning system could curb next South African locust swarms
- The worst locust swarms in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province in 25 years (occurring in May 2022) is in the past. But the millions of eggs laid by the insects could hatch this September, the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Grassy farmland in the vast region was only just beginning to recover from a devastating six year drought which struck between 2015 – 2021, when the locust swarms arrived earlier this year.
- Farmers are now pinning their hopes on new software that will track newborn locusts in real time, enabling them to target and exterminate the insect pests before they take to the skies and reproduce.
- The software has been used in seven countries in the Horn of Africa and East Africa and is seen as a vital part of minimizing the size of swarms, which can become an annual disaster if they aren’t targeted immediately after birth. South Africa favors chemical pesticides over non-toxic biopesticides for locust control.

‘GPS’ bird points to the sweet spot: Q&A with honey hunter Eliupendo Laltaika
- In northern Tanzania, a handful of communities still practice the long-running tradition of honey hunting: calling out to a honeyguide bird, and following it to a wild beehive.
- It’s “an amazing interaction,” says Eliupendo Laltaika, a former honey hunter who’s now the director of the Ngorongoro Biodiversity Conservation Project.
- But Laltaika warns the practice is dying out — his own Maasai people, he says, have large-ly abandoned it in favor of farmed honey and sugar — and younger generations are mostly unaware of it.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Laltaika talks about how different communities practice honey hunting, what social changes have meant for the tradition, and why it’s worth saving.

California court ruling opens door for protection of insects as endangered species
- A court ruled this week that the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) can apply to invertebrates, including insects.
- This means legal protections will be in place for four native, endangered bumblebee species in California.
- The decision marks the end of a court battle between conservation groups and a consortium of large-scale industrial agricultural interests.
- An estimated 28% of all bumblebees in North America are at risk of extinction, with consequences for ecosystems and crops, as one-third of food production depends on pollinators.

Repeated fires are silencing the Amazon, says new acoustic monitoring study
- Researchers recorded thousands of hours of sounds in areas that had been logged, burned once and burned multiple times along the “arc of deforestation” in the Brazilian Amazon.
- In the forests with repeated fires, animal communication networks were quieter, with less diversity of sound than in logged forests or forests burned only once. This type of acoustic monitoring can be used as a cost-effective way to check the pulse of the forest.
- The authors were surprised to find that insects, not birds, were the most obvious signal of forest degradation. Additionally, they found that amount of biomass in a forest doesn’t correlate with the level of biodiversity.
- There’s a major difference in the biodiversity of a forest after one burn versus multiple burns, one author said, so protecting forests from repeated fires is still worthwhile.

That ‘killer’ spider story you read online? Fake news, most probably
- Media coverage of human encounters with spiders is rife with misinformation, according to a study by more than 60 scientists around the world.
- They compiled a database of more than 5,300 news articles from 81 countries about these encounters, and found 47% had factual errors and 43% were sensationalistic.
- They also found stories that quoted spider experts tended to be more accurate than those that quoted medical experts of pest control specialists, who don’t receive the same level of training.
- Negative media portrayals of spiders, snakes and other animals that many people tend to dislike hurt efforts to conserve species that play an important role in the ecosystem, the study authors say.

A whiz and a buzz: Bee attacks at Sri Lanka rock fortress point to need for toilets
- A leading bee expert in Sri Lanka has attributed seemingly unprovoked bee attacks on visitors at the Sigiriya rock fortress to poor toilet habits by the latter.
- With no toilet facilities at the popular tourist site, visitors urinate in a concealed corner of the fort, leaving puddles that the bees are drawn to for the sodium and sugar content.
- Wasantha Punchihewa says providing toilet facilities at Sigiriya would be a positive step toward ending the attacks, and a welcome change from authorities’ repeated efforts to eradicate the bee colonies.
- “Bees are not evil, and we can coexist if we can maintain a healthy distance and avoid unnecessary close encounters,” he says.

Afield at last, researchers head out for a new season
- On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we check in with a couple field researchers to find out what they’ll be working on during the upcoming season.
- For many, it’s the first field season after a rather long hiatus due to the COVID pandemic.
- Meredith Palmer's field work involves developing new prototypes for wildlife monitoring technologies like BoomBox, an open‐source device that turns camera traps into Automated Behavioral Response systems.
- We also speak with Ummat Somjee, a field researcher based out of the Smithsonian Tropical Institute in Panama who uses insects as models to understand the evolution of extreme structures in large animals, like the tusks of elephants and antelope horns.

The amazing — and unknown — diversity of insects living in the Amazon canopy
- A new study collected tens of thousands of insects from the rainforest canopy in the Brazilian Amazon and found that 60% of the specimens occur at a height of 8 meters (26 feet) and higher.
- Most of the species, and even entire genera, have not yet been described by science, pointing to an unfathomable richness in insect diversity in the Amazon.
- This survey differs from conventional research on insects, which are usually conducted at ground level, because it pays more attention to the vertical diversity of the forest, from the ground to the treetops.

Climate crisis forecasts a fragile future for wildflowers and pollinators
- A first-of-its-kind experimental study has found that climate change reduces the abundance of wildflowers and causes them to produce less nectar and fewer and lighter seeds.
- These changes also impact pollinating insects visiting the flowers: they have to visit more flowers, more frequently, to gather the required food.
- Fewer flowers imply reduced reproductive fitness in plants, as well as fewer food resources for invertebrates that rely on these plants for food, habitat and shelter.
- Overall, climate change may disturb the composition of wildflower species and their pollinators, impacting agricultural crop yields, researchers say.

For a beekeeping couple in Costa Rica, pesticides are killing the buzz
- For decades, Guillermo Valverde Azofeifa and Andrea Mora Montero have kept Melipona stingless bees in their garden, a task that is becoming more difficult.
- Their home has become surrounded by plantations growing monocultures of pineapple, oil palm and cassava.
- When these crops are sprayed with pesticides, the couple’s bees often die. They worry the fumes may also affect the health of their children.
- The two beekeepers have now initiated legal proceedings to save these native pollinators in Costa Rica, a country that despite its environmentally friendly reputation has one of the highest rates of pesticide use in the world.

‘Prospect of existence’: Nameless grasshopper sparks taxonomic debate
- Researchers’ failed attempt to describe a new-to-science species of grasshopper based only on photographs has prompted a debate over established taxonomic convention.
- The grasshopper was photographed in northern Peru in 2008, and researchers from Croatia have since had their attempts to formally describe it rejected by journal after journal.
- In response to what they saw as an “arbitrary” process, the researchers wrote a paper on the challenges of describing a species from only photographs, arguing that conventions should change in an era of biodiversity loss.
- “If a living specimen is never found, it will remain a curiosity, suspended between existence and the prospect of existence,” said lead author Niko Kasalo.

Researchers puzzle over sea-crossing migration of crimson rose butterflies
- A recently observed migration of a large swarm of crimson rose butterflies from India to Sri Lanka has highlighted how little we still know about this natural phenomenon.
- Unlike the better-known migration of the monarch butterfly in North America, the movements of the crimson rose are meandering and dispersed, often triggered by the start of rains following a long dry spell.
- Researchers have called for more studies to be done to better understand the phenomenon, including through contributions from citizen scientists in both Sri Lanka and India.

Air pollution makes it tough for pollinators to stop and smell the flowers
- Common air pollutants such as those found in car exhaust fumes react with floral scents, leading to reduced pollination by insects, according to new research.
- Researchers used a fumigation facility to control levels of pollution over an open field of mustard plants and observed the effects of these pollutants on pollination by local, free-flying insects.
- The presence of air pollution resulted in up to 90% fewer flower visits and one-third less pollination than in a smog-free field. The largest decrease in pollination came from bees, flies, moths and butterflies.
- The link between poor air quality and human health is well known, but this research points to another way in which air pollution may affect the systems that humans and all other life rely upon.

New assessment finds dragonflies and damselflies in trouble worldwide
- A global assessment of more than 6,000 dragonfly and damselfly species shows that 16% are at risk of extinction.
- The main threats to these insects are the human destruction of their wetland habitats, water pollution, and climate change.
- There are more dragonfly and damselfly species than there are mammals, yet they remain so understudied that the assessment failed to come up with enough data to determine a conservation status for more than 1,700 species.
- Researchers say better protecting the world’s wetlands would not only save the thousands of dragonflies and damselflies, but innumerable other species too, and provide us with better water quality and more carbon sequestration.

Western monarchs make a spectacular comeback in California
- The population of monarch butterflies overwintering in California has increased a hundredfold, according to an annual count: more than 247,000 butterflies were counted in 2021, up from 2,000 butterflies in 2020.
- Scientists are unsure why numbers have soared, but speculate it is due to a suite of environmental factors including climate and food resources.
- Although this year’s count is overwhelmingly positive, the population has still plummeted from historic numbers; more than 1.2 million butterflies were recorded in 1997.
- Pesticide- and herbicide‐intensive agriculture, urban sprawl, pollution, and climate change have contributed to the global decline of insects, including monarchs.

Here’s how science is trying to conserve the monarch butterfly’s forests
- A team of Mexican scientists are developing a successful experiment that allows for the recovery and maintenance of endemic trees in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve that provide a habitat for monarch butterflies every winter.
- The team is employing a mix of natural restoration, soil conservation and active reforestation that has so far achieved a survival rate of 83 to 84 percent, at least three times more successful than some government reforestation programs.
- According to Dr. Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero, one of the researchers of the project, forests where monarch butterfly colonies are located are becoming more susceptible to climate events through unusual foliage loss and increased woodland mortality.
- Researchers have started to implement the “assisted migration” of oyamel firs (Abies religiosa) to higher altitudes in the reserve, where they can best resist changing climatic conditions.

In Madagascar, beekeepers persist in the face of fires and forest loss
- The Anjozorobe Angavo forest corridor is one of the few remaining primary forests in the Central Highlands of Madagascar.
- Home to a number of rare and endemic species, this primary forest is undergoing a rapid decline, driven primarily by fires.
- In hopes of alleviating the problem, an NGO and a honey company are collaborating to train farmers in apiculture, with the aim of providing them with a stable income and an alternative livelihood that does not involve destroying the forest.
- However, this beekeeping project is threatened by the rapid decline of trees that are vital for the survival of bees.

More trees means healthier bees, new study on air pollution shows
- Scientists analyzed levels of chemical pollutants in native jataí bees across eight landscapes in Brazil’s São Paulo state.
- They found that in landscapes with more vegetation, the bees had fewer pollutants, at lower levels, indicating that the plants act as a filter and protective barrier
- The findings add to the growing scientific evidence about the importance of afforestation in urban areas, including creating ecological corridors to connect separate landscapes.
- Air pollution is the world’s top driver of illness and death from chronic noncommunicable diseases.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)
- Science has only just begun to find and describe all of the species on Earth; by some estimates, only 20% have been described.
- This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, an acrobatic North American skunk, an Australian “killer tobacco,” a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, and more.
- Though a species may be new to science, that doesn’t mean it has not yet been found and given a name by local and Indigenous communities.

Honey bees find food more easily in cities, thanks to abundant urban gardens
- In London, western honey bees travel shorter distances to find their meals in metropolitan areas than in agricultural ones.
- A rich supply of gardens and decorative flowers provides ample nectar close to urban hives.
- Adding native flowers and similar foraging hotspots near open fields would help support bees in intensively farmed areas.

In China, agroforestry serves up tea with a spoonful of sustainability
- In Yunnan, China, smallholder farmers applying agroecological principles to tea cultivation have seen results in the form of better-tasting tea, lower management costs, and richer biodiversity.
- With ethical consumerism on the rise, integrating agroecology could be an opportunity for tea farms to contribute toward conservation goals, experts say.
- Tea farmers and scientists have observed a shift toward more sustainable farming practices, but highlight a need for government policy that can further boost these bottom-up changes.
- By sequestering carbon and contributing to local food security, agroforests can help humans adapt to and combat the climate crisis.

In harm’s way: Our actions put people and wildlife at risk of disease
- While global attention is currently focused on COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases that jump from animals to humans, diseases that breach the species barrier also pass from people and domestic animals to wild species.
- Human alteration of the planet — the felling of forests, the legal and illegal wildlife trade, climate change, and other disruptions — is driving escalating unnatural interactions between species, allowing diseases to mutate and infect new hosts.
- Infectious disease poses a serious threat to tigers, chimpanzees, Ethiopian wolves, African wild dogs and a host of other threatened species. Viral diseases spread by humans, livestock and other domestic animals could serve as the knockout punch to endangered species already teetering on the edge of extinction.
- There’s growing support for a One Health strategy, which recognizes that human health, animal health and the health of the planet are inextricably linked — that protecting the planet is crucial to the health of all.

Forests falling for cashew monocultures: A ‘repeated mistake’ in Côte d’Ivoire (commentary)
- Savannas and dry forests in vast parts of Côte d’Ivoire are being transformed into orchards of cashew trees, just as large areas of its rainforest have fallen for cocoa.
- Grown in extensive monocultures, cashew has raised incomes but led to deforestation and incursions into protected forests, as major stakeholders overlook the loss of trees and agro-biodiversity.
- Pollination and human diets are suffering, too: nature-based approaches like agroforestry are needed to create a diversified landscape that can make cashew sustainable in the long run.
- The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Can we save the bees? Absolutely. Let’s start with the native species (commentary)
- To ‘save the bees’ we must begin with the most important question: which bees need saving?
- Honey bees are not native to North America, and generally prefer to pollinate non-native plants and crops, yet they enjoy mass appeal and major support campaigns via everyone from almond farmers to actress Angelina Jolie.
- North America’s native bees are adapted to the continent’s unique habitats and flowering plants that occur therein, therefore supporting native flora. But when floral resources are scarce, honey bees outcompete the natives for resources even in native ecosystems.
- The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Enhancing biodiversity through the belly: Agroecology comes alive in Chile
- Agroecology, the practice of ecological principles in farming, is coming to life in a corner of Chile through different faces and practices.
- Like individual bees working toward a common, greater goal, practitioners of agroecology tend have a positive multiplication effect in their territory.
- From food producers to beekeepers to chefs, these practitioners show that scaling up agroecology requires deconstructing implicit knowledge hierarchies, a disposition to learning continuously, and sharing through horizontal networks.

Loss of mangroves dims the light on firefly populations in Malaysia
- Firefly populations along the banks of the Rembau River in Malaysia have declined drastically in the past decade due to habitat loss, a new study has found.
- Researchers, who used satellite imagery to monitor changes in land use, found that conversion of Rembau’s mangroves to oil palm plantations and dryland forests were the top two factors behind the loss.
- Remote-sensing technology could help locals better understand the impact of various land use types on mangrove ecosystems and more efficiently prioritize areas for conservation.

Swarm technology: Researchers experiment with drones to battle crop pests
- A June special edition of the Journal of Economic Entomology focuses on the potential for using drones in a number of different ways for pest management.
- Proponents of the strategy believe that drone delivery of biocontrols can be used to reduce or, in some cases, replace the use of pesticides, allowing growers to take advantage of the higher prices commanded by organic produce.
- Strict airspace regulations, limited payload capacity and high starting cost are some of the speed bumps to widespread drone usage in agriculture, but experts remain optimistic that drone-based pest management strategies will become more common in coming years.

Naming of new ant species from Ecuador breaks with binary gender conventions
- The trap-jaw ant was named after the late artist and human rights activist Jeremy Ayers, a friend of study co-author Douglas Booher.
- When naming a species after an individual, scientific tradition has dictated ending the species name with an “i” for males or “ae” for females; Strumigenys ayersthey is the first species to break with this tradition.
- The ant is found in the Chocó region of Ecuador, a biologically rich and diverse coastal rainforest that is both understudied and under human threat due to mining, oil palm plantations, and logging.

Monks and wildlife come under pressure from Malaysian cement company
- Since last December, cement manufacturer Associated Pan Malaysia Cement has been looking to evict dozens of monks and devotees from the Dhamma Sakyamuni Caves Monastery in the limestone hills of Mount Kanthan in Malaysia’s Perak state.
- APMC calls the monks unlawful trespassers on company land; the monks say the company consented to their occupying the land for decades.
- Much of Mount Kanthan has already been quarried by APMC, and the untouched southern section where the monastery is located is also home to highly endemic and critically endangered flora and fauna.
- The monks and devotees are petitioning for the Perak state government to officially designate the monastery as a place of worship and Mount Kanthan as a national heritage site.

A startup deploys black soldier flies in the Philippines’ war on waste
- In Davao City, in the southern Philippines, a startup has introduced the use of black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) to address kitchen waste.
- The flies are fed kitchen waste, turning the food waste into compost, while their larvae, rich in protein, is touted as alternative feed for livestock.
- Proponents say insect protein is a much better alternative than commercial livestock feed made with fishmeal, associated with depleting fish populations, or soybeans, linked to deforestation and extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers.
- Treating kitchen waste with black soldier flies is also being touted as a cleaner alternative to municipal plans to incinerate the waste to generate electricity, which would contribute to air pollution.

East Africa deploys huge volumes of ‘highly hazardous’ pesticides against locust plague
- More than 95% of pesticides now being used in East Africa to fight locust swarms are scientifically proven to cause harm to humans and other organisms such as birds and fish.
- Half of the anti-locust pesticides delivered in East Africa since the beginning of the infestation in late 2019 contain chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to brain damage in children and fetuses, which is banned in the EU.
- Experts including a former FAO official concede the pesticides being used “are not pleasant things,” but say the lack of safer alternatives and the intensity of the locust plague leave them with little choice.

New assessment shines a light on the state of North America’s fireflies
- For years, naturalists and conservationists have noted, anecdotally, that fireflies seem to be in decline, but little was known about their conservation status, until now.
- An assessment of the extinction risk for firefly species in Canada and the U.S. reveals that 11% are threatened with extinction, 2% are near threatened, 33% are categorized as least concern, and more than half are data deficient, according to IUCN Red List criteria.
- Fireflies need abundant food sources (like snails and slugs), plenty of leaf litter and underground burrows, clean water, diverse native vegetation, and dark nights. Protecting and restoring high-quality habitat is critical for the conservation of fireflies and other insects, which are seeing global declines.
- The article includes a list of things individuals can do to help fireflies including mowing less or replacing lawns with diverse natives, leaving leaf litter, and eliminating pesticides and outside lights.

When a tree falls in the forest, it’s the birds that don’t make a sound, study finds
- A new study evaluated soundscape saturation in a tropical forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, before, during and after selective logging activities.
- It found that animal sounds promptly dropped after selective logging, but that the soundscape would recover after about a year. But two or three years after logging, soundscape saturation diminished again.
- Insects appeared to be less affected by selective logging than birds, the study found.
- Another expert not involved in the study says more realistic findings would have been obtained by recording the sounds from random locations in the forest instead of at the specific logging sites.

Developing nations pay for rich countries’ hunger for healthy, exotic food
- A new study shows that high-income countries place enormous demands on developing countries’ by importing crops that rely heavily on pollinators.
- The researchers apply the principle of Virtual Water, where goods are seen not just as movements of things but also of raw materials and services, in this case of pollinators.
- A growing demand in places like the U.S. and Europe for healthier diets, rich in fruits and beans, is also putting pressure on scarce pollination services.
- Pollination services may be free, but there are hidden costs to maintaining them, and it is communities in developing countries who pay them, the study suggests.

Death by 1,000 cuts: Are major insect losses imperiling life on Earth?
- New studies, featured in a recent edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, assess insect declines around the planet.
- On average, the decline in insect abundance is thought to be around 1-2% per year or 10-20% per decade. These losses are being seen on nearly every continent, even within well-protected areas.
- Precipitous insect declines are being escalated by humanity as soaring population and advanced technology push us ever closer to overshooting several critical planetary boundaries including biodiversity, climate change, nitrification, and pollution. Planetary boundary overshoot could threaten the viability of life on Earth.
- Action on a large scale (international, national, and public/private policymaking), and on a small scale (replacing lawns with insect-friendly habitat, for example) are desperately needed to curb and reverse insect decline.

Canopy beetles and flowering trees rely on each other in the Amazon, study
- A canopy scientist collected 859 species of beetles from the canopy species of a healthy lowland tropical rainforest in southern Venezuela.
- More than 75% of the beetle species collected were found living exclusively on flowering trees — many on trees with small white flowers.
- The results suggest that flowering trees play an important role in maintaining canopy beetle diversity in the Amazon and that these trees are being visited by beetles more than any other insect order, including bees and butterflies.
- To fight the global decline of insects, “researchers and conservationists must understand the ecological connections between insects and their food plants.”

Top positive environmental stories from 2020
- 2020 was a difficult year for many, but positive stories emerged.
- This year, species were brought back from the edge of extinction; interest in renewable energy surged; environmental monitoring technology improved; new protected areas were created; and a few Indigenous women leaders got some long-overdue credit and recognition.
- In no particular order, we look back at some of our top positive environmental stories from 2020.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2020 (Photos)
- In 2020, Mongabay and others reported on several announcements of species new to science.
- Snakes, insects, many new orchids, frogs, and even a few mammals were named in 2020.
- In no particular order, we present our 15 top picks.

No endangered listing for monarch butterflies as western count hits alarming low
- The iconic monarch butterfly meets the criteria to be listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act but will not be listed just yet because priority will be given to other species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced.
- This leaves the monarch as “a candidate species” for possible listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the future, meaning its status will be reviewed each year until it is either listed or the populations recover.
- Both eastern and western monarch populations are declining, with this year’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count deemed “alarming” and expected to yield a final figure of fewer than 10,000 individuals wintering in California — the smallest overwintering population on record.
- Under current conditions, the eastern monarch populations have about a 50-70% chance of reaching a point at which extinction is inevitable within 60 years. For western monarchs, the chances are higher, 60-68% within 10 years and 99% within 60 years.

[Photos] Tiny frog, venomous viper among 20 new species described in Bolivia
- An expedition into the cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes has uncovered 20 species new to science including a frog smaller than a coin, a new venomous pit viper, four butterflies, and four orchid species.
- Along with the newly described species, the research team also “rediscovered” four species believed to be extinct, including the devil-eyed frog not seen for 20 years.
- Overall, the expedition in the Zongo Valley near La Paz, Bolivia, uncovered rich diversity and endemism and recorded more than 1,200 plants, 247 insects, 10 amphibians, 10 reptiles, 161 birds, nine small terrestrial mammals, nine large mammals, and 12 species of bats.
- The Zongo Valley contributes drinking water and hydroelectric energy for the cities of La Paz and El Alto and is known to provide important ecosystem services. The report calls for urgent measures for formal conservation of this largely intact ecosystem.

Bug bites: Edible insect production ramps up quickly in Madagascar
- In the last two years, two insect farming projects have taken off in Madagascar as a way to provide precious protein while alleviating pressure on lemurs and other wild animals hunted for bushmeat.
- One program, which promotes itself with a deck of playing cards, encourages rainforest residents in the northeast to farm a bacon-flavored native planthopper called sakondry.
- Another program focuses on indoor production of crickets in the capital city, Antananarivo.
- Both projects are on the cusp of expanding to other parts of the country.

Graphic novel version of classic science memoir aims for new audiences
- Published in 1994, Edward O. Wilson’s “Naturalist” has long been known as one of the best scientific memoirs of its time.
- A 21st-century graphic adaptation of the novel brings Wilson’s journey of discovering the natural world as a child, and that journey’s influence on his career choices later in life.
- The adaptation was led by longtime graphic novelist, Jim Ottaviani, with illustrations by C.M. Butzer.

One year on: Insects still in peril as world struggles with global pandemic
- In June 2019, in response to media outcry and alarm over a supposed ongoing global “Insect Apocalypse,” Mongabay published a thorough four-part survey on the state of the world’s insect species and their populations.
- In four, in-depth stories, science writer Jeremy Hance interviewed 24 leading entomologists and other scientists on six continents and working in 12 nations to get their expert views on the rate of insect decline in Europe, the U.S., and especially the tropics, including Latin America, Africa, and Australia.
- Now, 16 months later, Hance reaches out to seven of those scientists to see what’s new. He finds much bad news: butterflies in Ohio declining by 2% per year, 94% of wild bee interactions with native plants lost in New England, and grasshopper abundance falling by 30% in a protected Kansas grassland over 20 years.
- Scientists say such losses aren’t surprising; what’s alarming is our inaction. One researcher concludes: “Real insect conservation would mean conserving large whole ecosystems both from the point source attacks, AND the overall blanket of climate change and six billion more people on the planet than there should be.”

A Philippine stingless bee helps boost coconut yields and empower women
- Tetragonula biroi, a stingless bee native to the Philippines, is being cultivated on a farm to both produce honey and pollinate coconut trees.
- The farm, owned by Luz-Gamba Catindig and employing local women, has seen an increase of up to 50% in its coconut yields; researchers say the presence of these pollinators, known as kiwot bees, can boost yields by up to 80%.
- Key to these improvements in productivity are upgrades to the common beehive, developed by local bee experts working with university researchers.
- Although kiwot bees produce less honey than the more common western honey bee (Apis mellifera), they produce more propolis, a resin-like substance with high medicinal and therapeutic potential.

As the Amazon burns, what happens to its biodiversity?
- More than 40% of fires in the Brazilian Amazon this year are burning in standing forests, with more than 4.6 million acres already impacted this year. While far from fully studied, such forest fires have major repercussions for flora and fauna.
- A study found, for example, that the abundance and types of dung beetle species alters in burned Amazon forests. Dung beetles play vital roles in nutrient cycling and seed dispersal. Other research detected declines in butterflies, specialist forest ant species and other litter-dwelling invertebrates, some birds, small mammals and snakes in newly burnt areas.
- Rainforest trees are especially vulnerable because fire is relatively new to the Amazon, and trees there have not developed fire resistance. A rainforest fire, burning through the forest for the first time, kills most small trees and seedlings and can kill 50% of large trees.
- Multiple fires over time continue reducing biodiversity. Some scientists fear that a combination of fires, increasing drought due to climate change, and deforestation could lead to a tipping point — with devastating impacts for the Amazon, which harbors 10% of the world’s biodiversity.

Philippine crickets, held nameless in a Hawaii museum, are finally identified
- Six new cricket species have been described from the Philippines, adding to a wealth of biodiversity endemic to this Southeast Asian archipelago.
- Three of the new species were described from specimens collected six decades ago and stored at a museum in Hawaii.
- Researchers say more field surveys need to be done to see if the species still occur in the areas where they were first found.
- They also call for further studies to uncover more of the as-yet-undescribed cricket species around the Philippines.

Agrochemicals and industrial waste threaten Argentina’s Gran Chaco
- Farmers in Argentina are using increasing amounts of herbicides and other agrochemicals to boost their crop yields.
- In the country’s Gran Chaco region, the unregulated use of agrochemicals has had devastating ecological effects, including the contamination of water sources that residents depend on.
- The Gran Chaco’s waterways are also under pressure from industrial pollution, heavy metals, oil spills, and arsenic found naturally in underground reservoirs.

Bubbles, lasers and robo-bees: The blossoming industry of artificial pollination
- Ninety percent of flowering plants require the help of animal pollinators to reproduce, including most of the food crops we eat.
- But massive declines in the populations of bees, the most efficient pollinators around, and the rising cost to farmers of renting them to pollinate their crops, has spurred the growth of the artificial pollination industry.
- The technologies being tested in this field include the delivery of pollen by drones and by laser-guided vehicles and even dispersal via soap bubbles.
- Proponents of artificial pollination say it can both fill the gap left by the declining number of natural pollinators and help in the conservation of these species; but others say there may not be a need for this technology if there was a greater focus on conservation.

This Philippine butterfly had a mistaken identity for years, until its ‘rediscovery’
- A pair of scientists have discovered a new subspecies of butterfly whose only known habitat is at the peak of a potentially active volcano in the central Philippines.
- Specimens of the new subspecies, Appias phoebe nuydai, were first collected in 2012 by researcher Jade Badon, who initially misidentified them as belonging to a different phoebe subspecies.
- The researcher realized in 2019 that the species was different after comparing its forewings to existing cataloged species.
- Climate change is the biggest possible threat to high-elevation butterflies, with researchers calling for more studies into how the butterflies are adapting.

In Sri Lanka, crop-destroying insects follow the COVID-19 pandemic
- In May, Sri Lanka recorded a sporadic increase in crop-damaging yellow-spotted grasshoppers (Aularches miliaris), leading to concerns that a pest outbreak could impact food security.
- Sri Lankan experts are also watching as harmful desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) damage crops in neighboring India and Pakistan, though it seems unlikely these locusts will arrive in the island nation.
- The decline of natural predators and recent changes in the climate may be helping to increase the frequency of these potentially devastating insect invasions.
- Experts have used drones to map and verify crop damage caused by grasshoppers.

Sex organs reveal new jumping spider species in the Philippines
- A father-and-daughter pair of Philippine scientists have described three new species of jumping spiders in the country after carefully examining the arachnids’ reproductive organs.
- The new spiders belong to the genus Lepidemathis that’s only found in the Philippines; the new arrivals raise the number of Lepidemathis species from four to seven.
- The spiders were found in three separate provinces on the main island of Luzon in 2014; arachnologist Aimee Lynn Barrion-Dupo and her father, entomologist Albert Barrion, spent the following years trying to differentiate the species from other jumping spiders.
- Male jumping spiders are known for their well-choreographed courtship dance, and it’s possible these new species have a unique song and dance number too, the researchers say.

Less than a thousand remain: New list of animals on the brink of extinction
- More than 500 vertebrate species are on the brink of extinction, with populations of fewer than a thousand individuals, a new study says.
- According to the authors, the Earth is experiencing its sixth mass extinction, extinction rates accelerating, and human activity is to blame.
- The authors call the ongoing extinction perhaps “the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization, because it is irreversible.”
- “The conservation of endangered species should be elevated to a national and global emergency for governments and institutions, equal to climate disruption to which it is linked,” they say.

Changing climate creates ideal conditions for devastating locust swarms
- A second wave of locust swarms is spreading across the Horn of Africa, following an earlier swarm that devastated large areas at the end of 2019.
- Increased rainfall and storm frequency have created conditions conducive to swarms of desert locusts.
- Swarms are basically impossible to control once they form, and widespread aerial and ground spraying of insecticides risks damaging the environment.

Brazil’s native bees are vital for agriculture, but are being killed by it
- Native Brazilian bees provide several environmental services, the most important being pollination of plants, including agricultural crops.
- Stingless beekeeping also helps to keep the forest standing, as honey farmers tend to preserve the environment and restore areas used in their activity.
- But food production based on monoculture and heavy on pesticide use is threatening native bee populations.
- The western honey bee (Apis mellifera), an imported species, dominates Brazil’s beekeeping and its research into the harmful effects of pesticides; but studies show that pesticides affect stingless bees more intensely.

Historic agreement gives monarch butterflies the ‘right-of-way’
- More than 45 transportation and energy companies, as well as dozens of private landowners, have agreed to create or maintain monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) habitat along “rights-of-way” corridors across the United States.
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have signed a historic agreement that allows participant landholders to dedicate some portion of their lands to monarch conservation management.
- In the agreement, the USFWS provides assurance that the participant landowners will not be required to take additional conservation measures on their total enrolled lands (including land outside of the dedicated conservation areas) if the monarch butterfly later becomes listed as an endangered species.
- The USFWS is set to decide in December 2020 if the monarch butterfly will be classified as a federally endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

How a changing climate threatens Sri Lanka’s dragonflies and damselflies (commentary)
- The rate of global warming has made thousands of species highly vulnerable, and in Sri Lanka, among the most vulnerable are the odonates: dragonflies and damselflies.
- Increasingly unfavorable climate conditions mean that in their short life span of just a few weeks, they stand a lower chance of successful reproduction and higher odds of mortality, research has shown.
- A 2017 preliminary study in Sri Lanka using climate modeling of current and predicted climate data shows how the distribution ranges of threatened and endemic odonates will shrink by 2050, leading to local or even global extinctions.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Disaster interrupted: How you can help save the insects
- In a new paper, a group of 30 scientists offers suggestions for industry, land managers, governments and individuals to protect insects in the face of a global decline.
- Noting that invertebrates lack the “charisma” of larger species like pandas and elephants, the scientists call for spreading “the message that appreciation and conservation of insects is now essential for our future survival.”
- They suggest a list of actions that individuals can take to help, including planting native plants, going organic and avoiding pesticides, and reducing carbon footprint.
- “As insects are braided into ecosystems, their plight is essentially integrated with more expansive movements such as global biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and in an alliance with them,” the scientists say.

Legendary entomologist Terry Erwin passes away at age 79
- The famed entomologist Terry L. Erwin died on May 11, 2020, at the age of 79.
- Erwin was a prolific scholar and is perhaps best known for his estimate of the number of species on the planet.
- At the time of his death, Erwin was serving as a researcher as well as the curator of the Coleoptera beetle collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
- Erwin is remembered by those who knew him as a passionate scientist with “a wonderfully generous spirit.”

Insects decline on land, fare better in water, study finds
- A meta-analysis has found that land-dwelling insect populations are decreasing by about 0.92% per year, which amounts to 50% fewer insects in 75 years.
- The numbers of insects that live in the water are on the rise by about 1.08% per year, a figure scientists attribute to effective water protection measures over the past 50 years.
- Habitat loss is associated with the decline of insects in this study.

‘Hummingbird’ spy creature films millions of monarchs taking flight
- An animatronic “hummingbird” equipped with a camera has been used to film a sea of monarch butterflies taking flight in their wintering grounds in Mexico.
- The “spy creature” technology is the latest by John Downer Productions, a pioneer in wildlife filming, and is featured in the PBS NATURE series “Spy in the Wild.”
- The series also makes use of other spy creatures to infiltrate groups of orangutans, meerkats, egrets, tortoises, sloths, cobras and hippos.

Bold project hopes to DNA barcode every species in Costa Rica
- A new project, BioAlfa, proposes to use DNA barcoding to identify Costa Rica’s million- plus species.
- BioAlfa argues that public availability of its barcoding will revolutionize how Costa Rica values its biodiversity.
- The project already has government approval and some seed funding. But it needs a total of $100 million for full implementation.

Move over, fishmeal: Insects and bacteria emerge as alternative animal feeds
- Fishmeal and fish oil are ingredients in pig and poultry feed, but the largest demand comes from aquaculture.
- Researchers and NGOs have questioned the sustainability of the fishmeal and fish oil industry, which deplete stocks of staple food fish for humans and marine predators alike, among its other impacts.
- Animal feed manufacturers around the world are now looking for alternatives to fishmeal and fish oil.
- Among the most promising alternatives are insects and bacteria, and production is beginning to take off.

As Indonesia fights COVID-19, warmer temperatures drive up dengue cases
- Dengue fever has been on the rise in Indonesia this year, even as the country focuses on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Experts have attributed the increase to warmer average temperatures and unsanitary conditions that allow the mosquitoes carrying the virus to thrive.
- Authorities have ordered fumigation drives in response to the outbreak, but health experts warn the mosquitoes are developing a resistance to the insecticides used.

Rapid deforestation of Brazilian Amazon could bring next pandemic: Experts
- Nearly 25,000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Brazil, with 1,378 deaths as of April 15, though some experts say this is an underestimate. Those figures continue growing, even as President Jair Bolsonaro downplays the crisis, calling it “no worse than a mild flu,” and places the economy above public health.
- Scientists warn that the next emergent pandemic could originate in the Brazilian Amazon if Bolsonaro’s policies continue to drive Amazon deforestation rates ever higher. Researchers have long known that new diseases typically arise at the nexus between forest and agribusiness, mining, and other human development.
- One way deforestation leads to new disease emergence is through fire, like the Amazon blazes seen in 2019. In the aftermath of wildfires, altered habitat often offers less food, changing animal behavior, bringing foraging wildlife into contact with neighboring human communities, creating vectors for zoonotic bacteria, viruses and parasites.
- Now, Bolsonaro is pushing to open indigenous lands and conservation units to mining and agribusiness — policies which greatly benefit land grabbers. Escalating deforestation, worsened by climate change, growing drought and fire, heighten the risk of the emergence of new diseases, along with epidemics of existing ones, such as malaria.

Field research, interrupted: How the COVID-19 crisis is stalling science
- Travel, social and funding restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a toll on scientific research worldwide.
- Graduate students and early-career scientists have seen their plans for field research and projects thrown into uncertainty, while science conferences on issues from climate change to conservation have been postponed.
- Researchers working with live organisms are having to make the tough decision of which ones to keep alive amid a shortage of resources.
- Long-term research projects, some going back decades, face an unprecedented break in data gathering, and there’s widespread uncertainty about how long grants and other funding sources will be available.

Number of monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico down by more than half
- The number of monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico is down by more than half this year, according to new survey results.
- The area of forest inhabited by monarchs in Mexican forests is used as a proxy for estimating the monarch butterfly population. The survey found that the area of forest occupied by monarch butterflies during the 2019-2020 winter season was just 7 acres (2.83 hectares), a 53% decrease from the 2018-2019 season, when monarchs covered 15 acres (6.05 hectares) of forest.
- In a statement, Jorge Rickards, the managing director of WWF-Mexico, said that the decline in the monarch butterfly population wintering in Mexico is not necessarily a cause for alarm, but added that “we must remain vigilant and not allow it to become a trend in the coming years. Conservation is a long-term job.”

Costa Rica caterpillar decline spells trouble for ecosystems
- A new study in Scientific Reports suggests declines in caterpillar richness in a protected Costa Rican tropical rainforest, as well as in the parasite species that live off them.
- Researchers examined data from 1997 to 2018 to identify long-term patterns of extreme weather events and the impact these have on insect diversity.
- More than 40% of the 64 common caterpillar genera decreased, suggesting the decline of entire groups of caterpillars.

Extreme El Niño drought, fires contribute to Amazon insect collapse: Study
- A recent study found that dung beetle species experienced significant diversity and population declines in human-modified tropical Brazilian ecosystems in the aftermath of droughts and fires exacerbated after the 2015-2016 El Niño climate event.
- Forests that burned during the El Niño lost, on average, 64% of their dung beetle species while those affected only by drought showed an average decline of 20%. Dung beetles provide vital ecoservices, processing waste and dispersing seeds and soil nutrients.
- For roughly the past three years, entomologists have been sounding alarms over a possible global collapse of insect abundance. In the tropics, climate change, habitat destruction and pesticide use are having clear impacts on insect abundance and diversity. However, a lack of funds and institutional interest is holding back urgently needed research.

A new mantis species rises from the ashes of Brazil’s National Museum
- Researchers have described a new species of praying mantis from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, adding to the 250 known mantis species native to the country.
- The new species, Vates phoenix, belongs to a genus previously only known to occur in the Amazon.
- The researchers named it in honor of the National Museum of Brazil, which caught fire in September of 2018, leading to the destruction of 20 million items, including part of the entomological collection.
- Months earlier, the researchers had borrowed mantis specimens from that very collection to help them confirm that they indeed had a new species.

Western monarch butterfly numbers critically low for second straight year
- The latest annual count of western monarch butterfly numbers at their overwintering sites on California’s Pacific coast has revealed a second consecutive tally of less than the critical threshold of 30,000.
- The group behind the count says that figure may be the tipping point for the species, below which the population decline would accelerate into a downward spiral.
- A major threat to the butterflies is the loss of suitable habitat; 20 of their overwintering sites have been damaged by human activity in the past five years, and the vast majority of the remaining 400 sites lack protection.
- Scientists are calling on farmers to minimize pesticide use and plant climate-adapted hedgerows; land managers to restore habitat by growing monarch-suited vegetation; and ordinary citizens to make their own small yet meaningful contributions.

New parasitoid wasp species discovered in Amazon manipulate host behavior in ‘complex way’
- Researchers have discovered 15 new wasp species in lowland Amazon rainforests and Andean cloud forests that parasitize spiders in a “complex way.”
- Female Acrotaphus wasps are known to attack spiders in their webs, temporarily paralyzing the arachnids with a venomous sting so they can lay a single egg on a spider. The wasp larva then hatches from the egg and gradually eats the spider before it pupates.
- According to study co-author Ilari E. Sääksjärvi, a professor of biodiversity research at the University of Turku, the 15 newly discovered species of Acrotaphus wasps control host spiders’ behavior in very particular ways in order to ensure the survival of their offspring.

Two deaths trigger alarm at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
- The body of Homero Gómez González, passionate defender the monarch butterfly and a Mexican reserve designed to protect it, was found on Jan. 29, two weeks after his disappearance was reported.
- Three days later, Raúl Hernández Romero, a tourist guide in the area, was also found dead, with evidence of violence.
- Homero Gómez, like other land-collective members in the area, collaborated in the creation of a model that seeks to help communities make sustainable use of forests.

Ghana’s government faces pushback in bid to mine biodiversity haven for bauxite
- Ghana’s Atewa Forest Reserve is home to dozens of endangered species — as well as a substantial bauxite deposit.
- Environmental impact assessments have not been completed, and conservationists and local communities reject the plan as a threat to the reserve, which is a noted biodiversity hotspot.
- The government claims it can mine the forest with minimal damage, yielding 150 million metric tons of bauxite that it will use to pay for a national infrastructure program.

Habitat loss, climate change make for an uncertain cricket harvest in Uganda
- Bush crickets are an important source of food – and income – in Uganda.
- Loss of forest and wetland habitat, as well as intensified harvesting, may lead to overexploitation.
- Entomologists at Makerere University are studying techniques to farm the insects.

Iridescence helps these ‘living jewels’ hide in plain sight
- Jewel beetles (Sternocera aequisignata) have iridescent wing cases that change color depending on which angle the light hits them, like a peacock’s feather or an opal.
- A new study published in Current Biology finds that this iridescence may help the beetles hide from predators in the wild like birds.
- The study authors ran experiments that showed birds were least likely to spot the iridescent wing cases compared to static mono-colored wing cases, and even humans had the most difficulty locating them.
- This finding is important because it provides evidence for the first time that iridescence, rather than being a disadvantage, can aid a species’ survival by helping conceal it.

The sounds of tropical katydids and how they can benefit conservation
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we speak with Laurel Symes, a biologist who is using bioacoustics to study tropical katydids in Central America. She is also assistant director of the Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University in the United States.
- Symes' research is focused on using machine learning to detect and identify tropical katydids via the sounds they produce. Katydids are grasshopper-like insects that are important to the rainforest food web, as they eat alot of plants and are in turn eaten by alot of other species, including birds, bats, monkeys, frogs, and more.
- Symes is here today to discuss how the study of katydids might benefit tropical forest conservation efforts more broadly, how machine learning is aiding her bioacoustic work, and to plays for us some of the katydid sounds that she’s captured.

From scorpion skewers to cricket flour, bug protein is becoming big business
- In Southeast Asia and elsewhere, insects have long been an integral part of the human diet, and nowadays scorpions can be ordered on skewers, while ants fill spring rolls and silkworms star in croquettes.
- Insect protein is a sustainable, affordable, and nutritious alternative to conventional animal protein.
- Vietnam-based reporter Mike Tatarski visited insect hunters, purveyors, and Cricket One, one of the world’s largest cricket farms, to see how they are being caught and cultivated, and wonders about the tradition’s likelihood of spreading to the West.

Cambodian “bat man” bolsters the fight against dengue fever
- Rising temperatures due to climate change allow mosquitoes carrying deadly malaria and dengue fever to live in new parts of the world that were previously uninhabitable, placing over half the world’s population at risk.
- Creating artificial roosts for bats to “farm” their guano can improve soil quality, providing a natural fertilizer while reducing insect numbers, and possibly disease burdens.

Photos: Top 15 new species of 2019
- In 2019, Mongabay covered several announcements of new-to-science species.
- The “discovery” of a new-to-science species is always an awe-inspiring bit of news; the outcome of dogged perseverance, months or years of field surveys, and long periods of sifting through hundreds of museum records.
- In no particular order, we present our 15 top picks.

Deforestation for potential rubber plantation raises concerns in Papua New Guinea
- The project, ostensibly for a 125-square-kilometer (48-square-mile) rubber plantation, began in mid-2018.
- Satellite imagery shows that Maxland, working with a local landowner company, has built logging roads and deforested patches of the Great Central Forest on Manus Island.
- Like Papua New Guinea as a whole, Manus is home to a wide variety of unique wildlife — just one aspect of the forest on which human communities have depended for thousands of years.
- Government forestry and environment officials were aware of the importance of the forest and a local forest management committee protested the project before it began, but it’s been allowed to continue anyway.

As pesticide approvals soar, Brazil’s tapirs, bees, other wildlife suffer
- Brazil has been recognized as the world’s largest pesticide consumer since 2008, which has resulted in widespread application and in significant environmental contamination. Since then there has been an explosion of new pesticide registrations, first under President Michel Temer, now under Jair Bolsonaro.
- While research is scant, evidence points toward pesticide harm to Brazil’s wildlife, including the death of 500 million bees in four Brazilian states between December 2018 and February 2019. Another report found that 40 percent of samples collected from 116 tapirs were contaminated with insecticides, herbicides and heavy metals.
- High concentrations of the insecticide carbamate aldicarb were detected in 10 of 26 stomach content samples. Because the animals much prefer native vegetation to crops, this suggests that aerial spraying — with residue carried by wind — may be resulting in the spread of the pesticide from croplands into unsprayed natural areas.
- The Bolsonaro administration and bancada ruralista agribusiness lobby in Congress are moving rapidly to deregulate pesticides, especially pushing for passage of amendment 6299/2002, dubbed “The Poison Bill” by critics. It would transfer pesticide regulation to the Agriculture Ministry, a move that analysts decry as a serious conflict of interest.

UK supermarkets criticized over pesticide use, lack of transparency
- New research suggests UK supermarkets are not doing enough to protect human health and the environment from the most hazardous pesticides in their supply chain.
- An analysis of the top 10 retailers in the UK by the Pesticide Action Network UK criticized many supermarket chains for failing to be transparent about their use of pesticides.
- Pesticides found in supermarkets’ supply chains include carcinogens, reproductive toxins and endocrine disruptors that interfere with hormones.

Meet the new parasitic wasp species named ‘Idris elba’
- British actor Idris Elba has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards in addition to being named one of the “Sexiest Men Alive.” Now he’s been awarded an accolade that even he probably never dared aspire to: a parasitic wasp has been named in his honor.
- The genus Idris was first described in 1856 and today includes more than 300 species of wasp, all of which have only been known to parasitize spider eggs. Idris elba, on the other hand, was discovered in Mexico parasitizing the eggs of an invasive stink bug known as the bagrada bug (Bagrada hilaris), an invasive species native to Africa.
- Idris elba could potentially be a valuable part of natural solutions to controlling the B. hilaris population, as opposed to the insecticides currently in use, and reining in the destruction the stink bugs do to crops.

Feral horses gallop to the rescue of butterflies in distress
- A new study suggests that returning feral horses to grasslands in Czech Republic could increase populations of some threatened butterfly species.
- The research shows that the horses’ grazing creates and maintains short grasslands that some butterfly species thrive in.
- The research points to the importance of considering the impacts of species introductions on the restoration of natural ecosystems.

Fighting Africa’s fall armyworm invasion with radio shows and phone apps
- The invasive fall armyworm is native to the Americas and was first found in Africa in early 2016. It has since spread to nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa.
- Fall armyworm is a voracious pest of over 80 plant species including maize, millet, rice, and sorghum and has been causing food insecurity among smallholder African farmers.
- Due to a lack of extension agents and the rural locations of many farmers, international organizations and governments are looking toward other avenues for communicating with farmers, such as radio programs and phone apps.

New species of orange-red praying mantis mimics a wasp
- From the Peruvian Amazon, researchers have described a new-to-science species of bright orange-red praying mantis that conspicuously mimics a wasp.
- The mantis mimics not only the bright coloration of many wasps, but also a wasp’s short, jerky movements. Such conspicuous mimicry of wasps is rare among mantises, which usually tend to resemble leaves or tree trunks, the researchers say in a new study.
- The researchers have named the praying mantis Vespamantoida wherleyi.

A scramble for solutions as fall armyworm infestation sweeps Africa
- An infestation of fall armyworm has spread rapidly across Africa since it first appeared on the continent in 2016; it’s now been reported in 44 countries, with 80 different types of crops affected.
- For farmers and policymakers, the go-to solution has been to spray crops with pesticides, but researchers have warned of harm to farmers from unsafe use of the pesticides, as well as impacts on other insects that would otherwise keep the pests in check.
- Researchers have suggested a biocontrol solution — releasing large numbers of a wasp species known to infest fall armyworm eggs — but doubts remain about how effective it will be in a region with small farms and high crop diversity.
- There are also calls for better agronomic practices, such as more regular weeding of farms and crop rotation, to deny the pest a year-round supply of its preferred food.

Malaria surges in deforested parts of the Amazon, study finds
- A recent study found that deforestation significantly increases the transmission of malaria, about three times more than previously thought.
- The analysis showed that a 10 percent increase in deforestation caused a 3.3 percent rise in malaria cases.
- The study’s authors analyzed more than a decade of data showing the occurrences of malaria in nearly 800 villages, towns and cities across the Brazilian Amazon.
- They also controlled for the “feedback” from malaria, by which a rise in the incidence of the disease actually slows deforestation down.

Biodiversity boosts crop pollinators and pest controllers, study finds
- A new study looks at the reliance on biodiversity of ecosystem services provided by pollinating and pest-controlling insects.
- Up to half of the detrimental impacts of the “landscape simplification” that monocropping entails come as a result of a diminished mix of ecosystem service-providing insects.
- The scientists found that the reduction in ecosystem services provided by these insects tended to lead to lower crop yields.

Nine new Fijian bees described, some restricted to a single mountaintop
- From the island country of Fiji, researchers have described nine new, and four previously known, species of bees belong to the genus Homalictus, a group that’s not been taxonomically reviewed in Fiji for 40 years.
- Many Homalictus bee species either have very restricted distributions or are known only from single mountaintops, the researchers say, and could soon become extinct due to changes in climate and other environmental risks.
- The researchers underscore the need for repeated field surveys to document and describe species from Fiji before they are lost.
- One of the four previously described bee species may have already gone extinct, having not been recorded since 2010, despite extensive surveys in the area.

Madagascar: What’s good for the forest is good for the native silk industry
- People in the highlands of central Madagascar have long buried their loved ones in shrouds of thick wild silk, typically from the endemic silkworm known as landibe (Borocera cajani).
- With support from NGOs, traditional silk workers have widened their offerings to include scarves made of wild silk for sale to tourists and the country’s elites.
- In recent years, the price of raw materials has shot up as the forests the landibe grows in succumb to fire and other threats, making it difficult for silk workers to continue their craft.
- However, where there are forest-management challenges, there is also opportunity: the silk business provides an incentive for local people to protect their trees. Some well-organized and well-supported community groups are cashing in on conservation, in spite of the broader silkworm recession.

Conservation tech prize with invasive species focus announces finalists
- The Con X Tech Prize announced its second round will fund 20 finalists, selected from 150 applications, each with $3,500 to create their first prototypes of designs that use technology to address a conservation challenge.
- Seven of the 20 teams focused their designs on reducing impacts from invasive species, while the others addressed a range of conservation issues, from wildlife trafficking to acoustic monitoring to capturing freshwater plastic waste in locally-built bamboo traps.
- Conservation X Labs (CXL), which offers the prize, says the process provides winners with very early-stage funding, a rare commodity, and recognition of external approval, each of which has potential to motivate finalists and translate into further funding.
- Finalists can also compete for a grand prize of $20,000 and product support from CXL.

Eat the insects, spare the lemurs
- To solve the twin challenges of malnutrition and biodiversity loss in Madagascar, new efforts are promoting edible insects as a way to take pressure off wildlife that people hunt for meat when food is scarce.
- Insects are widely eaten in Madagascar. They are also incredibly nutritious and one of the “greenest” forms of animal proteins in terms of their land, water and food requirements and their greenhouse gas emissions.
- One program is testing the farming of sakondry, a little-known hopping insect that tastes a lot like bacon. Another is setting up a network of cricket farms.
- Other attempts to reduce reliance on forest protein include improving chicken husbandry in rural areas.

Slight warming could be enough to heighten risk of malaria: Study
- New research has found that malaria parasites need less time to develop at lower temperatures than previously thought.
- Earlier research postulated that malaria transmission in cooler areas was unlikely because parasites took longer to mature than the lifespans of their mosquito hosts.
- The researchers found that the parasites needed between 31 and 37 days to develop at 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) — substantially lower than the 56 days postulated by previous research and well within the lifespan of female mosquitoes.

New film details wrenching impact of illegal rhino horn trade on families
- A new short film, titled Sides of a Horn, looks at the impacts of the illegal trade of rhino horn on a community in South Africa.
- The 17-minute film follows two brothers-in-law, one who is a wildlife ranger and another who contemplates poaching as a way to pay for his ailing wife’s medical care.
- A trip to South Africa in 2016 inspired British filmmaker Toby Wosskow to write and direct the short feature, which was publicly released June 25.

Mongabay investigative series helps confirm global insect decline
- In a newly published four-part series, Mongabay takes a deep dive into the science behind the so-called “Insect Apocalypse,” recently reported in the mainstream media.
- To create the series, Mongabay interviewed 24 entomologists and other scientists on six continents and working in 12 nations, producing what is possibly the most in-depth reporting published to date by any news media outlet on the looming insect abundance crisis.
- While major peer-reviewed studies are few (with evidence resting primarily so far on findings in Germany and Puerto Rico), there is near consensus among the two dozen researchers surveyed: Insects are likely in serious global decline.
- The series is in four parts: an introduction and critical review of existing peer-reviewed data; a look at temperate insect declines; a survey of tropical declines; and solutions to the problem. Researchers agree: Conserving insects — imperative to preserving the world’s ecosystem services — is vital to humanity.

Primates lose ground to surging commodity production in their habitats
- “Forest risk” commodities, such as beef, palm oil, and fossil fuels, led to a significant proportion of the 1.8 million square kilometers (695,000 square miles) of forest that was cleared between 2001 and 2017 — an area almost the size of Mexico.
- A previous study found that 60 percent of primates face extinction and 75 percent of species’ numbers are declining.
- The authors say that addressing the loss of primate habitat due to the production of commodities is possible, though it will require a global effort to “green” the international trade in these commodities.

How to save insects and ourselves
- The entomologists interviewed for this Mongabay series agreed on three major causes for the ongoing and escalating collapse of global insect populations: habitat loss (especially due to agribusiness expansion), climate change and pesticide use. Some added a fourth cause: human overpopulation.
- Solutions to these problems exist, most agreed, but political commitment, major institutional funding and a large-scale vision are lacking. To combat habitat loss, researchers urge preservation of biodiversity hotspots such as primary rainforest, regeneration of damaged ecosystems, and nature-friendly agriculture.
- Combatting climate change, scientists agree, requires deep carbon emission cuts along with the establishment of secure, very large conserved areas and corridors encompassing a wide variety of temperate and tropical ecosystems, sometimes designed with preserving specific insect populations in mind.
- Pesticide use solutions include bans of some toxins and pesticide seed coatings, the education of farmers by scientists rather than by pesticide companies, and importantly, a rethinking of agribusiness practices. The Netherlands’ Delta Plan for Biodiversity Recovery includes some of these elements.

The tropics in trouble and some hope
- Insect species are most diverse in the tropics, but are largely unresearched, with many species not described by science. But entomologists believe abundance is being impacted by climate change, habitat destruction and the introduction of industrial agribusiness with its heavy pesticide use.
- A 2018 repeat of a 1976 study in Puerto Rico, which measured the total biomass of a rainforest’s arthropods, found that in the intervening decades populations collapsed. Sticky traps caught up to 60-fold fewer insects than 37 years prior, while ground netting caught 8 times fewer insects than in 1976.
- The same researchers also looked at insect abundance in a tropical forest in Western Mexico. There, biomass abundance fell eightfold in sticky traps from 1981 to 2014. Researchers from Southeast Asia, Australia, Oceania and Africa all expressed concern to Mongabay over possible insect abundance declines.
- In response to feared tropical declines, new insect surveys are being launched, including the Arthropod Initiative and Global Malaise Trap Program. But all of these new initiatives suffer the same dire problem: a dearth of funding and lack of interest from foundations, conservation groups and governments.

Vanishing act in Europe and North America
- Though arthropods make up most of the species on Earth, and much of the planet’s biomass, they are significantly understudied compared to mammals, plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish. Lack of baseline data makes insect abundance decline difficult to assess.
- Insects in the temperate EU and U.S. are the world’s best studied, so it is here that scientists expect to detect precipitous declines first. A groundbreaking study published in October 2017 found that flying insects in 63 protected areas in Germany had declined by 75 percent in just 25 years.
- The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme has a 43-year butterfly record, and over that time two-thirds of the nations’ species have decreased. Another recent paper found an 84 percent decline in butterflies in the Netherlands from 1890 to 2017. Still, EU researchers say far more data points are needed.
- Neither the U.S. or Canada have conducted an in-depth study similar to that in Germany. But entomologists agree that major abundance declines are likely underway, and many are planning studies to detect population drops. Contributors to decline are climate change, pesticides and ecosystem destruction.

A global look at a deepening crisis
- Recent studies from Germany and Puerto Rico, and a global meta-study, all point to a serious, dramatic decline in insect abundance. Plummeting insect populations could deeply impact ecosystems and human civilization, as these tiny creatures form the base of the food chain, pollinate, dispose of waste, and enliven soils.
- However, limited baseline data makes it difficult for scientists to say with certainty just how deep the crisis may be, though anecdotal evidence is strong. To that end, Mongabay is launching a four-part series — likely the most in-depth, nuanced look at insect decline yet published by any media outlet.
- Mongabay interviewed 24 entomologists and researchers on six continents working in over a dozen nations to determine what we know regarding the “great insect dying,” including an overview article, and an in-depth story looking at temperate insects in the U.S. and the European Union — the best studied for their abundance.
- We also utilize Mongabay’s position as a leader in tropical reporting to focus solely on insect declines in the tropics and subtropics, where lack of baseline data is causing scientists to rush to create new, urgently needed survey study projects. The final story looks at what we can do to curb and reverse the loss of insect abundance.

Altered forests threaten sustainability of subsistence hunting
The way humans have changed the forests of Central and South America may be making it impossible for subsistence hunters to continue their way of life, according to two conservation scientists. “No longer can subsistence hunting be seen or managed as a sustainable activity carried out by small, isolated human groups occupying large tracts of […]
The health of penguin chicks points scientists to changes in the ocean
- A recent closure of commercial fishing around South Africa’s Robben Island gave scientists the chance to understand how fluctuations in prey fish populations affect endangered African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) absent pressure from humans.
- The researchers found that the more fish were available, the better the condition of the penguin chicks that rely on their parents for food.
- This link between prey abundance in the sea and the condition of penguin chicks on land could serve as an indicator of changes in the ecosystem.

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