Scientists respond to news of a bed bug outbreak in Paris.    Prof James Logan, Professor of Medical Entomology and … read more

A study published in Nature looks at agriculture, climate change and insect biodiversity.   Prof Jane Hill, Professor of Ecology, … read more

There is growing interest in alternative proteins, both in their source, use and nutritional profiles, and whether they can provide … read more

A study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, looked at insect numbers in the USA.   Prof Jane Hill, Professor … read more

A paper, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, reports that biodiversity in the UK may be increasing slightly.   Dr … read more

A study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, reports that electromagnetic fields have an impact on the internal … read more

Research published in Nature Communications presents evidence of widespread loss of pollinating insects in Britain. Paul Pearce-Kelly, Senior Curator of … read more

New research from NERC’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) assesses the state of Britain’s main wild pollinator species.  The … read more

Invasive alien species cost the world billions of dollars every year, threatening native species and biodiversity as well as human health and the way ecosystems work. read more

Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in the decline of bees, yet the evidence is derived from short-term laboratory studies on honeybees and bumblebees. Publishing in the journal Nature Communications scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology have investigated the long term, large scale impact of neonicotinoids on 62 wild bee species across England. read more

Oxitec Ltd, the company that developed a self-limited genetically engineered mosquito, has been working with health authorities in Piracicaba, Brazil, in attempt to reduce the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that transmits diseases including dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Dengue has been the main mosquito-transmitted disease affecting Piracicaba. Oxitec’s Head of Field Operations, Dr Andrew McKemey, and Dr Pedro Mello, the Secretary of Health for Piracicaba in Brazil, will be in the UK next week and are available to answer any questions you might have about the science behind the GM mosquito, what stage their current mosquito release programme is at, and what the situation is in Piracicaba. Piracicaba City Hall partnered with Oxitec in March 2015 to use the mosquitoes and that programme is now being extended to a larger area of the city. read more

The effect of neonicotinoids on the fertility of male honeybees is examined in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B in which the authors report that the insecticide reduced lifespan of the bees in question as well as sperm viability but not sperm quantity. read more

Further comments from experts on different aspects related to Zika, including microcephaly clusters and mosquitoes, as the outbreak continues to develop. read more

A group of researchers have published their work into the transfer of genes between species in nature, and report in the journal PLOS Genetics that the genomes of some species of butterfly have acquired genes from a virus associated with parasitic wasps, some of which they report protect the caterpillar species from infection by a separate virus. read more

Genetic modification strategies to control pests are being developed as an alternative to the use of chemical pesticides, and a paper published in the journal BioMed Central Biology has reported the modification of moths to select for male offspring in order to suppress total population size.
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The pollination of a large proportion of the world’s plants is attributed to bee species, and alterations in the geographical habitats of bumblebees is the focus of a paper published in the journal Science. The authors report differing patterns in terms of the shifting limits of habitat location, including the loss of ranges from southern extremes and movement to higher elevations among southern species. read more

Nature Communications published a study showing that genetically modifying mosquitos to distort the sex ratio of their offspring suppressed their breeding capabilities as a population. read more

Neonicotinoid pesticides can impact bumble bees’ ability to collect food, even at low levels, of contamination, according to research published in the journal Ecotoxicology. read more

The decline of the UK’s bee population is rarely out of the headlines, but with discussion often focused on pesticides are there other factors in the environment that might also affect bee behaviour and health? Researchers cam to the SMC to explain their investigation of the impact of common air pollutants in diesel exhaust fumes on the foraging efficiency of honeybees. read more

Research published in the journal Scientific Reports found exposure to common air pollutants found in diesel exhaust can affect the ability of honeybees to recognise floral odours. read more