Alarm bells went off when several recent studies reported mass insect die-offs in different parts of the world. But reports of an ‘insect apocalypse’ have been greatly exaggerated.
How many species still to name? That’s a good question.
Shutterstock/ju see
New species are being discovered all the time, which only adds to the problem of knowing how many there are on the planet today. It also helps to know what we mean by species.
Three species of immature mosquito: the common house mosquito, and the malaria vectors An. arabiensis and An. funestus.
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Ticks are generally inactive in the winter and start to look for their next meal as temperatures warm up. But as winters warm, every season may become tick season.
Do these look like Gauls to you? Three of the 103 new weevils identified in Indonesia were named after characters Asterix, Obelix and Idefix.
Alexander Riedel
Champagne celebrations with a new species discovery for beetle scientists may not be the best move – you’d be drunk all the time. But it’s still important work.
Eli Wyman with the elusive Wallace’s Giant Bee.
Clay Bolt
A bee the size of a human thumb was first described in Victorian times, but hadn’t been seen since 1981. That is, until four biologists teamed up on a trek to Indonesia’s North Molucca islands.
A buff tailed bumble bee emerges from a crocus covered in pollen.
thatmacroguy/Shutterstock
It’s easy to whip out the fly spray, but our fondness for pesticides can bring knock-on effects such as increased resistance, and harming beneficial insects in and around our homes.
A jumping spider, which uses sharp eyesight to hunt its prey.
ThomasShahan.com/Flickr
Bee brains contain less than one million neurons. Despite this, new research shows the honeybee can use symbols to perform basic maths, including addition and subtraction.
Head-to-head contact is the easiest way for lice to move from person to person.
Dr Cameron Webb (NSW Health Pathology)
Ants have something similar to blood, but it’s called haemolymph. Some insects use it in unusual ways. When threatened by a predator, blister beetles can squirt haemolymph from their knees.