Insect

A new study indicates that ants can be very effective at protecting crops from diseases. It's even being suggested that ant-derived antibiotics could be applied on a commercial scale.

Scientists have used the CRISPR gene-editing tool to give fruit flies a new evolutionary advantage – the ability to eat poison and store it in their bodies.

Despite a published study saying different, Oxitec and experts argue that a genetically-modified mosquito release program in Brazil was safe after all.

An experimental pest control method using genetically-modified mosquitoes has gone wrong, mixing mutant genes into Brazil's wild mosquito population.

By turning advanced cameras to capture legless larvae in action, scientists have gained a new understanding of their ability to leap through the air, including an ability to form what they call a "transient leg."​

​Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits diseases such as dengue, zika, and yellow fever, is typically controlled utilizing insecticides that harm the environment. Now, however, scientists have created eco-friendly mozzie-killing microcapsules, made from cheap natural thyme oil and corn starch.

Researchers are looking to the common dragonfly for clues to develop smaller, more efficient missile defenses. By replicating the predatory insect's brain in a computer algorithm, the goal is to create interceptors that can lock on to threats much faster and achieve a much higher kill ratio.

An expedition to the “Lost City of the Monkey God” in Honduras has revealed a trove of natural treasures. The pristine forests house an incredibly rich ecosystem, including species new to science, some unknown in the area, some that haven’t been seen in decades and others that were believed extinct.

Cockroaches have been known to develop resistances to individual insecticides for decades, but new research has shown that they’re also able to rapidly develop cross-resistance, even to chemicals that they’ve never been directly exposed to.

A team from Aston University examined almost 20,000 insects collected from hospitals across the UK, and studied the kinds of bacteria they were carrying. The vast majority were found to host potentially harmful bacteria, more than half of which were resistant to some kinds of antibiotics.

The potential for micro flying-robots in areas like search and rescue, agriculture and hazard detection is huge, but so are the hurdles. Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have been working on these problems with their Bee+, drawing inspiration from the insect world.

Amber can be a veritable treasure trove of ancient animals and insects, but it most commonly captures creatures that lived in forests – understandable, given the stuff starts life as tree sap. But now researchers have found a piece of amber bearing a strange mix of land and sea-dwelling creatures.