Featured
-
-
Article
| Open AccessBridging two insect flight modes in evolution, physiology and robophysics
Asynchronous flight in all major groups of insects likely arose from a single common ancestor with reversions to a synchronous flight mode enabled by shifts back and forth between different regimes in the same set of dynamic parameters.
- Jeff Gau
- , James Lynch
- & Simon Sponberg
-
Article
| Open AccessThe pupal moulting fluid has evolved social functions in ants
Ant pupae secrete a fluid, derived from the moulting fluid, that elicits parental care behaviour, provides nutrients for larvae and must be removed for pupal survival.
- Orli Snir
- , Hanan Alwaseem
- & Daniel J. C. Kronauer
-
Article
| Open AccessA male steroid controls female sexual behaviour in the malaria mosquito
The discovery of a male-specific sex hormone in the mosquito <em>Anopheles gambiae</em> may allow new strategies for the control of this notorious disease vector.
- Duo Peng
- , Evdoxia G. Kakani
- & Flaminia Catteruccia
-
Article |
Mosquito brains encode unique features of human odour to drive host seeking
Select chemical compounds enriched in human odour activate an olfactory glomerulus in the brain of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which strengthens host-seeking behaviour and helps explain their strong preference for biting humans.
- Zhilei Zhao
- , Jessica L. Zung
- & Carolyn S. McBride
-
Article
| Open AccessNovel flight style and light wings boost flight performance of tiny beetles
Three-dimensional reconstructions of morphology and flight mechanics of the beetle Paratuposa placentis reveal adaptations that enable extremely small insects to fly at speeds similar to those of much larger insects.
- Sergey E. Farisenkov
- , Dmitry Kolomenskiy
- & Alexey A. Polilov
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Issues with combining incompatible and sterile insect techniques
- Yongjun Li
- , Luke Anthony Baton
- & Zhiyong Xi
-
Article |
Toughening mechanisms of the elytra of the diabolical ironclad beetle
A jigsaw-style configuration of interlocking structures identified in the elytra of the remarkably tough diabolical ironclad beetle, Phloeodes diabolicus, is used to inspire crush-resistant multilayer composites for engineering joints.
- Jesus Rivera
- , Maryam Sadat Hosseini
- & David Kisailus
-
Article |
A sensory appendage protein protects malaria vectors from pyrethroids
The leg-enriched sensory appendage protein, SAP2, confers pyrethroid resistance to Anopheles gambiae, through high-affinity binding of pyrethroid insecticides; an observed selective sweep in field mosquitoes mirrors the increasing resistance reported in Africa.
- Victoria A. Ingham
- , Amalia Anthousi
- & Hilary Ranson
-
Letter |
Windborne long-distance migration of malaria mosquitoes in the Sahel
Aerial sampling in the Sahel of Mali reveals large numbers of windborne malaria mosquitoes that had recently fed on blood and could cover hundreds of kilometres in a single night.
- Diana L. Huestis
- , Adama Dao
- & Tovi Lehmann
-
Letter |
Genome editing retraces the evolution of toxin resistance in the monarch butterfly
CRISPR–Cas9 engineering of the Drosophila Atpα gene (encoding the α-subunit of the sodium pump) is used to study the ability of mutations that evolved independently in several insect orders to confer resistance to keystone plant toxins.
- Marianthi Karageorgi
- , Simon C. Groen
- & Noah K. Whiteman
-
Letter |
Exposing Anopheles mosquitoes to antimalarials blocks Plasmodium parasite transmission
Treatment of female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes with atovaquone causes arrest of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite in the midgut, and this holds promise for malaria eradication in areas with insecticide-resistant mosquito populations.
- Douglas G. Paton
- , Lauren M. Childs
- & Flaminia Catteruccia
-
Letter |
Male-killing toxin in a bacterial symbiont of Drosophila
The Spaid protein is identified and shown to be responsible for the male-killing effects of Spiroplasma poulsonii in Drosophila.
- Toshiyuki Harumoto
- & Bruno Lemaitre
-
Letter |
Bumblebee family lineage survival is enhanced in high-quality landscapes
Analysis of three wild-caught bumblebee species shows that family lineage survival and persistence is significantly increased between successive colony cycle stages with the proportion of high-value foraging habitat near the natal colony.
- Claire Carvell
- , Andrew F. G. Bourke
- & Matthew S. Heard
-
-
Brief Communications Arising |
Royalactin is not a royal making of a queen
- Anja Buttstedt
- , Christian H. Ihling
- & Robin F. A. Moritz
-
-
Outlook |
Meet our prime pollinators
Bees do far more than just make honey. Globally, the 25,000 or so bee species play a crucial part in crop production and in promoting biodiversity.
- Julie Gould
-
Outlook |
The beeline
Of all insects, bees — especially honeybees (Apis mellifera) — are the most lauded by humans. They have been praised by poets and writers, including Virgil and Shakespeare, and their colonies are seen as a metaphor for human societies. This affinity is no surprise: humans and bees have a long and interwoven history.
- Sarah DeWeerdt
-
Outlook |
Wild bees: Lone rangers
Solitary bees receive scant attention, but research shows that they are vital pollinators of crops and wild habitats.
- Lucas Laursen
-
Outlook |
Aerodynamics: Vortices and robobees
A growing understanding of insect flight is helping scientists to build tiny flying robots.
- Neil Savage
-
Outlook |
Q&A: Charles Michener
Charles Michener has been studying bees for more than 80 years, and, although he has seen many changes in the field, his interest in these insects has not diminished. Now aged 96, he contributes to bee research as a Watkins distinguished professor emeritus at Kansas University in Lawrence.
- Julie Gould
-
Outlook |
Microbiome: The puzzle in a bee's gut
By analysing bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of bees, researchers hope to learn about the role of microbes in insect health.
- Alla Katsnelson
-
Outlook |
Animal behaviour: Nested instincts
The many levels of bee behaviour offer insights on everything from population dynamics to molecular changes.
- Lauren Gravitz
-
Outlook |
Entomology: The bee-all and end-all
Seven scientists give their opinions on the biggest challenges faced by bees and bee researchers.
-
Outlook |
Pesticides: Seeking answers amid a toxic debate
Some see the European Union's ban on neonicotinoid pesticides as a victory for pollinators, but the data suggest that limiting these compounds may do little to stave off honeybee losses.
- Michael Eisenstein
-
Letter |
Bees prefer foods containing neonicotinoid pesticides
It has been suggested that the negative effects on bees of neonicotinoid pesticides could be averted in field conditions if they chose not to forage on treated nectar; here field-level neonicotinoid doses are used in laboratory experiments to show that honeybees and bumblebees do not avoid neonicotinoid-treated food and instead actually prefer it.
- Sébastien C. Kessler
- , Erin Jo Tiedeken
- & Geraldine A. Wright
-
Letter |
Signatures of aestivation and migration in Sahelian malaria mosquito populations
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes nearly disappear in the dry season, yet they reappear suddenly following the first rains; using surveys of mosquito densities, the authors characterize the population dynamics of the three main vector species and use these to infer persistence by long-distance migration in two species and aestivation in the third.
- A. Dao
- , A. S. Yaro
- & T. Lehmann
-
-
Brief Communications Arising |
Is Strudiella a Devonian insect?
- Thomas Hörnschemeyer
- , Joachim T. Haug
- & Rainer Willmann
-
Letter |
Amphibious flies and paedomorphism in the Jurassic period
New strashilid fossils from the Middle Jurassic epoch of Daohugou, China, show that they are highly specialized flies, and suggest that larval abdominal respiratory gills were retained in adult males, indicating that adult strashilids were probably aquatic or amphibious, with mating occurring in water.
- Diying Huang
- , André Nel
- & Michael S. Engel
-
News |
Jungle search gives global count of arthropods
Survey of a Panamanian rainforest puts number of species worldwide at six million.
- Amy Maxmen
-
Research Highlights |
Aphids borrow plant plumbing
-
Correspondence |
Redirect research to control coffee pest
- Francisco Infante
- , Jeanneth Pérez
- & Fernando E. Vega
-
News & Views |
Insects converge on resistance
In a remarkable example of convergent evolution, insect species spanning 300 million years of divergence have evolved identical single-amino-acid substitutions that confer resistance to plant cardenolide toxins.
- Noah K. Whiteman
- & Kailen A. Mooney
-
News |
Job swapping makes its mark on honeybee DNA
Switching roles within the hive is reflected in reversible epigenetic changes.
- Nicky Guttridge
-
News & Views |
Lessons from heartbreak
Male fruitflies quickly learn that courting already-mated females is useless. It turns out that a small subset of neurons in the male brain signals this negative experience and controls pheromone sensitivity. See Letter p.145
- Aki Ejima
-
News |
Photosynthesis-like process found in insects
Aphids may have a rudimentary sunlight-harvesting system.
- Kathryn Lougheed
-
Research Highlights |
Beetles walk underwater
-
News & Views |
An insect to fill the gap
A complete insect fossil from the Devonian period has long been sought. The finding of a candidate may improve our patchy understanding of when winged insects evolved. See Letter p.82
- William A. Shear
-
Letter |
A complete insect from the Late Devonian period
The fossil of a complete insect from the Late Devonian period (approximately 365 million years ago) is presented; it was terrestrial, but its features suggest that modern winged insects had already started to diversify at that early date.
- Romain Garrouste
- , Gaël Clément
- & André Nel
-
News |
Mosquitoes don't let the rain get them down
High-speed video reveals how flying pests remain airborne when raindrops strike.
- Helen Thompson
-
Research Highlights |
Licking ants fight fungal infection
-
Q&A |
Turning point: Jessica Ware
Taxonomist’s love of insects leads her to genomics research.
- Virginia Gewin
-
News & Views |
Life imperfectly imitates life
Some species evolve to resemble another species so as to protect themselves from predation, but this mimicry is often imprecise. An analysis of hoverflies suggests why imperfect imitation persists in the face of natural selection. See Letter p.461
- David W. Pfennig
- & David W. Kikuchi
-
Letter |
A comparative analysis of the evolution of imperfect mimicry
In hoverflies with a small body size, even imperfect Batesian mimicry suffices to limit predation because they are not subject to particularly intense selection.
- Heather D. Penney
- , Christopher Hassall
- & Thomas N. Sherratt
-
-
News |
Spiders dodge cannibalism through remote copulation
In some species, self-emasculation improves a male's chances of fatherhood.
- Ed Yong
-
News |
Dirty dancing: dung beetles get down to walk the line
The meticulous insects pirouette atop their dung balls to get their bearings and correct navigational errors.
- Ferris Jabr
-