Silent fields: a cocktail of pesticides is stunting bumblebee colonies across Europe, study shows

The pollen that bumblebees collected and stored in their nests was contaminated with multiple pesticides, an average of eight different compounds …

Climate change influences rise and fall of insect populations: Study

A study by German researchers tried to find answers to whether an insect apocalypse is actually going on or not

Why insects are crucial for ecological balance

Several species of insects are at the brink of extinction; this can have a cascading effect on upper levels of the food pyramid and shake …

A peek into the secret lives of Indian spiders

India is home to several unique species of spiders; some are known to science, while many others are yet to be discovered

The fly that got away

The American serpentine leaf miner that infiltrated into India about two years ago is destroying agricultural crops

Eaten hollow

The sal heartwood borer is all set to destroy sal forests in Madhya Pradesh. But this would not have been possible without the assistance of an …

The black fever

While the nation's attention is focused on the caste killings in Jehanabad, a silent but deadlier killer is striking terror in Bihar. Kala-azar, …

Stinging fact

Pesticides driving decline in bumblebee population

IN FOCUS

Spawning grounds

Environmental changes have led to the emergence of kala-azar in new areas

Wreaking havoc

Sleep aids in learning and memory

Science puts fruit flies to bed

Basic instinct

Winter relief

Insects travel 4,000 km to avoid the cold British weather

The world’s spectacular animal migrations are dwindling. Fishing, fences and development are fast-tracking extinctions

Human exploitation of migratory species is the main reason why these species are in decline

The next invasion of insect pests will be discovered via social media

The proliferation of smart phones means many people have an encyclopedia of knowledge, a high-resolution digital camera and GPS in their pockets

Pollution clogs hyacinth control

Insects introduced to curb the spread of water hyacinths are avoiding feeding on those weeds that have been contaminated by toxic metals

How did it get so bad?

Ostrich policy and bad science. In Bihar, embankments built by government to prevent floods have been counter-productive

Is the alarm justified?

Yes. The disease is spreading fast. Yet there is little scientific data to devise a strategy to deal with it

Colour of desire

Book>> A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield, HarperCollins, New York 2006

A dangerous pesticide isn’t being monitored in key bird of prey populations — we’re shedding light on that gap

DDT monitoring in raptors is heavily biased toward the global north

Bats as conservationists

A new silk route out of China

The Asian giant unravels the most extensive genetic mapping of the silkworm

New centre to help farmers become climate resilient

The centre would focus on real-time structured surveillance for insect-pests and diseases using GPS-tagging techniques

Report bats for inclusion of insects as part of sustainable diet in future

The general attitude towards consumption of insects by humans is negative as insects are perceived as unclean and vectors of diseases