The genetic mechanisms regulating the metamorphosis of worker and queen bees from genetically identical insect larvae is poorly understood. A team of researchers recently identified 842 candidate enhancer sequences from 17,349 worker Apis mellifera transcription start sites that may help regulate the development of worker honeybees in this genus’ complex social caste system.

Inspired by the multimodal perception characteristics of insect antennae (for force, temperature and gas), the ECUST interdisciplinary team developed the Electronic Multifunctional Sensing Antenna (EMSA)—a flexible thin-film self-decoupling multimodal sensor fabricated via a maskless laser direct writing process. The sensor realizes intrinsic decoupling of temperature and strain, as well as simultaneous thermo-mechanical-gas trimodal monitoring, with four core technological breakthroughs.

In a novel experiment at the University of Cincinnati, researchers isolated kissing bugs, fruit flies, mosquitoes and spider beetles in a climate- and light-controlled environment and found that they responded predictably to cycles of humidity in the same way they do temperature and daylight. After the humidity cue was removed, the insects continued to respond to the cyclical fluctuations of humidity and dryness established in the experiment.

The study shows that climate impacts cannot be fully understood without considering biodiversity loss.

An international team of researchers have discovered a remarkable new spider species in the rainforest of north Queensland that spins an ingenious and powerful spring-actuated snare to catch a single species of ant – one ant at a time – in what they describe as “the ultimate specialisation”. 

Insect-eating bats may be helpful consumers of pests of crops including grapevines, orchard fruits, and vegetables, per study following six horseshoe bat colonies in northern Spain

A tiny parasite-carrying tick is posing an outsized threat to Missouri’s cattle. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are stepping in to protect the state’s $4 billion cattle industry by tracking different ways the American dog tick spreads a deadly disease known as bovine anaplasmosis.

A research paper by scientists from Nanyang Technological University developed a miniature wireless controller that is fully implantable to small insects and demonstrated that the implantation of electronic device enhances traversal performance of the cyborg cockroach.

The new research paper, published on May. 25 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, developed the first fully implantable miniature radio controller for the Madagascar hissing cockroach.