In recent months a debate over whether a global insect apocalypse is underway has raged in the mainstream media and among researchers. To assess the range of scientific opinion, Mongabay interviewed 24 entomologists and other scientists working on six continents, in more than a dozen countries, to better determine what we know, what we don’t, […]
Tag: entomology

Animal Earth: exploring the hidden biodiversity of our planet
Most of the species on Earth we never see. In fact, we have no idea what they look like, much less how spectacular they are. In general, people can identify relatively few of their backyard species, much less those of other continents. This disconnect likely leads to an inability in the general public to relate […]

Butterfly obsessives go on the trail of the elusive purple emperor
“It’s like a living stained-glass window,” enthused the broadcaster Nick Baker, as a group of naturalists bowed down before a purple emperor swooping through the oak trees. Two teams of butterfly obsessives on Friday took to battered Land Rovers in a hair-raising race to woods, meadows, chalk downland and an industrial park to find as […]

In Search of a Map
Her eyes scan the new landscape in search of a map a flower’s cosmology ready for misadventures. Chinese Praying Mantis | Tenodera aridifolia sinensis

Tangled Damsel
Collecting discarded shards of the sun, a damsel tangled up in a collision of light and shadow. * Damselfly

Mirror-Image
A newborn mantis dreams her mirror-image, their glowing fates sealed by the gods – Chinese mantis – Tenodera aridifolia sinensis

Kingdom of Green
An intoxicated bee senses the garden’s undercurrents, trespasser in a kingdom of green towers. • Honey bee | Apis mellifera