Entomology articles from across Nature Portfolio

By disentangling the mechanisms that underpin changes in community biomass, we show that local arthropod biomass declines are overwhelmingly associated with species losses, independent of which species are lost and with only minor contributions of abundance change. High plant diversity and low land-use intensity mitigate arthropod biomass declines and community homogenization.

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus promotes ovarian development and mating in Diaphorina citri by upregulating ATPSyn-β, which enhances ATP production, nutrient supply, and vitellogenin entry into ovaries.

Wolbachia, not the host genome, primarily determines femaleness in Wolbachia-infected Ostrinia strains, potentially arising from prolonged host-symbiont co-evolution. Here authors show loss of the host’s endogenous feminizer in infected Ostrinia moths.

By disentangling the mechanisms that underpin changes in community biomass, we show that local arthropod biomass declines are overwhelmingly associated with species losses, independent of which species are lost and with only minor contributions of abundance change. High plant diversity and low land-use intensity mitigate arthropod biomass declines and community homogenization.

Newly hatched orchid mantises display black–red coloration and change to pink–white coloration after their first moult. This colour transition is mediated by the novel pigment transporter Redboy, which enables a shift from mimicking stink bugs (for predator avoidance) as hatchlings to floral camouflage (for both predator avoidance and prey attraction) in older nymphs.

Gene–environment interactions have been found to shape ageing plasticity in the muscle tissue of migratory locusts through adaptive changes in lipid metabolic processes.

An innovative isotopic labelling strategy shows that malaria mosquitoes in the West-African Sahel region survive in dormancy over the prolonged dry season. These results have implications for efforts to suppress malaria transmission in Africa.