insects

A new invasive tick species was recently found in St. Louis County, with more sightings expected this spring and summer.

A University of Missouri professor spent years listening to insects — hear how his work is influencing other researchers. Plus, a 117-year-old African American church in Parkville is getting much-needed restoration work thanks to the National Heritage fund.

Thousands of insect species use vibrations to communicate. Now, in part because of the foundational research of a Midwestern biology professor, more researchers are exploring insect vibrational communication to ward against pests and understand climate change.

American burying beetles bring dead animals underground, turn them into preserved meatballs and feed them to their babies. The St. Louis Zoo is working to save the threatened beetle.

Once a chemical storage area, Olathe’s Pollinator Prairie has since been reclaimed as an ecological habitat hosting hundreds of native plants. A recent event showed off its role as a stopover for migrating pollinators like monarchs.

A small insect carrying pathogens that can lead to corn stunt was confirmed in Missouri and Oklahoma for the first time. Experts are learning more about the insect and how the disease left its mark on corn fields.

Scientists want to know how well bees are coping with habitat loss. But first, they need to be able to tell nearly identical species apart.

Scientists want to know how well bees are coping with habitat loss. But first, they need to be able to tell nearly identical species apart.

Cicadas are the song of the summer, especially around St. Louis, but this year’s large broods may be especially irritating for people on the autism spectrum who have hearing sensitivity.

Researchers and bug enthusiasts are cooking up cicadas as sweet snacks or pizza toppings this summer. Some hope cicadas will help entomophagy – the practice of eating insects – catch on.

Scientists are trying to figure out which insect species are struggling, what it means for ecosystems and, ultimately, how it will impact people.

Interested in partaking in a once-in-13-years culinary experience? “Anything you can make with shrimp you can make with cicadas,” said Nicole Pruess, invertebrate keeper at the Missouri Botanical Garden.