Category: Silent Spring Continued: A World without Insects?
Portrait of an Insect Lover: Alexandra Magro
As part of the series “Silent Spring Continued: A World without Insects,” environmental historian and curator of the series Birgit Müller recounts an interview with Alexandra Magro, an evolutionary ecologist working on, among other things, the life strategies of ladybird beetles. By Birgit Müller…
Insect Portrait: Ladybird Beetles
Ladybird beetles (of the family Coccinellidae) are a fascinating group of insects. Thriving in all kinds of habitats, they are extremely diverse; around 6,000 species have been described worldwide. Although they are often recognized as beneficial predatory insectivores, their food preferences are in fact…
Insects as Inspiration
As part of the series “Silent Spring Continued: A World without Insects,” guest author Jan Goedbloed shares with us how he developed a deep interest in invertebrates and reflects on how insects continue to inspire him in life, work, and beyond. *Featured image: Chaoborus…
Overcoming the Fear Factor: Teaching and Learning about Insects and Biodiversity
Tony Weis is a geography professor whose research is broadly located in the field of political ecology, with a focus on agriculture and food systems. He is also a former fellow of the Rachel Carson Center where he worked on a project titled “Ghosts and…
Mosquitopia Part 3: Key Reasons for Killing Mosquitoes
In this final installment of the special feature on mosquitoes, the authors present some major arguments for implementing strategies to eradicate mosquitoes. The feature coincides with the Rachel Carson Legacy Symposium “Mosquitopia? The Place of Pests in a Healthy World” being held this weekend…
Mosquitopia Part 2: A few Reasons for Saving Mosquitoes
This is the second installment on mosquitoes to coincide with the Rachel Carson Legacy Symposium “Mosquitopia? The Place of Pests in a Healthy World” being held this weekend (24–27 October 2019). Here, the authors summarize some of the main arguments against trying to rid…
Mosquitopia Part 1: Killing Mosquitoes? The Pros and Cons
In the first of this three-part installment, Marcus Hall and Dan Tamir introduce us to the possibility of eradicating mosquitoes from the globe. Experts are asking whether it is indeed possible, advisable, and/or ethical, to pursue such a path. To stimulate further dialogue and…
Insect Profile: Asian Tiger Mosquito
Aedes albopictus There are several ways to identify Asian Tiger mosquitos: black and white flecked bodies with a stripe down the back, the unusual habit of feeding during daylight hours, and until relatively recently, a tropical and subtropical distribution within Southeast Asia. Over past…
In Conservative Bavaria, Citizens Force Bold Action on Protecting Nature
*This post was originally published on the Yale Environment 360 site in April 2019 and has been reproduced here with permission. The featured image shows activists gathering in Munich to show support for Bavaria’s biodiversity referendum in January 2019. Photo: Georg Kurz By Christian Schwägerl Christian Schwägerl…
The Schaus Swallowtail
*Previously published in Wild Life: The Institution of Nature, by Irus Braverman. © 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Published by Stanford University Press. Used by permission of the publisher. **The featured image (courtesy of Thomas C. Emmel), taken…