Denis C Calandriello , Vanessa AS Cunha , Daniel Batista , Bruno C Genevcius
{"title":"Genetic architecture of morphological adaptation and plasticity in insects: gaps, biases, and future directions","authors":"Denis C Calandriello , Vanessa AS Cunha , Daniel Batista , Bruno C Genevcius","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101362","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101362","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insects exhibit a vast array of morphological specializations. Recent eco-evo-devo studies have provided a fresh perspective into how insect morphology can respond to the environment, both plastically and adaptively. Here, we performed a systematic literature analysis to identify biases and gaps in research on the molecular mechanisms underlying insect morphological adaptation and plasticity. We found that plasticity studies are increasingly present in the literature, while adaptation studies lag behind. Additionally, we observed a disproportionate focus on a few insect orders and specific traits like wings and body size. We highlight the need to explore the broader insect diversity, including understudied groups and unexplored traits like reproductive organs, as well as utilize advanced methods to capture subtle morphological variation. Studying a wider range of species with diverse morphologies and ecological features, as well as implementing modern genome-wide tools, can reveal the full spectrum of mechanisms underlying morphological adaptation and plasticity in insects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101362"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143633708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tristan A Barley , Hollie Blaydes , Adam G Dolezal
{"title":"A stitch in time: integrating energy infrastructure into the fabric of conservation habitats","authors":"Tristan A Barley , Hollie Blaydes , Adam G Dolezal","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101358","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insect communities are declining globally as a result of multiple, interacting drivers, including habitat loss due to agricultural intensification and urbanization. Biodiversity losses necessitate immediate conservation efforts, including the creation of new habitats, but it can be challenging to find suitable spaces in which to implement such mitigation actions. However, energy infrastructure, including solar farms and rights-of-way, presents opportunities to enhance insect conservation efforts by adding to the existing patchwork of habitats across working landscapes. While research has already demonstrated the potential for new habitats in homogenous, resource-poor landscapes, pairing these habitats with energy infrastructure has not been fully explored or utilized, although the evidence base is growing. Here, we examine the challenges of finding opportunities to establish insect habitats in working landscapes, discuss the potential for energy infrastructure as spaces for habitats, and propose solutions to move this potential new means of insect conservation forward.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101358"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143572458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Invasive termites and their growing global impact as major urban pests","authors":"Thomas Chouvenc","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101368","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101368","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While termites play important ecological roles, a fraction of species have strong invasive capabilities and represent urban pests of economic importance worldwide. Their invasive potential is exacerbated by human activities such as maritime transport, with privately owned boats serving as key vectors for local and global termite dispersal, particularly for <em>Cryptotermes</em> and <em>Coptotermes</em> pest species. Land establishment by invasive termites can remain undetected for decades, often making eradication attempts too late to succeed. Ultimately, invasive termite species will likely continue to spread at the global scale, and recent new invasive records point toward an underestimation of their actual current invasive status.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101368"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Invasive indoor pests under the microbiological lens: bacterial and viral diversity from local to global scales in bed bugs and cockroaches","authors":"Jose E Pietri , Maureen Laroche","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Essentially, all animal life interacts closely with an array of microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, which can have both beneficial and harmful effects. The advancement of high-throughput molecular biology approaches (DNA and RNA sequencing) has led to an ongoing boom in investigating the composition and functions of microbial communities (microbiota) associated with a wide range of animal taxa, including insects. As this area of investigation has blossomed, such research on indoor urban insect pests has lagged more widely studied species. However, over the last several years, significant strides have been made in understanding the diversity and biological roles of microbes associated with such insects. This review highlights and discusses recent key findings, focusing on bed bugs and cockroaches, two of the most prolific globally invasive indoor insect pests. Advances in this area of research have long-term implications for public health and for the development of novel pest control approaches.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101344"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143390174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Renee M Borges, Radhika Venkatesan, Saskya van Nouhuys
{"title":"Editorial overview: Parasitoid biology in the Anthropocene: it is getting harder to make a living from parasitism","authors":"Renee M Borges, Radhika Venkatesan, Saskya van Nouhuys","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101361","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101361","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101361"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143584962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Toke T Høye , Matteo Montagna , Bas Oteman , David B Roy
{"title":"Emerging technologies for pollinator monitoring","authors":"Toke T Høye , Matteo Montagna , Bas Oteman , David B Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Efficient tools for monitoring pollinator populations are urgently needed to address their reported declines. Here, we review advanced technologies focusing on image recognition and DNA-based methods to monitor bees, hoverflies, moths, and butterflies. Insect camera traps are widely used to record nocturnal insects against uniform backgrounds, while cameras studying diurnal pollinators in natural vegetation are in early stages of development. Depending on context, insect camera traps can assess occurrence, phenology, and proxies of abundance for easily recognisable and common species. DNA-based techniques can drastically decrease the costs of sample processing and speed of specimen identification but strongly depend on the completeness of reference DNA databases, which are continually improving. Molecular analyses are becoming more affordable as uptake increases. Image-based methods for identification of dead specimens show promising results for some invertebrates, but image reference databases for pollinators are far from complete. Building image reference databases with expert entomologists is a priority. Lidar and acoustic sensors are emerging technologies although it is still uncertain which insect taxa can be separated in data from these sensors and how well. By improving accessibility to novel technologies and integrating them with existing approaches, monitoring of pollinators and other insects could deliver richer, more standardised and possibly cheaper data with benefits to future insect conservation efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101367"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143630246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frederico Hickmann , Megan E Meuti , Andrew P Michel , Alberto S Corrêa
{"title":"Where do all the pests go? Understanding the genomic mechanisms of crop pest dynamics during the off-season","authors":"Frederico Hickmann , Megan E Meuti , Andrew P Michel , Alberto S Corrêa","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101340","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101340","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agroecosystems provide abundant resources to insects. However, throughout the off-season, insects must overcome resource shortages and adverse climates to survive. This off-season persistence affects pest infestations in subsequent crops or seasons. Key pest species employ diapause, migration, and local-scale dispersal to persist during the off-season. Genomic approaches have advanced our understanding of these survival mechanisms. Clock genes regulate the circadian rhythm and interact with neuropeptides and downstream pathways, such as insulin-like peptides and hormonal factors–like ecdysteroids and juvenile hormones that regulate diapause. Migrant insects must manage processes like energy metabolism, oogenesis, and flight orientation. Local-scale dispersal requires mechanisms to locate, select, and exploit the most suitable host and habitat for survival and reproduction during the off-season. Here, we present advances in genomic research on pest survival during the off-season, focusing on diapause, migration, and local-scale dispersion. Understanding these phenomena is crucial for developing and optimizing effective integrated pest management programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101340"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143255047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial overview: Development and regulation: Evo-Devo and extended perspectives","authors":"Shigeyuki Koshikawa, Yoichiro Tamori","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101370","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101370","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101370"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Crustacean sexual differentiation: a decapod perspective","authors":"Tomer Ventura","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101371","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101371","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sexual differentiation in crustaceans is shaped by genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors, with notable interspecies diversity. This review highlights key mechanisms in decapods, including genetic pathways like Doublesex and species-specific variations, such as the Y-linked iDMY gene in spiny lobsters. Male differentiation is driven by the androgenic gland and its insulin-like hormone, while female differentiation involves eyestalk neuropeptides like gonad-inhibiting hormone. Environmental factors, such as density, influence flexible genetic systems. These findings aid aquaculture by enabling sex ratio manipulation and inform conservation through biotechnological advances. Emerging tools like CRISPR promise deeper insights into crustacean sexual differentiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101371"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143709089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advances in monitoring of indoor pests","authors":"Changlu Wang, Richard Cooper","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101366","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101366","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cockroaches, bed bugs, and commensal rodents are economically and medically important indoor pests. Effective detection of these pests is critical for preventing their establishment, reducing their spread, and quickly eliminating existing activity. Many types of devices have been developed to monitor these pests. They are an essential tool in an integrated pest management program, playing an important role in pest detection and management. Here, we provide an overview of the commonly used monitoring tools and novel technologies that offer effective detection and savings in labor costs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 101366"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143623855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}