Biomimicry looks to nature for helping us engineer human products such as vernacular design

For years, scientists believed the exceptional fertility of tropical Ferralsols—a crumbly, porous soil found in regions like the Brazilian Cerrado and parts of West Africa—was simply the result of mineral weathering. But new research has cracked open that theory, revealing a hidden network of co-engineers: termites and ants. These social insects have not just inhabited these soils—they’ve built them.

In a landmark perspective published in Pedosphere Dr. Ary Bruand and colleagues at France’s Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans trace how millions of generations of termites and ants have sculpted the structure of Ferralsols. By transporting minerals from deep underground and engineering an intricate system of tunnels, these insects have created the porous, breathable soils that support some of the world’s richest tropical biodiversity and agriculture.

“This is like discovering that the pyramids weren’t built by natural erosion, but by ancient engineers,” said Bruand. “These insects have been performing ecosystem services worth billions of dollars, completely unnoticed. Their soil structures are more sophisticated than anything we’ve designed in labs.”

The team used advanced microscopy and chemical tracing to map the fingerprints of insect activity across Ferralsol profiles from three continents. Their findings are striking: termites, possibly in search of scarce minerals like sodium, mine materials from depths of up to 10 meters. They transport these nutrients to the surface, where ants help redistribute and stabilize them—creating honeycomb-like soil microstructures that resist compaction, retain water, and allow roots to thrive.

Yet this partnership is under threat. In regions where native vegetation is converted to cropland, termite and ant populations decline rapidly. In Ivory Coast, the team observed a 60% drop in these soil-structuring insects just five years after agricultural expansion. Water retention and crop yields followed the same downward trajectory.

For scientists, the implications go beyond soil science. The biological design principles embedded in Ferralsols could inspire new directions in vernacular architecture, permaculture, and even regenerative land use. Termite mounds—known for their natural ventilation and climate regulation—have long fascinated architects. Now, this new research offers a soil-level perspective on bioengineering that’s been quietly evolving for tens of thousands of years.

Related: Dubai develops a museum for soil

“We must develop farming systems that work with these natural builders, not against them,” said Bruand. “The future of tropical agriculture may depend on whether we can protect these underground allies.”

Designers and architects interested in sustainable land-based development can take cues from this research:

• Leave vegetation corridors between cultivated fields to allow for recolonization of native insects.
• Explore soil biomimicry by replicating termite-built structures in agricultural substrates.
• Develop bio-inspired building materials that mimic the thermal and structural logic of insect habitats.

Policymakers, too, may begin using insect abundance as a new indicator of soil health. Researchers are already exploring rapid field tests to measure the “biological soil structure potential”—a kind of ecological fingerprint left by these ancient builders.

The message is clear: these insects have solved problems of drainage, drought, and compaction long before humans ever arrived. Protecting them isn’t just conservation—it’s smart design.

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An insect species that evolved 130 million years ago is the inspiration for a new research study to improve navigation systems in drones, robots, and orbiting satellites. The dung beetle is the first known species to use the Milky Way at night to navigate, focusing on the constellation of stars as a reference point to roll balls of dung in a straight line away from their competitors.

Related: how dung beetles navigate by the stars

Swedish researchers made this discovery in 2013 and a decade later, Australian engineers are modelling the same technique used by the dung beetle to develop an AI sensor that can accurately measure the orientation of the Milky Way in low light. This advance could be used to create better navigational technology for drones.

University of South Australia remote sensing engineer Professor Javaan Chahl and his team of PhD students have used computer vision to demonstrate that the  large stripe of light that forms the Milky Way is not affected by motion blur, unlike individual stars.

“Nocturnal dung beetles move their head and body extensively when rolling balls of manure across a field, needing a fixed orientation point in the night sky to help them steer in a straight line,” Prof Chahl says. “Their tiny compound eyes make it difficult to distinguish individual stars, particularly while in motion, whereas the Milky Way is highly visible.”

In a series of experiments using a camera mounted to the roof of a vehicle, the UniSA researchers captured images of the Milky Way while the vehicle was both stationery and moving. Using information from those images they have developed a computer vision system that reliably measures the orientation of the Milky Way, which is the first step towards building a navigation system.

Their findings have been published in the journal Biomimetics.

Lead author UniSA PhD candidate Yiting Tao says the orientation sensor could be a backup method to stabilise satellites and help drones and robots to navigate in low light, even when there is a lot of blur caused by movement and vibration: “For the next step I want to put the algorithm on a drone and allow it to control the aircraft in flight during the night,” Tao says.

Related: how artificial lights at night harm dung beetles and insects

The sun helps many insects to navigate during the day, including wasps, dragonflies, honeybees, and desert ants. At night, the moon also provides a reference point for nocturnal insects, but it is not always visible, hence why dung beetles and some moths use the Milky Way for orientation.

Prof Chahl says insect vision has long inspired engineers where navigation systems are concerned.

“Insects have been solving navigational problems for millions of years, including those that even the most advanced machines struggle with. And they’ve done it in a tiny little package. Their brains consist of tens of thousands of neurons compared to billions of neurons in humans, yet they still manage to find solutions from the natural world.”

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Eyes open and toes out of water: how a giant water bug reached the island of Cyprus

The island of Cyprus, although considered a hotspot for biodiversity in the Mediterranean (and occupied by Turkey on its northern border), is more famous for its beautiful sunny coasts than for its insect fauna. Some visitors of its highly populated beaches, with their observations and curiosity, have provided important information for a species never recorded before on the island: a the giant water bug, also known as a toe biter.

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Penises are more prevalent in some lines of work than others. And for researchers who study biodiversity of insects, penises play a significant role in their daily workload – for good reason.

“Genitalia are the organs in insects that evolve to be different in every species. As such, they are often the best way to identify a species. That’s why entomologists like us are always quick to examine insect genitalia when describing a species. The unique shape of each species’ genitals ensures that it can only reproduce with the same species,” says biologist Aslak Kappel Hansen of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, whose work entails describing insect species.

By studying beetle specimens that have been hidden in the museum for decades, Aslak and colleagues have discovered six new species of the rove beetle genus Loncovilius. The sexual organ of one of the six beetles immediately drew associations among the researchers.

“This species is characterised, among other things, by the fact that the male’s sexual organ is shaped remarkably like a bottle opener.

“Therefore, we thought it is obvious to dedicate this species to the Carlsberg Foundation, which has generously supported independent research for many years. Their support for various projects, expeditions, or purchase of the scientific instruments at the Natural History Museum of Denmark contributes to the discovery of new species on our planet,” states Aslak Kappel Hansen.

While the researchers have no inkling as to why the penis of this certain beetle evolved as it did, its shape has earned it the name Loncovilius carlsbergi.

“It is estimated that as many as 85% of all species on Earth are still not formally named and described. Many species go extinct without ever having been named or recognized by science and as a consequence by humanity as a whole. A taxonomic name is important because nature conservation relies on knowledge about species in particular areas. Without such a description, species are often left out of conservation efforts,” explains Josh Jenkins Shaw.

The researchers hope that the penis of Loncovilius carlsbergi might sparkle a broader interest to insects and make a difference. It doesn’t just look like an opener – it can actually pop open a cold beer now!  That’s because the researchers had a model of the beetle’s sexual organ made in stainless steel.

“It’s important that we recognise the vast wealth of yet to be researched species around us before it’s too late. We would like for people around the world to talk about the crisis facing our planet’s species. A move towards serious learning and awareness may be sparkled by a light chat that takes place over a beer,” concludes Aslak Kappel Hansen.

The researchers are now working on putting the bottle-opener into production. Would you buy one?

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Radar entomology: The first insect radar installed in Israel near the Hula Valley. 

Despite your hatred for mosquitos, or the Fall Armyworm that’s eating lawns and football fields, insects are an important part in the web of life. The bodies of insects contain 10% nitrogen and 1% phosphorus and they are full of protein. Some startups like Flying Spark are even marketing insects for human consumption as part of the Alt Protein movement. Insects, of course, and their larvae, are already a nutritious food source in countries in Africa and East Asia. 

But beyond how insects can feed us humans directly, they are excellent fertilizer for plants and crops, they make nutritious meals for birds, bats, and amphibians like frogs and salamanders. Frogs and salamanders are indicator species, helping us know they health of ecosystems. Insects pollinate the food we eat.

If insects go, amphibians go. And if anyone reading this has noticed how much fewer insects stick to your windshield when driving in the country, you can maybe surmise – we have a problem.

Reasons for fewer insects? Pesticides, human development, invasive pests taking over, forestry, industrial pollution.  

To help understand insect populations, a new insect radar, the first for Israel, has been installed near the Hula Valley nature reserve. The area is a major rest stop for millions of migratory birds moving between Africa and Europe each year. 

The insect radar offers a chance to gauge the quantity of insects in Israel’s skies and was installed by the University of Haifa. The insect radar, like the bird radar installed by Prof. Yossi Leshem a couple of decades ago, will allow researchers to estimate the density, direction and speed of migration, elevation, and body size of the insects, and to assess factors influencing the insects that fly in this area.

“We will be able to identify pollinating insets that are of great importance for wild plants and agriculture, as well as other insects that cause damage to agriculture, such as various species of moths,” said Prof. Nir Sapir at the University of Haifa.

Insects mass migration larger than birds

In a previous study in which Prof. Sapir was also involved, and which was published in the journal Science, it was found that insect migration is the largest migration in terrestrial environments.

In Britain alone, some 3.5 trillion insects migrate every year, creating a biomass almost eight times greater than that of migrating birds.

Prof. Sapir anticipates that insect migration in Israel will be on an even larger scale: “In northern areas such as England, there is no insect activity in winter. In our region there are large insect populations throughout the year, including in winter. The conditions for the development of large populations are much more favorable here.

“Thanks to the radar, we will be able to calculate the quantities of insects of each given size and group that cross Israel – something that was impossible with the previous tools. We will be able to understand if between environmental temperature and other conditions, such as wind, affect the number of insects. We will be able to gauge the impact of global warming on the number of insect.

“This is importance, because insects constitute a major part in vital ecological interactions in many ecosystems,” Prof. Sapir concluded.

Monitoring invasive insects

One of the first studies undertaken by the researchers with the help of the insect radar seeks to monitor the fall armyworm, an invasive species of moth that arrived in Israel recently from South America. It was also detected in Egypt in 2021 so its spread could be rapid and devastating for countries in the Middle East already on the brink of starvation. Prof. Sapir explains that this species is one of the most harmful in the world and is known to cause damage to more than 350 species of plants.

“The crop that is worst affected by the fall armyworm larvae is maize…we have begun to use the radar in order to understand the movement of these moths, as a first step toward controlling their spread,” Prof. Sapir added.

Using such variables as size, flight speed, wing movement pattern, and body shape obtained from the radar, the researchers plan to apply a classification tool based on “teaching” the machine to identify groups of insects and later on specific species, such as the fall armyworm, with the help of the radar.

Could it works as an early warning system against locusts and new invaders? Let’s hope countries nearby, such as Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Syria, will also invest in insect radars so that science can help draw links in a regional, rather than a local scale. 

CABI, an England-based agriculture NGO I used to do with research with as a graduate student in Switzerland, published a book some 20 years ago – Radar Entomology – indicating how radar can be used for insect pest management. The book deals with the applications of radar findings in the management and forecasting of both pest and beneficial insects, and is an important reference for those working in agricultural entomology and pest management.

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Ticks carry nasty diseases like lyme disease and the bacteria causing the deadly disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever, with variants of this disease found all over the world, including the Mediterranean and Middle East.

As the world warms from climate change, researchers find that the ticks that normally feed on dogs, actually prefer humans, when temperatures rise. This is sign that climate change could expand and intensify human disease risks, according to a new study out of the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. 

“Our work indicates that when the weather gets hot, we should be much more vigilant for infections of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans,” said veterinarian Laura Backus, who led the study: “We found that when temperatures rose from about 74 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, brown dog ticks that carry the disease were 2.5 times more likely to prefer humans over dogs.”

Cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and related diseases, collectively known as spotted fever rickettsiosis, have risen dramatically over the last 20 years.

Rickettsia conorii, a variant of the disease, is responsible for Mediterranean spotted fever in the Middle East and parts of Africa and Europe, including in Tunisia, Libya, Israel, Sardinia-Italy, Portugal and Algeria.

The brown dog tick which goes by a Latin name Rhipicephalus sanguineus is the main vector for R. conorii, which is responsible for Mediterranean spotted fever in the Middle East.

In addition to ticks, rickettsiae diseases can also be transmitted by fleas.

Spotted fever rickettsiosis is treatable with antibiotics if detected in the first week of infection, but once an infection takes hold, the fatality rate for spotted fever rickettsiosis victims can exceed 20%. Complications can include damaged blood vessels; inflammation of the heart, lungs or brain; and kidney failure. And we thought Covid was bad? 

Backus said there have been indications from earlier work that brown dog ticks, which are found throughout the world, may be more aggressive toward humans in hot weather.

And scientists warn that climate change is greatly expanding areas of the country experiencing multiple days when temperatures top 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 38 degrees Celsius. Backus and her colleagues at UC-Davis wanted to gain more definitive insights into how rising temperatures might elevate the risk of tick-borne infections.

Girl grad student in a box

For their experiment, they constructed two large wooden boxes measuring about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, which were then connected to each other by a clear plastic tube. They conducted a series of tests that involved putting a human in one box, a dog in the other and ticks in the clear plastic tube between them.

The researchers then observed, over 20-minute intervals, whether the ticks, which seek out hosts to feed on based on smell, preferred dogs or grad student humans –first at temperatures of around 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23.3 degrees Celsius) and then at 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius).

Backus said that at the higher temperature, one type of brown dog tick, known as the tropical lineage tick, was especially decisive in shifting its preferences from dogs to humans. 

“We believe that this decreased preference for dogs–combined with a slight increase in preference for humans–suggests that hot temperatures may also elevate risks of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in areas where the temperate ticks are more common,” Backus said.

Does climate change worry you? Some things you can do today: 

• Buy less 
• Try low-impact travel and lifestyle. The Moneyless Man is an extreme
• Switch to renewables and solar power in your home/work
• Work for companies that lessen harm, or help your company evolve. See Estee Lauder going climate neutral

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Unusual winter rains in Israel give fuel to plants which feed millions of new “painted lady” butterflies

They keep coming, thousands of them, in what appears to be a south-north migration flight. Coming coincidentally on the first day of Spring, this “invasion” of ‘Painted Ladies’ butterflies caught our eyes in southern Netanya, Israel as a totally unnatural phenomenon not usually seen in such large numbers.

Known by their scientific name of danaus chrysippus these medium sized butterflies are usually seen this time of year, but never in such numbers.

The sheer size of the butterfly swarm this year appears to be a very rare phenomenon that has been assisted greatly by an unusually wet winter. The migration movement of the butterflies, also known as the “plain tiger” or “African Queen”, appears to have begun this year on the Arabian Peninsula and will end up far to the north in Europe.

The life-span of these butterflies is only around two weeks; meaning that at least three generations will be needed to reach their final destination. This butterfly migration is a bit different than the annual migration of the North American Monarch butterfly that migrates each year between southern Canada and Mexico. The present influx of Painted Lady butterflies passing through Israel is estimated to be “in the billions” and will continue until mid May.

The wet winter conditions have also been favorable to locations south of Israel; causing a much higher than usual number of butterflies to hatch, according to news reports.This year, the butterfly flights are being reported all over Israel. People wishing to see these beautiful insects will be able to so do for the next six or so weeks.

To see these beautiful butterflies, just go to where a lot of flowers are located, preferably in open spaces, between 9:00 and 12:00 am.

More articles on insects and insect patterns:

Swarms! Plague of locusts could be breeding near you

Israel Military Uses Mimicry to Design Butterfly Drone

Flying spark food-tech asks, “Do you want flies with that?”

Photo of Painted Ladies butterflies by David Cohen/flash90 

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Warm-weather travel around the Dead Sea becomes intolerable as swarms of six-legged visitors follow your every move.  We’re talking millions of pesky flies that dive-bomb your food, mate on your drink, and get stuck on your lotion-lathered limbs. It’s the worst aspect of summer travel here – and while they don’t bite – they do disgust.

You’d expect to encounter nature while hiking to Lot’s Cave or soaking in Ma’an Hot Springs, but it’s another thing altogether to get covered in critters while lolling poolside at a swanky resort.

Hotels and restaurants have yet to solve the problem of insects who congregate (and breed) everywhere there’s fresh water – and Jordan’s recent rainstorms will guarantee an especially strong fly season.

A variation on these bins may  be the solution.

According to designers Chang Shih-hsun and Hung Jui-yuan the slits on the bottom of their “Fly Catcher” bin allow odors to arise, attracting the flies. Bugs “check-in” to this death hotel, but they don’t check-out until the owner empties the unit (after the bugs starve to death). Last year the duo won a Red Dot award for their prototype design.

My own fly-trapping technique is to set a shallow dish of fruit juice adjacent to where I sit outside; it seems more attractive to bugs than I am.  I can accept being less sweet that orange juice, but am I inadvertently fueling future fly generations?

Images from Yanko designs

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Israel, being on the “land bridge” that links it with Africa and Asia Minor, has always been well known for a number of biblical fruits. These include: the multi-seed pomegranates, grapes from which superb wines are now made; and of course several varieties of dates and olives. Another iconic fruit, although not native, comes from the genus opuntia and is known as the prickly pear or “Sabra” cactus.

The fruit received its “Israeli” name as a way to compare it to the personality of native born Israelis or Sabras; who are often said to be hard and prickly on the outside but sweet and soft on the inside.

Now, this national plant symbol is being threatened by the invasion of a species of parasitic aphid that has been attacking Sabra cactus plants in the far north of the country and threatens to spread over other parts of Israel as well.

The aphid, which scientists think may have “hitched a ride” into the country from abroad, attacks the cacti and secretes toxins into the tissues of the plant in order to make it easier for it to suck its food from the plant.

According to Zvi Mendel of the Volcani institute, a research center under the ministry of agriculture, “The aphid damages those parts of the plant which are vital for food supply and, in the end, the plant  dies.”

The invading aphid species, Dactylopius opuntiae, inadvertently introduced to Israel from its native South America, has no natural predators in Israel, allowing it to multiply freely. The aphid invasion is currently confined to cacti located in Israel’s Hula Valley, according to an article in The Times of Israel.

By spraying the cacti with poisonous pesticides, Israeli agricultural experts are hoping to limit the spread of the parasite, which they think may have been brought to Israel by someone who purchased a cactus plant in Central or South America, the natural home of the cacti.

“It would be enough for him to have brought one leaf to Israel and planted it, and that is how the insect – which is difficult to see on the cactus – grew and spread,” says David Brand, the Jewish National Fund’s head forester.

Sabra fruit is harvested in late summer and is often sold in roadside fruit kiosks in both Israel and in the Palestinian Authority. The fruit is best served chilled and it is recommended that one wear gloves when peeling them to avoid being stuck by numerous cactus spines.

Read more on other iconic fruit indigenous to Israel and the Holy Land:

Pomegranate Seeds removed in 10 Secs With Wooden Spoon (Video)

Dates, A Global History, by Nawal Nasrallah Book Review

4 Summer Rose Wines from the Middle East

Olive Season is Here: Buy Local of DIY

Photo of Aphid Giving Birth: Wikipedia

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We have to laugh at this research, given the latest news that there is a gay test being developed by Kuwait to weed out homosexuals from Gulf regions: scientists from Israel and Switzerland find that while many kinds of insects and spiders “act” gay, they probably are gay by accident.

Inon Scharf of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Zoology and Oliver Martin of ETH Zurich have found that homosexual behavior in bugs is probably accidental in most cases.

In the rush to produce offspring, bugs do not take much time to inspect their mates’ gender, potentially leading to same-sex mating, found their study now published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

“Insects and spiders mate quick and dirty,” Scharf observes. “The cost of taking the time to identify the gender of mates or the cost of hesitation appears to be greater than the cost of making some mistakes.”

Friends without benefits? 

In birds and mammals, homosexual behavior has been shown to have evolutionary benefits. It provides “practice” for young adults and maintains alliances within groups. Scientists have recently tried to find explanations for similar behavior in insects, suggesting it could serve to prepare for heterosexual courtship, dispose of old sperm, discourage predators, and distract competitors.

But in reviewing research on some 110 species of male insects and spiders, the researchers found that the available evidence weakly supports such adaptive theories. In general there is no clear benefit to homosexual behavior in insects.

The costs, on the other hand, can be considerable. Homosexual mating is at least as risky as the heterosexual kind, expending sperm, wasting time that could go toward other activities, and boosting the risk of injury, disease, and predation.

In a previous study, the researchers found that all of these factors shorten the lives of heterosexually active males by an average of 25 percent. They expect homosexual behavior to be similarly costly.

And yet, in some species, up to 85 percent of males engage in homosexual behavior. The researchers say this is not because bugs directly benefit from the behavior, but because they mistake other males for females. Almost 80 percent of the cases of homosexual behavior the researchers appeared to be the result of misidentification or belated identification of gender. In some cases, males carry around the scents of females they have just mated with, sending confusing signals to other males. In other cases, males and females look so similar to one another that males cannot tell if potential mates are female until after they have mounted them

The researchers say insects and spiders probably have not evolved to be more discriminating in their mating choices because the cost of rejecting an opportunity to mate with a female is greater than that of mistakenly mating with a male.

This explanation is supported by the fact that many species that exhibit homosexual behavior also mate with related species or inanimate objects, like beer bottles — indicating a general tendency toward misidentification. It is also possible that sexual enthusiasm in bugs is related to other evolutionarily beneficial traits, the researchers say.

“Homosexual behavior may be genomically linked to being more active, a better forager, or a better competitor,” says Schart. “So even though misidentifying mates isn’t a desirable trait, it’s part of a package of traits that leaves the insect better adapted overall.”

To confirm their theory, the researchers plan to study the conditions that make homosexual behavior more or less likely in bugs. They also want to look more deeply into male resistance to homosexual mating.

As for Kuwait and the gay test: We guess the bugs will be allowed to stay.

Image via dominiqs

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