How many insects fly in the sky above the USA?

Using radar data, researchers estimate that around 100 trillion insects fly in the air above the USA every day.

University of Oklahoma

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Density of flying insects on a typical summer day (August 25, 2021). The colors indicate the number of insects per square meter of vertical airspace, with lighter colors indicating higher densities. Rain is shown in black. (Graphic: © 2025 The Author(s). Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd)

view more 

Credit: Global Change Biology

Around 100 trillion insects fly in the skies above the USA on a summer's day, according to estimates by researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and the USA. Using weather radar, they have for the first time estimated the number of flying insects above the contiguous US.

•    Researchers used data from 140 weather radars to estimate the number of insects across the US.

•    The number of insects has remained stable there over the last ten years, but there have been significant regional increases and decreases.

•    The method provides monitoring of insect abundances at an unprecedented scale.

Although millions upon millions of living creatures fly, feed and reproduce in the air, this habitat has hardly been researched. Insects are under increasing pressure worldwide due to global change and human activities. However, until now, evaluating the large-scale effects of this pressure has been challenging because insect monitoring focuses mainly on a small number of species and data is collected at local scales.

A novel data source can fill this gap: weather radars. Many countries have weather radars in large networks, which can be an automated, inexpensive, and large-scale method of monitoring insects in the airspace. They “look” up to observe clouds and precipitation, and in doing so, they also “see” everything else that is flying there.

Weather radar data is provided open access by NOAA in the US. Elske Tielens from the Swiss Research Institute WSL, Jeff Kelly at the University of Oklahoma (OU), and Phil Stepanian then at OU and now at Lincoln Lab MIT, used this to make the world's first estimate of the number of insects above the US mainland: on an average summer day, a good 100 trillion (1014) insects, comprising millions of tons of biomass, fly over the US, they report in the journal Global Change Biology.

Up and down with winter temperatures

In this first continental time series, insect abundance remained relatively stable over the ten years evaluated (2012 to 2021). However, there were significant regional fluctuations, with around half of the radars observing an increase in insect density and the other half observing a decrease. The fluctuations were most strongly correlated with winter temperatures: insect populations declined most in regions where temperatures became warmer. The life cycle of many insects – be it hatching, development or parasite infestation – is largely regulated by temperature.

Radar monitoring makes continental patterns of flying insects visible for the first time, and provides a unique ten year time series due to NOAA's radar archive. However, it is not a panacea: “It is likely that the most severe decline in insect populations already took place between the 1970s and 1990s, i.e., before our archived data,” says Tielens. Furthermore, radar devices cannot detect individual insect species, and the stable trend across the US may hide that species particularly sensitive to environmental change are disappearing, while common species are increasing. “It is therefore important to combine radar data with other data sources – local surveys, citizen science, and so on,” says Tielens.

Nevertheless, weather radars can provide urgently needed basic data on insect populations, which can be used to build future time series. In the Global South in particular, there are far fewer surveys of insect fauna than in Europe and North America. And if older radar data is combed through using new computational models, historical changes may also be uncovered, the authors write.

---

Journal

Global Change Biology

DOI

10.1111/gcb.70587 

Article Title

Systematic Continental Scale Monitoring by Weather Surveillance Radar Shows Fewer Insects Above Warming Landscapes in the United States

 

Scientists from the American Museum of Natural History discovered more than 70 new species in 2025

Newly described species range from insects to mammals to a new mineral

American Museum of Natural History

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

A new genus and species of sea anemone, Endolobactis simoesii

view more 

Credit: © Ricardo Gonzalez Muñoz

From fruit flies that bite to a tiny mouse opossum and a feathered dinosaur preserved with the remains of its last meal, more than 70 new species were described this year by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History. The discoveries span an extraordinary range of life—dinosaurs, mammals, fishes, reptiles, insects, arachnids, marine invertebrates, and even a previously unknown mineral, highlighting the Museum’s continued leadership in exploring the natural world.

Some of these species are the result of recent fieldwork and modern collecting expeditions, while others were uncovered by revisiting specimens that had been preserved in the Museum’s collections for decades, awaiting new technologies and fresh scientific insight.

“Together, these discoveries highlight the remarkable richness of Earth’s biodiversity and underscore the enduring value of natural history collections,” said the Museum’s Senior Vice President and Provost of Science Cheryl Hayashi. “Specimens preserved across generations continue to reveal new insights, reminding us how much there is still to learn about life on our planet.”

Among the newly described species are:

• A new genus and species of sea anemone, Endolobactis simoesii, that has frond-like projections located on its lobes. The discovery results from an effort to improve scientists’ understanding of the diversity of sea anemones of the Atlantic side of Mexico and brings the number of documented species in this region to 24. (Zootaxa)

 

• Two species of fruit flies whose mouthparts are modified into a pair of hard “jaws” in the males. An extraordinary feature among flies, these structures are likely used for grasping the female during courtship. Both species are known from single specimens collected from the Philippines in the 1930s but just recently studied. (Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington)

 

• A Jurassic reptile with python-like hooked teeth and a body similar to a gecko’s that has links to the origins of lizards and snakes. The new species, Breugnathair elgolensis, was discovered in Scotland’s Isle of Skye by an international team of researchers and is one of the oldest relatively complete fossil lizards yet discovered. (Nature)

 

• A new species of mineral, called Lucasite-(La), which was discovered within a volcanic rock in Russia. The mineral was officially approved by the International Mineralogical Association this year, and the type material is now part of the Museum’s permanent collection. (European Journal of Mineralogy)

 

• A small species of mouse opossum with an exceptionally long nose and tail (Marmosa chachapoya). The mouse opossum was found in Parque Nacional Rio Abiseo in a remote part of the Peruvian Andes formerly occupied by people of the pre-Columbian Chachapoya culture, for which the species is named. Few species of mouse opossums have been collected at such a high elevation. (American Museum Novitates)

 

• A squirrel-sized animal that lived in the early Jurassic in what is now China between about 174 and 201 million years ago, Camurocondylus lufengensis. In a study led by researchers at the Museum and at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, C. lufengensis was detailed along with a second species discovered in the 1980s, finding that the evolution of the modern mammal jaw is more complex than previously thought. (Nature)

 

• A new genus and species of a crinoid, an ancient group of marine animals still alive today—sometimes called sea lilies—that are related to starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. Discovered on the Natiscotec River on Anticosti Island, Quebec, the new fossil species, Anticosticrinus natiscotecensis, has a unique pattern of plates on the main structure of its body. (Journal of Paleontology)

 

• A fish from northwestern Madagascar that was discovered more than 20 years ago when the lead scientist was a graduate student. The new species, a cichlid that was named Paretroplus risengi, is distinguished by unique breeding coloration among other features. (Deep Blue Documents)

 

• Forty-seven species of fossil and modern insects, primarily bees, including a “teddy bear” bee species from Vietnam, Habropoda pierwolae (Raffles Bulletin of Zoology); a cuckoo bee with long, sword-like spines on its back, Xiphodioxys haladai (American Museum Novitates); a digger bee from Chile, Anthophora brunneipecten, with a small comb on its face for combing up pollen from its host plants (Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine); and a fossil bumble bee species from the crater lake of Enspel, Germany, still carrying pollen, Bombus messegus (New Phytologist)

 

• Two new species from the group of earliest feathered dinosaurs that lived about 125 million years ago in what is now China: one that was originally identified as a primitive “bird,” Sinosauropteryx lingyuanensis, and was discovered more than 10 years ago; and the other, Huadanosaurus sinensis, which was found with two mammal skeletons in its abdomen, the remains of its last meal. (National Science Review)

 

• Two new species of suckermouth catfishes from rapids along the Congo River, Chiloglanis kinsuka and Chiloglanis wagenia. These sister species are both highly adapted to the river and are separated by nearly 1 mile of river (1600 kilometers). (American Museum Novitates)

 

• Four species of small “sap” flies (family Aulacigastridae) in 17 million-year old amber from the Dominican Republic, captured when the tree resin was still soft. These flies today feed on the sap of wounded trees. The species reveal a surprising connection between the Caribbean and North America, since most such connections today and in the past are with Central and South America. (Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington)

 

• A suckermouthed minnow from the highlands of Vietnam that was collected and shelved 25 years ago by Museum ichthyologists and only recently examined. This is the first species of this genus discovered in Vietnam, and it was given the name Supradiscus varidiscus. (American Museum Novitates)

 

• Four different arachnids, including a scorpion from Iran—Hemiscorpius jiroftensis—whose venom is of interest in the development of pharmaceuticals (Diversity); a giant vinegaroon/whip scorpion from Mexico, Mastigoproctus spinifemoratus, discovered in collections borrowed from the California Academy of Sciences (Arthropoda); a short-tailed whip scorpion from the Venezuelan Amazon, Jipai longevus (Zootaxa); and a troglomorphic, cave-dwelling hooded tick-spider from Venezuela, Cryptocellus armasi (Zootaxa)

 

• A cryptic large-eyed fish from the Kouilou-Niari River in the Republic of the Congo that had long been misidentified. The new species, Labeo niariensis, a type of African fish known as Labeo, a type of carp, is based on specimens collected between 2010 and 2013. (Journal of Fish Biology)

 

• A pollen wasp (Metaparagia cuttacutta) collected in the Northern Territory, Australia. It represents the tenth described species of this genus and was collected by the lead scientist while he was stranded in Australia for eight months during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Australian Entomologist)

A new species of small “sap” fly, Aulacigaster alabaster, preserved in 17 million-year old amber from the Dominican Republic

Credit

© David Grimaldi

A new species of mouse opossum with an exceptionally long nose and tail, Marmosa chachapoya

Credit

© Pedro Peloso

ABOUT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (AMNH)

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City, founded in 1869 with a dual mission of scientific research and science education, is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses more than 40 permanent exhibition halls, galleries for temporary exhibitions, the Rose Center for Earth and Space including the Hayden Planetarium, and the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. The Museum’s scientists draw on a world-class permanent collection of more than 30 million specimens and objects, some of which are billions of years old, and on one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the Museum offers two of the only free-standing, degree-granting programs of their kind at any U.S. museum: the Ph.D. program in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Earth Science residency program. Visit amnh.org for more information.

# # #

 

Illinois study shows public seed banks can fast-track corn quality research

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign corn breeders Martin Bohn (left) and Christopher Mujjabi (right) are leveraging public genebanks to speed up the corn breeding process to develop high-quality, resilient crops.

view more 

Credit: University of Illinois

URBANA, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign corn breeders know profitability is about more than yield. By tweaking kernel composition, they can tailor corn for lucrative biotech applications, industrial products, overseas markets, and more. But to efficiently unlock these valuable traits, breeders must first understand their genetic underpinnings.   

Traditional corn breeding usually takes years and requires acres of replicated trials, not to mention federal funding to support the research. But tapping into public genebanks and shared data, along with modern computational tools, can dramatically speed up the process.

Corn breeder Martin Bohn, professor in the Department of Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois, recently led a project exploring kernel composition in nearly 1,000 diverse maize inbred lines from the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa. The collection is part of the nation’s system of seed banks — including two major collections housed at Illinois — representing many thousands of high-quality crop genotypes that are freely accessible to researchers. 

Using near-infrared spectroscopy and publicly available genomic data, the team, which included undergraduate researcher Stephen Gray, identified genetic regions influencing both the average values and the variability of key kernel composition traits.

“Seed banks contain an incredible amount of genetic diversity, but they are often underused for quantitative genetics and breeding,” Bohn said. “Our results show that these resources can be used effectively to generate meaningful genetic insights, even before launching large, multi-year field experiments.”

Because seed bank accessions are typically available only in small quantities, often as packets of 100 seeds from a single genotype, the study relied on unreplicated seed samples, a situation traditionally viewed as a major limitation in scientific studies. To address this challenge, the researchers validated their findings by comparing their results with large, replicated field studies conducted by other research groups. Strong agreement between studies confirmed that the unreplicated data captured real genetic signals.

“We compared our estimates with a huge replicated field experiment by colleagues in Minnesota that overlapped with 200-300 of the lines we used from the NCRPIS collection,” Bohn said. “We found that the correlation between their kernel data and ours was actually pretty high, so it gave us confidence that our data is actually meaningful and can be trusted.”

The team applied genome-wide association studies, variance-based genetic analyses, and genomic prediction models to identify both well-known and previously unreported genomic regions associated with kernel composition traits.

“Many of the signals we found were in regions where genes had already been identified for the traits that we were interested in — protein, starch, oil, and some others — so it confirmed that our analysis was on the right track,” Bohn said. “But we also found new ones. This is cool because these are new candidate genes we can explore further.”

The fact that the study uncovered new breeding targets is just one reason Bohn and his colleagues are excited about the research. 

Doctoral student Christopher Mujjabi, a co-author on the study, said the work highlights a shift in how breeding research can begin. “Instead of starting with years of replicated field trials, researchers can first explore what’s already stored in gene banks,” he said. “That helps prioritize the most promising material and makes breeding programs more efficient.”

The findings demonstrate how public germplasm collections, high-throughput phenotyping, and shared data can be combined to accelerate crop improvement, particularly for traits tied to nutrition, processing quality, and emerging specialty markets.

Bohn added, “We have developed a pipeline that allows researchers to utilize the genetic treasures that are located in our gene banks. You don't always have to do an elaborate experiment as a first step. You can get an idea of what is in that collection, dive into the really interesting materials, and then utilize these for further studies.”

The study, “Mean and variance heterogeneity loci impact kernel compositional traits in maize,” is published in The Plant Genome [DOI: 10.1002/tpg2.70131]. 

Research in the College of ACES is made possible in part by Hatch funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This study was also supported by two competitive NIFA grants [2020-51300-32180 and 2017-51300-27115].

---

Journal

The Plant Genome

DOI

10.1002/tpg2.70131