The destruction of the Goliath beetles’ natural habitats is eroding the delicate balance of the ecosystem that they are critical to maintaining. In the heart of Africa’s rich and diverse landscapes, a ...

In Chebika, as in other rural areas in central Tunisia, many farmers' fields of prickly pear have been spoiled by the cochineal, which swept through North Africa 10 ...

A plastic-eating insect in Kenya may be a potential ally to join in the fight against plastic pollution. Scientists have discovered that a beetle larvae from the Alphitobius genus can consume and ...

Sandiso Mnguni receives funding from the GENUS: DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (Grant 86073). He is affiliated with the Agricultural Research Council Plant Health and Protection ...

Few animals are more problematic than the tiny African insect known to English speakers as the tsetse fly. This is the carrier of "sleeping sickness," an often deadly neurological illness in humans, ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American For years now I have argued that it is time ...

Amor Nouira, a farmer in Tunisia's Chebika village, has lost hope of saving his prickly pear cacti, ravaged by the cochineal insect spreading across North Africa. The 50-year-old has seen his ...