A species of the African nightshade, an important indigenous vegetable in Africa, appears to have inherited from its ancestors a unique ability to defend itself against one of its major pests, the tomato red spider mite, according to a recent study by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).

A newly-developed, solar powered mosquito trapping system (SMoT), which is baited with a synthetic odour blend that mimics human odour, has led to a 70% decline in the populations of Anopheles mosquitoes, the most significant malaria-transmitting species, in Rusinga Island, western Kenya.

A newly-developed, solar powered mosquito trapping system (SMoT), which is baited with a synthetic odour blend that mimics human odour, has led to a 70% decline in the populations of Anopheles mosquitoes, the most significant malaria-transmitting species, in Rusinga Island, western Kenya.

Scientists from Kenya and the United Kingdom have helped to identify a male-killing microbe in a common East African butterfly called the African Queen (also known as the African Monarch), which leads to the death of all sons when a mother butterfly is infected.

Prof. Baldwyn Torto, a principal scientist and head of the icipe Behavioural and Chemical Ecology Unit (BCEU), is among 10 new Fellows elected by the Governing Board of the Entomological Society of America (ESA)* in 2016.