how many insects are there?

Attempts to get an overview of all living species on Earth always run into trouble when it comes to insects. There isn't even a clear consensus on how many species there may be. Historically, estimates have gone as high as 30 million, with a recent trend towards lower figures around 6 million. New research now suggests that this last figure needs to be multiplied by three.

This is in line with the fact that wherever researchers have a closer look at insect diversity, they tend to discover several times more species than were previouslly known. I've combined both the challenge of the global count and some recent discoveries, together with the threat of population losses and extinctions to a feature about insect numbers which is out now:

Counting insects

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 15, 03 August 2026, Pages R833--R835

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(Unfortunately, this year's features will no longer become open access one year after publication - do contact me if you would like a PDF and the magic link has expired.)

See also my new Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.

My mastodon posts are also mirrored on Bluesky.

Last year's thread is here .

A study of rove beetles in China revealed 61 new species. (Photos: Qing-Hao Zhao.)

survival secrets of the koalas

After the rather depressing outlook on AI safety (or lack thereof) I needed a bit of comfort and joy, so I jumped at the opportunity presented by a paper on the genomes of more than 400 cuddly koalas. They serve as the mascot for the feature on the subject of conservation genomics which also takes in other life forms such as sea snails, snow leopards, and lemurs.

The resulting feature is out now:

Survival in their genomes

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 7, 20 April 2026, Pages R299-R301

Restricted access to full text and PDF download
(Unfortunately, this year's features will no longer become open access one year after publication - do contact me if you would like a PDF.)

Magic link for free access
(first seven weeks only)

See also my new Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.

My mastodon posts are also mirrored on Bluesky.

Last year's thread is here .

Although it is now widely adored as an icon of Australia, the koala has experienced severe population declines and is still in need of conservation attention, as a new study analysing hundreds of genomes confirms. (Photo: Mathias Appel/Flickr.)

save the microbes

Over the last few decades, there has been a growing awareness of the fact that commensal microbiota are important just about everywhere, from our bodies to the leaves of tomato plants. Funnily enough this hasn't quite translated into the realisation that saving life on Earth from another mass extinction will also require saving the microbes that are the foundation of all ecosystems as well as the little helpers in many symbiotic relationships.

Only last year did the IUCN (which looks after the Red List of endangered species) launch a specialist group focused on microbial conservation. Reason enough to write a feature about it which is out now:

Towards a Red List for microbes

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 6, 23 March 2026, Pages R229-R231

Restricted access to full text and PDF download
(Unfortunately, this year's features will no longer become open access one year after publication - do contact me if you would like a PDF. Last year's features will still move to the open archives as this year advances.)

Magic link for free access
(first seven weeks only)

See also my new Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.

My mastodon posts are also mirrored on Bluesky.

Last year's thread is here .

The cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is a major contributor to photosynthesis globally but may be more vulnerable to ocean warming than previously predicted. (Image taken by Anne Thompson, Chisholm Lab.)

eagle issues

There are animal species, often apex predators, which many humans seem to worship for their fierce power, such as lions, cheetahs and eagles. Sadly, this connection, often engrained in cultural traditions over centuries, doesn't automatically protect the admired animal. Although eagles are generally faring better than the less admired vultures, there are a few conservation concerns which I have covered in my latest feature which is out today:

Keeping an eye on eagles

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 4, 23 February 2026, Pages R105-R107

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(Unfortunately, this year's features will no longer become open access one year after publication - do contact me if you would like a PDF.)

See also my new Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.

My mastodon posts are also mirrored on Bluesky.

Last year's thread is here .

Eagles like this golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) have symbolised power since Roman times.
(Photo: Susanne Nilsson/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).)

stopping the shark trade

A rare bit of good news for marine biodiversity arrived last December from the unlikely location of landlocked Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The 20th conference of the signatories to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) significantly enhanced the protection of sharks and rays. Time for another feature about cartilaginous fish, or as I now like to call them: chondrichthyans:

Chondrichthyans at the crossroads

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 1, 5 January 2026, Pages R1-R3

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See also my new Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.

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An oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus, Critically Endangered) observed at Elphinstone Reef, Egypt. The species has now been added to the Appendix I of CITES, meaning that all trade is banned. (Photo: Polygonia c-album/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).)

nature in recovery

I needed cheering up after covering 30 years of climate failure in the penultimate feature of the year, so I followed a suggestion from the editorial team and chose species recovery as the topic for the last one. From the global moratorium on whaling to the European ban on neonics, if we just stop destroying nature, it actually helps the planet to heal, so we should really do more of that.

The feature is out now, completing my set of 24 features in this calendar year:

Roads to recovery

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 24, 15 December 2025, Pages R1165-R1167

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Global populations of humpback whales have made a remarkable recovery since the whaling moratorium, offering opportunities for scientific studies as well as for recreational whale watching.
(Photo: NPS Photo/Kaitlin Thoresen.)

de-extinction deconstructed

I have some sympathy for the idea of repopulating the Arctic tundra with big beasts to restore its natural ecosystem functions, although I'm not sure that elephants dressed up as mammoths are the most cost-efficient way to do this. By contrast, I was quite a bit annoyed by the recent hype over the claimed "de-extinction" of the dire wolf, which won the world's attention simply because there was footage of cute puppies.

So I've tried to write up a reasonably balanced account of the recent news from the de-extinction people, and I found that they are doing some collateral good work eg in elephant conservation and in funding genome research, but the bottom line is that I'm not convinced.

My feature is out now:

Can extinction be reversed?

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 16, 18 August 2025, Pages R783-R785

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The South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) is among the species that the company Colossal is planning to recreate. (Photo: York Museums Trust staff/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).)

oceans acidified

I've covered ocean acidification many years ago, when it was beginning to emerge as a threat to corals and other calcifying sea organisms, and I've written about the planetary boundary concept (most recently, when chemical pollution was found to have exceeded the boundary).

Thus the new research suggesting that ocean adicification is also outside the planetary boundary (as the seventh of the nine parameters in the original planetary boundary paper) presented a good opportunity to visit both issues in one go.

My feature is out now:

Oceans acidified beyond boundary

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 15, 4 August 2025, Pages R739-R741

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The cover image is not really related to my article, but to me it also symbolises the interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere, because: "Bluebottles or man-o'-war, cnidarians in the genus Physalia, use a gas-filled float and sail to catch the wind and sail the ocean surface."

Cover of Current Biology, vol. 35, issue 15, 2025.

save the fungi

Today's issue of Current Biology contains a special theme section on fungi, with lots of fascinating fungal facts. My contribution is focused on the conservation of fungal species which has long been a neglected field. Only this year a major catching up effort catapulted the number of fungi in the IUCN Red List to more than 1,000.

Like plants and animals, many fungi are at risk of extinction due to the effects of habitat loss, land use change, the climate catastrophe and/or invasive species. Only that the threats are much less well known in fungi, so a lot of work remains to be done.

My feature is out now:

Fungi in peril

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 11, 9 June 2025, Pages R438-R440

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Cover of Current Biology vol 35 issue 11. Cover image: the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, releases its spores in the early morning light. Photograph © Jason O' Brien.

let's celebrate trees

My last feature of the year is a seasonal offering with the radical suggestion that we should celebrate old trees growing in their natural environment, rather than murder millions of conifers for our festivities.

Happy holidays to all whatever you're celebrating.

Reasons to worship ancient trees

Current Biology Volume 34, Issue 24, 16 December 2024, Pages R1203-R1205

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The thread for 2023 is here .

Many millions of Christmas trees are grown in plantations for seasonal consumption. (Photo: Jeanne Menjoulet/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).)

dodo and company

Here in Oxford we feel a special cultural connection to the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) - seeing that an important specimen of the extinct species is housed in the University Museum, where it inspired Lewis Carroll to assign it a small role in Alice's adventures in wonderland, which ironically secured its immortality. Witness the pub down the road from me which is run by the Dodo Pub Co. At this year's Alice Day (the Saturday closest to July 4, the day when the story was first told), there was an excellent talk about the museum's specimen, and soon after a paper came out evaluating the entirety of the scientific literature on the dodo and on its relative the equally extinct Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria).

All of which clearly indicated that I needed to write a dodo-themed feature. The more general question I have tried to address is what the study of extinct species can teach us for the conservation of those that are endangered but still alive. The feature is out now:

The way of the dodo

Current Biology Volume 34, Issue 18, 23 September 2024, Pages R837-R839

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The thread for 2023 is here .

A life-sized dodo sculpture by palaeoartist Karen Fawcett, created on the basis of the most recent scientific investigations into its anatomy. (Photo and sculpture © Karen Fawcett.)

care about caracaras

Reading up on the neglected group of raptors, the caracaras, I was rather shocked to find a major skeleton in ornithology's closet. A collector of museum specimens who has several species named after him likely killed the last ten or so individuals of the Guadalupe caracara (Caracara lutosa). So here we have a species not just killed off by humans in general, but by one human specifically. Make that two species, as the bird also carried a parasite not known to use any other hosts.

The important point here is of course the lack of information - Rollo Beck had assumed that the species was still abundant, simply because he very quickly found the group which he then slaughtered. Lack of knowledge and understanding of the important ecosystem function of the caracaras and other raptors and scavengers is also what previously drove that species to the brink of extinction and is still endangering many others today.

So the feature is mainly a call to all humans to support and appreciate their local raptors, including those that have a shady reputation, like vultures and caracaras.

When raptors soar no more

Current Biology Volume 34, Issue 12, 17 June 2024, Pages R553-R555

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The thread for 2023 is here .

The striated caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) has been described as inquisitive and fearless by Charles Darwin and other visitors to the islands of the South Atlantic. (Photo: kuhnmi/Flickr (CC BY 2.0 Deed).)

birds that walk

New Zealand is home to many weird and wonderful bird species, including quite a few that can't fly. This is easily explained by the absence of land mammals on these islands since the time of the dinosaurs. Since human arrived and brought other mammals with them, many of these unusual bird species have become vulnerable. Like island species elsewhere, some have become extinct, and many others are now in danger of extinction.

Following a suggestion from the editorial team, I used my latest feature to study (from the other side of the world) the intriguing world of NZ birds and the conservation work that is needed to keep them alive:

Land of the birds that walk

Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 19, 9. October 2023, Pages R987-R990

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I'm not on Instagram myself, but I believe if you follow CurrentBiology there, you'll find my features highlighted there as well.

The endangered kakapo is one of New Zealand’s 16 surviving species of flightless birds. Twice winner of the Bird of the Year competition, it is benefiting from intensive conservation management. (Photo: Jake Osborne/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).)

bird flu takes off

Bird flu only gets media attention very briefly each time it either affects industrial poultry farming or poses a danger to establish itself in humans as a new virus strain. It usually stays limited to the flu season, too.

The current outbreak is different in a number of important ways, however. It has left the seasonality behind, has spread around the globe, and killed large numbers of other animals too, especially marine and coastal mammals. It is thus a lot more worrying than recent outbreaks, and could have implications ranging from species extinctions through to another human health crisis. Which is why I had a closer look at it in my latest feature which is out now:

A flying pandemic

Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 12, 19. June 2023, Pages R659-R662

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I'm not on Instagram myself, but I believe if you follow CurrentBiology there, you'll find my features highlighted there as well.

Sandwich terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis) along the coasts of northern Europe have been suffering mass mortality in the current outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza. (Photo: Trish Hartmann/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).)

the lynx effect

We are officially in the decade of ecosystem restoration and the top predators of a given ecosystem obviously have a role to play in that. However, reintroduction of carnivores like lynx, wolf and bear often faces fierce resistance from those humans who have usurped their roles of killing the herbivores.

A couple of new papers on the genetic health of Eurasian lynx populations in Europe served as the excuse to have a look at the situation of the typical carnivores of the northern latitudes and any attempts at reintroducing them.

The feature is out now:

Caring for carnivores

Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 5, 13. March 2023, Pages R159-R162

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The Eurasian lynx, although not endangered, is a keystone species missing from much of western Europe. (Photo: Nicky Pe/Pixabay.)

a flamboyance of flamingos

Flamingos are eternal favourites of visitors in zoos everywhere and have been held in captivity for centuries. Surprisingly, it still isn't all that easy to breed them successfully, and only a few zoos have succeeded on that front. A recent review of reproductive success or lack thereof using the ZIMS (Zoological Information Management System) database of life history information gathered in zoos around the world has led to new recommendations. More generally, the findings highlight the issue that, if zoos are to act as a refuge for endangered species, we have to make sure we understand their life histories well enough. Other recent zoo stories covered include the longevity of parrots, cancer risks in mammals, and rewilding of sea otters.

If you always wondered how to breed flamingos (or how to rewild sea otters), here are some answers:

Learning lessons at the zoo

Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 4, 27. February 2023, Pages R123-R126

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Flamingos use their characteristically bent beaks upside down for filter feeding on plankton. This is a P. jamesi in Bolivia. (Photo: Murray Foubister/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).)

PS 6.3.2023 Speaking of zoos, here's the director of London Zoo on their new offer of £ 3 tickets for ppl on benefits. (I was a bit shocked that the regular price is 10 times more, but then again I haven't been at a zoo in decades.)

save our sharks

Humans vs sharks is a topic I have covered a couple of times before, but it bears repeating that the murderous monster is actually us, and the innocent victim the sharks. Nearly half a century after Jaws, cartilagenous fish are one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates, so I've rounded up some recent conservation news on sharks and rays, complete with an almost apology from Steven Spielberg. The feature is out today:

Sharks face the jaws of extinction

Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 3, 06. February 2023, Pages R85-R87

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Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) in a Florida lagoon are exposed to toxins that are passed on through the food web. (Photo: amanderson2/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).)

PSA: I'm not on Instagram myself, but I believe if you follow CurrentBiology there, you'll find my features highlighted there as well.

oryx, ibex et al.

It is always nice to have a charismatic species with a memorable name as a mascot for a feature, so the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), the first animal species to come back after having been extinct in the wild, was too good to be missed. Looking at other ungulate conservation efforts on the Arabian Peninsula and beyond, I also took the Nubian ibex on board (are there any other four-letter animals ending on "x" that I missed?), along with some gazelles.

The resulting feature is out now:

Desert revival

Current Biology Volume 32, Issue 9, 9 May 2022, Pages R399-R401

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NB: as the 2022 features move into the open archives, I will add them to this thread on Mastodon.

The Arabian oryx is the first animal species that has recovered to Vulnerable status after having been Extinct in the Wild. It is also remarkable for its specific adaptations to survival in the desert.

brief history of conservation

This week's issue of Current Biology is a biodiversity special issue, see cover below, and I was asked to cover the history of biodiversity conservation. I haven't read anybody else's history of this field, so my selection of highlights may be eclectic, but it struck me as an enlightening thread that the introduction of agriculture was all about reducing biodiversity in our habitat, and that it took humans a long time to realise that biodiversity is actually good for us too. Hence the title:

Learning to value biodiversity

Current Biology Volume 31, Issue 19, 11 October 2021, Pages R1146-R1148

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See also my twitter thread listing all the 2021 features in Current Biology as they move to the open archives.

Cover of issue 19.
Table of contents.

biotech against extinction

One of the many things I learned in recent years while playing wrong notes in Oxford pubs is that there is a research group at Oxford studying rhinoceros reproduction biology with a view to bringing back the northern white rhino. This subspecies is functionally extinct as only two females survive.

Inspired by this I have looked at the wider field of using reproductive biotechnology in the service of conservation efforts and found out fascinating things about species including lions, black-footed ferrets and pandas. The resulting feature is out this week:

In vitro conservation

Current Biology Volume 31, Issue 18, 27 September 2021, Pages R1065-R1068

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See also my twitter thread listing all the 2021 features in Current Biology as they move to the open archives.

Black-footed ferrets have been saved from extinction with biotechnological methods. The cloning effort that recently marked its first live birth aims to introduce genetic diversity into an inbred population. (Photo: Kimberly Fraser/USFWS (CC BY 2.0).)

PS: If I've got my numbers crunched correctly, this is the 250th feature I've done in this format, which started in February 2011. At an average length of roughly 2000 words, that's half a million words. All articles older than 12 months, that's more than 90% of those 250, are in the open archive, so free access for all. Each one has an entry tagged currentbiology on this blog.