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Undiscovered Insects Multiply Biodiversity, Graphene Reveals Magnetic Superconductivity, CIGaRS Framework Boosts Supernova Precision, New Bacteria Membrane Pathway Uncovered, and more...

Science News Daily

Good morning! It's June 30th and this is your daily brief in science. Here's everything you need to know. A new study suggests there could be 14 to 20 million living insect species worldwide, nearly three times higher than previous estimates. The researchers base this on intensive sampling in Costa Rica's Guanacaste region, using malaise traps and caterpillar rearing to catalog a large portion of local wasp diversity, especially microgastrini.

Statistical models show many species are small, rare, and highly specialized, with 75% of captured wasp species detected by only one of three sampling methods, highlighting under-detection. The work provides a baseline indicating many undiscovered species could be common, and that many may be vulnerable to pesticides, climate change, habitat destruction, and light pollution.

The findings, published in PNAS on June 29th, 2026, emphasize that current knowledge underestimates insect diversity, and call for intensified taxonomic work and long-term biodiversity monitoring. This comes as concerns rise about an insect decline or insect apocalypse, underscoring the urgency of cataloging biodiversity before species are lost.

Authors warn that numerous species are already declining even before being named, stressing the need to understand and protect biodiversity. Taxonomic knowledge must keep pace with biodiversity loss as habitat destruction and climate change threaten species yet to be cataloged. Many undiscovered species may occupy niche or canopy habitats and could play critical roles as parasitoids within broader food webs.

The 1.5 million specimen Costa Rican dataset across multiple trapping methods underpins the robust estimation workflow and global extrapolation, serving as a cornerstone for the study's conclusions. Overall, the study reinforces the idea that a larger pool of undescribed insects may be at risk, strengthening the case for conservation.

Undiscovered Insects Multiply Biodiversity, Graphene Reveals Magnetic Superconductivity, CIGaRS Framework Boosts Supernova Precision, New Bacteria Membrane Pathway Uncovered, and more...

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The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Undiscovered Insects Multiply Biodiversity, Graphene Reveals Magnetic Superconductivity, CIGaRS Framework Boosts Supernova Precision, New Bacteria Membrane Pathway Uncovered, and more...

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.