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July 01, 2026
 

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INSECTS

Park Gyeong-je, 65, a migratory beekeeper, stands among beehives at an acquaintance's family gravesite where he received permission from the family to keep hives as a second location for migratory beekeeping in Okcheon, South Korea, on May 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 4, 2026
A South Korean beekeeper counts the cost of climate change
Rising temperatures are disrupting South Korea’s beekeeping industry, as earlier blooms, harsher weather and disease cut honey production and put pressure on migratory farmers.
An experimental study has found that mosquitoes can learn to love common repellent.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 29, 2026
Mosquitoes can learn to love common repellent, scientists find
The results were found “under very specific conditions” in the lab and do not “call into question the effectiveness” of the repellent DEET, the lead study author said.
Honeybees crawl on the rack of a beehive in Baker, West Virginia, on May 9.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
May 25, 2026
As bee population collapses, U.S. apiarists fear research cuts
America’s beekeepers are losing colonies at record rates, and many fear the shutdown of a key USDA bee lab will make the crisis even harder to contain.
There are more than 3,500 types of mosquitoes buzzing around the world, but only around 100 bite humans.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
May 13, 2026
Mosquitoes: bloodsuckers and flower lovers
The role that mosquitoes play in flower reproduction is far less studied than that of bees or butterflies.
A cicada fossil dating back about 300,000 years was discovered by two elementary school-aged sisters from Tokyo. Whole-body cicada fossils are extremely rare.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 5, 2026
Tokyo elementary school sisters discover rare cicada fossil
Whole-body cicada fossils are extremely rare, with most fossils consisting only of wing fragments.
A research team has found that most female Japanese rhinoceros beetles mate only once in their lifetime.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2026
Most female rhinoceros beetles mate only once in a lifetime, study finds
As the lifespan of an adult Japanese rhinoceros beetle is a maximum of about two to three weeks in the wild, mating is believed to be programmed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Cristian Lucanas, an entomologist, shows preserved specimens of cockroaches in a laboratory at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, south of Manila on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 9, 2026
Philippines’ ‘Cockroach Lord’ goes to bat for misunderstood bugs
While fully aware most view cockroaches as disgusting, disease-bearing pests, the entomologist says they deserve more study and credit for their role in the global ecosystem.
Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland in a first for the island nation, which has long been one of the world's mosquito-free places.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 28, 2025
Mosquitoes discovered in Iceland for first time
Along with Antarctica, Iceland has long been one of the few places on earth without a mosquito population.
At least 172 out of 1,928 assessed species of wild bees face extinction in Europe, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 13, 2025
Europe’s bees and butterflies at risk, conservation body says
At least 172 out of 1,928 assessed species of wild bees face extinction in Europe compared to 77 in 2014, the IUCN has said.
(From left) Kazato Oishi, associate professor at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Agriculture; Tomoki Kojima of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization; and Sei Sato of the Aichi prefectural livestock research center at the award ceremony for the Ig Nobel Prize in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2025
Japanese researchers win Ig Nobel Prize for painting cows with zebra stripes
It is the 19th consecutive year that Japanese researchers have received an Ig Nobel Prize, a spoof of the Nobel Prize that honors humorous but creative research.
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2025
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
Experts believe a recent surge in infections is due to relaxed hygiene measures, drug-resistant bacteria and lowered immunity levels amid extreme heat.
Outbreaks of rice stink bugs were confirmed in 37 prefectures last year, leading to lower yields in some areas. Similar damage is feared this year.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2025
Pest outbreaks feared to affect rice harvests again
Last year, outbreaks of rice stink bugs, which prevent rice plants from bearing grains, were confirmed in 37 prefectures.
Jung Yong-sun, a local official tasked with pest-control duties, poses while wearing a plastic netted onion bag for protection from "lovebugs" on the peak of Gyeyangsan Mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 9, 2025
South Korea battles ‘lovebug’ invasion amid climate change
Seoul is now annually hit by a weeks-long infestation of a type of March fly whose distinctive mating behavior earned it the nickname.
Two specimens of the Japanese beetle have been detected for the first time in France.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jul 9, 2025
France worries about Japanese beetles after finding two
The insects threaten plum trees, apple trees, vines, corn, soy, green beans and asparagus, among other cultivated plants.
The incubation period of “severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome” (SFTS) ranges from 6 days to 2 weeks, with symptoms including fever and diarrhea. It has a fatality rate of 27%.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Tick-borne disease cases, with one death, confirmed in Kanto region
Of particular concern is SFTS, which is primarily transmitted through ticks infected with the virus and has a fatality rate of 27%.
While a trained beekeeper can quickly look at frames in a hive assess their health, AI can do it even faster.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jun 24, 2025
How robotic hives and AI are lowering the risk of bee colony collapse
Beewise’s units help cut down on losses by providing a near-constant stream of information on colony health in real time and give beekeepers the ability to respond.
A sign announcing maintenance works stands at the Osaka Expo venue in the city of Osaka on Thursday after chironomid midges were found swarming there in huge numbers.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2025
Swarms of midges plague Osaka Expo site
While the chironomid midges, which closely resemble mosquitoes, are not directly harmful to humans, they are annoying visitors.
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2025
Japan’s biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
As of the end of 2024, Sukiya operated 1,965 stores in Japan.
A monarch butterfly is seen at an enclosure at Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in August 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 7, 2025
Butterfly populations plummet by 22% in U.S. since turn of century
Studies in some other countries have documented declines at roughly the same rate as in the U.S. data.
Makoto Nakae, a researcher of swallowtail butterflies
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 9, 2024
New museum set to bring butterflies of the world to Fukushima
The collection includes Japan’s only display of an extinct butterfly species native to South America.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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