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Microbe map reveals how hundreds of insects got their diets

The microbes that insects harbour may have played a key role in shaping the diets and driving the diversification of insect species

By Sofia Quaglia

13 June 2023

2F9J4BG Different Insects incl Green Rose Chafer, Cetonia aurata, & Black & Red Checkered Beetle, Trichodes apiarius, Feeding on Common Hogweed or Cow Parsley

Some insects have symbiotic relationships with microbes

Chris Hellier / Alamy Stock Photo

Insects make up half of all animals on the planet and much of their evolutionary success appears to be linked to the microbes they host inside their bodies. Not only have these bacteria led to insects with ecologically unique diets – from blood-slurping bed bugs to wood-nibbling mites – but they have also played a key role in the variety across insect species.

“The microbes themselves are the real driving mechanism behind that process of diversification,” says Lee Henry at Queen Mary University of London.

Researchers …

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