International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Anatomy and mechanics of tsetse fly blood feeding

Abstract African trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease transmitted by tsetse flies ( Glossin a spp.) in sub-Saharan Africa. The fly’s saliva carries parasitic unicellular trypanosomes, such as Trypanosoma brucei , leading to infections in humans, domestic animals, and w...

Sub-national estimates of visceral leishmaniasis and optimisation of geographical accessibility to treatment centres in Kenya

Abstract Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) remains a major public health challenge in Kenya, disproportionately affecting populations with limited access to timely diagnosis and treatment. National case totals mask local heterogeneity in risk and access. Here we estimate sub...

Bees at work: the impact of beekeeping on household agricultural income and the economy in Ethiopia

Abstract Managed bees are increasingly used for income generation in Africa; however, their economic impact through pollination services remains underexplored. Using five rounds of survey data from Ethiopia, we estimate the overall and pure external effects of managed bees on hou...

Coupling intensified push–pull technology with insect frass biofertilization improves land productivity, protein yield and carbon stocks

Abstract We evaluated agricultural innovations such as push-pull (PP), vegetable-integrated push-pull (VIPP), and black soldier fly frass fertilizer (BSFFF) for their transformative potential in rural smallholder agriculture. Using 12 cropping systems comprising two crops (maize...

From Waste to Wealth: Boosting Productivity in Kenyan Smallholder Farmer Fields with Fluopyram-Treated Banana Fibre

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a key staple crop in Kenya, where plant-parasitic nematodes are among the most damaging yield constraints for smallholder farmers. This study evaluated fluopyram-treated banana fibre paper, a biodegradable carrier for targeted delivery of ultra-low n...

Detection of Plasmodium falciparum-infected Anopheles sergentii with reduced insecticide net susceptibility in a dryland ecosystem of the Kenyan Rift Valley: implications for malaria surveillance and vector control

Abstract Background In Kenya, parts of the dryland ecosystems have disproportionately witnessed a surge in malaria burden amidst poor understanding of the entomologic risk factors. This study investigated whether this trend is linked to shifts in the vector landscape, including t...