Manfrini, E. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2026

AnthropInsect: a global database of insect traits and anthropogenic associations.

Insect research remains hindered by limited data availability and fragmented knowledge compared to other, better-documented taxonomic groups. Yet, both the macroecological and the insect research communities highlight the need to integrate large-scale ecological trait datasets for insects. Insects and humans are interconnected through diverse relationships, ranging from beneficial interactions, such as the use of insects as nutritional resources, to adverse impacts, including their role in to the emergence and spread of biological invasions. Understanding the traits of insects associated with human use, movement and impact is therefore important for linking insects to ecosystem function and global change. We present AnthropInsect, one of the largest database on insect traits to date, which uniquely includes variables describing human-insect associations. AnthropInsect describes species through 35 variables grouped into five categories: (i) taxonomic descriptors; (ii) ecological descriptors (native bioregions and habitat); (iii) human-insect associations (edibility and invasive status); (iv) functional traits (behavior, morphology, life history and feeding); (v) and macroecological descriptors of native-range geography and climate. AnthropInsect currently includes 5867 species across six major orders: Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera and Blattodea. Data extracted from peer-reviewed, grey literature and from existing databases were standardized and validated with expert knowledge to ensure accuracy. By providing traits data with information on insect-human interactions, this rigorously curated resource supports global research in entomology, ecology, conservation, and global change.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Predicting the biological invasion risks of the most farmed insect for food and feed.

Insect farming is recognized as a sustainable alternative to traditional livestock, offering significant reductions in land, water, and feed use, along with lower greenhouse gas emissions. However, the potential for farmed insects to escape or be released poses a significant biological invasion risk, threatening biodiversity, human well-being, and economies. This study is the first to quantify the global spatial invasion risk of seven of the most farmed insect species. We employ state-of-the-art Species Distribution Models integrating climatic and socio-economic variables to predict habitat suitability and identify high-risk regions. Our analysis highlights substantial invasion risks globally, with key hotspots in the Caribbean, South America, Western and Central Europe, and Oceania. While high-risk areas are species-dependent, the banded cricket, common housefly, and black soldier fly pose the greatest risks. Notably, nearly all surveyed insect farms are located in areas with intermediate to high invasion risks, underscoring the urgent need for stringent biosecurity measures in existing farms and strategic species selection for future farms. By providing a robust methodology and guidelines, our work offers a foundation for policymakers and industry stakeholders to ensure sustainable insect farming and critical insights into this understudied field.

ecology↗