An Amazonian race that's bugging scientists
A darkling beetle, Genus Taphrosoma, in the rainforest of the Yarina Ecological Reserve in the Amazonian Ecuador. Credit: VWPics via AP Images/Jon G. Fuller
As an antidote to the daily soul-sucking stream of news about political infighting, actual warmongering, natural and manmade calamities, and all manner of heartbreaking individual tragedies, allow me to present:
Bugs.
Yes, bugs. More specifically, a new and exciting effort by hundreds of scientists in Brazil to count every species of insect in a small area of the Amazon rainforest. That made me smile, at least at first.
Data collected in the early stages of this project and reported this past week in Nature magazine suggest that there are more than 40,000 species in this 39-square-mile area, a tract smaller than the landmass of the Town of Babylon. And the Amazon rainforest covers more than 2 million square miles. Do the math.
Many of these 40,000 species are unknown to humans. That’s where the excitement resides for all of us. One would like to think that finding these new species will foster a greater understanding of our ecosystems, a greater appreciation for the diversity that undergirds our existence, and a greater recognition of the importance of preserving life on our planet.
But these tiny, previously hidden creatures also will have critical practical value — a greater potential for scientific discoveries, like new medicines.
Humans have used insects for medicinal purposes for centuries. Silkworms were employed in China more than 3,000 years ago to treat rashes and joint pain, stop bleeding, quench thirst and detoxify boils. Seventeenth-century Europeans used insects to treat a variety of maladies including epilepsy, earaches, scratches, rheumatism and anemia, according to an international team of researchers. That 2023 report counted 235 insect species currently being used as medicines, primarily for digestive and skin disorders. Cantharidin, for example, is a blistering substance made by blister beetles and used by doctors to treat warts. Bee venom is used to reduce inflammation and the risk of allergic reactions to bee stings. Some communities in Asian countries use insects to treat kidney disease, swelling, intestinal disorders, postpartum hemorrhage, asthma, liver ailments and toothaches.
Nature, in general, has been a rich source of medicinal products. Morphine and aspirin were derived from plants. The Madagascar periwinkle flower was the source of vinblastine and vincristine, two highly effective chemotherapy agents. The type 2 diabetes treatment exenatide was derived from the poisonous venom of the Gila monster and influenced greatly the development of the blockbuster GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs.
The study in Brazil is unique because it is collecting insects from the ground all the way up to the relatively unexplored tree canopy. The scientists will be using DNA barcoding to identify the insects, which will allow them to do genome sequencing for thousands of specimens much more quickly.
That speed is important, because bugs worldwide are under all sorts of threats. They range from extreme weather events to climate change that devastates habitat. But the biggest danger in the Amazon is humans. Some 300,000 square miles of rainforest have been lost to cattle ranching, soybean farming and logging — as much as 10,000 acres per day according to some estimates. It is incredibly distressing to calculate how much scientific advancement will never take place because of such wanton destruction. And we humans have made little progress in stemming this: As many as 40% of Earth’s insect species are estimated to be threatened with extinction.
For now, the scientists in Brazil are counting and cataloging. They’ve been at it for 14 months so far, and have collected 5.5 million specimens. About 600,000 will undergo DNA sequencing. Nearly 400 taxonomists will identify them using the genetic data and analyses of physical traits, and will name the new species.
Then comes the studying and testing and experimenting. It is very much a race against time.
Joni Mitchell profoundly lamented that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. It’s worse when you never get a chance to know.
Columnist Michael Dobie is a retired member of the editorial board.
Michael Dobie is a retired member of the Newsday editorial board.
