🪲Insect Decline and the Empire Beneath Our Feet 🐜 Dr. Fevziye Hasan, Biodiversity Scientist

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Dr. Fevziye Hasan, biodiversity scientist and curator of entomology at Uppsala University’s Museum of Evolution in Sweden, joins host Dylan Bohbot on this episode of Ignition Sequence to explore the mighty world of insects—from their hidden ecological powers to their often underestimated influence on global systems.

Known as “the little things that run the world,” insects account for more biomass than all wild vertebrates combined—and ants and termites alone make up over half of that mass.In this dynamic conversation, Fez recounts how growing up in East London and a teenage internship at the Natural History Museum ignited her passion for entomology. She takes us through her groundbreaking research on insect biomass, nutrient cycling in tropical ecosystems, and her PhD work on dung beetle ecology in New Zealand—where imported beetles were introduced to solve a modern pollution crisis caused by livestock.

We dive into insect biodiversity’s critical role in maintaining ecosystem function, the risks posed by invasive species and monoculture farming, and why flies, termites, and beetles deserve far more credit than they get. Fez also shares her hopes for biodiversity data, the future of taxonomy, and the promise and risks of insects as food and feed in a circular bioeconomy.

What You’ll Learn

1. The Insect MajorityWhy ants and termites, though only 1% of insect species, dominate the planet’s insect biomass.

2. Dung Beetles vs. PollutionHow imported beetles helped restore ecological function in New Zealand’s pastures—and what makes them safe.

3. Termites & Climate ResilienceWhy termite biodiversity could be key to surviving future droughts in tropical regions.

4. The Insect ApocalypseWhat’s really behind declining insect populations, and why habitat loss may be a bigger threat than pesticides.

5. The Future of Insects in Science & SocietyFrom taxonomy to black soldier flies—how insects may shape the future of food, data, and global ecosystems.

Timestamps

00:00:44 – Introduction to Dr. Fez Hasan and the Museum of Evolution

00:01:52 – How a high school internship launched a lifelong fascination with insects

00:05:04 – Seeing beetles the size of your hand: a moment of scientific wonder

00:07:27 – The problem with how humans perceive insects

00:08:42 – Why ants and termites might be the true “kings of the jungle”

00:11:07 – Experiment shows ants remove more than half of forest nutrients

00:17:04 – From tropical rainforests to New Zealand pastures: Fez’s PhD story

00:19:44 – Introducing dung beetles to solve ecological pollution

00:27:00 – How tunneling dung beetles boost soil fertility and reduce runoff

00:33:02 – New Zealand’s ancient, flightless dung beetles and nutrient pathways

00:35:04 – Can insects be early warning systems for environmental decline?

00:43:30 – What’s causing insect decline—and what can be done?

00:48:23 – The urgent need to fund taxonomy and biodiversity science

00:50:26 – Black soldier flies and the promise (and danger) of circular bioeconomies

00:56:01 – What keeps Fez up at night: the taxonomy bottleneck and data accessibility

00:57:33 – How technology and big biodiversity data could change everything

🔗 Helpful Links

🔹 Fez Hasan: https://www.fevziyehasan.se/

🔹 Follow Fez on X: https://x.com/fezidae

🔹 Study in Science on termites and drought resilience: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau9565

🔹Fez Hasan at Google Scholar https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=Y9W1kXztQmQC&hl=en

🔹Paul Eggleton's paper on insect decline: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-050