Insect tower installed to boost nationwide research

A new tower has been installed at a university as part of a nationwide research project using insects to study the effects of climate change.

The 12m-high (39 feet) tower at Harper Adams University, near Newport, in Shropshire, is designed to collect insects as they pass over its top.

Information about the various species collected is being sent on to Rothamstead Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

The resulting data can be used to help farmers know about possible pest movements as well as to examine seasonal changes in insect populations and movement, said the university.

The tower is the latest in a series of new installations gathering data about the insects on the campus - with a moth trap installed in February 2024.

Professor of applied entomology at the university Tom Pope said: "Most species of aphid are not pests of crops and so data on the timing of migrations and numbers of aphids provides a valuable resource in studying effects of climate change."

Nikoletta Foskolou from the university's entomology group added with the tower installed the team were now preparing to collect samples to be sent for identification.

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