MBC Field Notes
Monthly stories from the Madagascar Biodiversity Center on biodiversity discovery, field research, conservation, student training, and community innovation.
Latest issue
September 2026 — Training Africa’s next ant taxonomists
In this issue: MBC trains three scientists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Nigeria in ant taxonomy, BioSounds turns five years of LIFEPLAN research into a new approach to real-time forest monitoring, and cricket researchers let the insects themselves help guide the development of new feeds.
Previous issues
August 2026 — The next age of exploration in Madagascar
In this issue: LIFEPLAN helps identify 30 priority unprotected forests for future exploration, MBC imagines a new generation of biodiversity surveys using drones and autonomous robots, sakondry farming is tested as a tool for lemur conservation, Mampionona Sombiniaina builds mouse-research capacity at MBC, a black soldier fly farmer turns larvae into livelihoods, and we revisit the science behind an internet-famous Makira snail.
July 2026 — From invasive cactus to Madagascar’s genomic future
In this issue: MBC and its partners test whether invasive Opuntia can support black soldier fly farming in Itampolo, help farmers establish new BSF micro-farms in Ambilobe, and share lessons from ant taxonomy, cricket research, and field visits. We also revisit an expedition that helped shape MBC and introduce a vision for Malagasy-led capacity in biodiversity genomics.
June 2026 — Hidden biodiversity, honeypot ants, and insect farming in Madagascar
In this first issue: African ant taxonomy training at MBC, Madagascar’s newly confirmed honeypot ant, black soldier fly farming at FIAM and Ambilobe, MBC’s small-farm insect model on the global stage, and a new BioSounds grant for real-time biodiversity monitoring.
