The 18th edition of SIP will be organised by Caroline Mueller at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. More information can be found on the SIP 2024 Homepage. The 17th Symposium on Insect-Plant relationships in Leiden has been held online from 25 to the 30 July 2021.

In this thesis, the role of plant-mediated soil legacy effects in shaping aboveground plant-insect interactions was investigated.

What is the function of the insect serosa?

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Dr. M. van der Zee

We examine how soil-derived legacy effects of plants structure natural ecosystems, determine aboveground plant insect interactions, and how we can use soil legacy effects to restore degraded ecosystems.

IBL-researchers revealed in a new study that insects are successful on land because their eggs became protected against desiccation. An extraembryonic membrane in the egg, the serosa, helped insects to make the transition from water to land.

The widely used pesticide thiacloprid can cause a large-scale decline in freshwater insects. This was discovered by researchers from the Living Lab in Leiden. For three months they counted the flying insects in the 36 ditches of the lab. Their research appeared in PNAS.

The number of insect species is plummeting, which is why the University is creating a more biodiverse environment around its buildings. Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board, planted the first bee-friendly plants in the front garden of Oude UB on 20 September.

Leiden has one of the most petrified inner-cities of The Netherlands. This is not beneficial for the biodiversity crisis and Leiden University, with a significant number of buildings within the Singels. The priority should be to make a positive impact on the matter.

For the first time in the Netherlands, an exotic insect species is released into the wild to combat a harmful plant species. The Japanese knotweed psyllid should offer relief against the rampant Asian knotweed. Suzanne Lommen of the Institute of Biology Leiden coordinates the field trials.

Promotors: Prof.dr. P.G.L. Klinkhamer, Prof.dr. P.M. Brakefield

On this page the programme and sessions can be found. The programme will be updated regularly.

Breeding for resistance becomes more and more important because we want to reduce the use of pesticides. A fast and cheap alternative can be to make use of morphological or chemical markers.

The applications of studying the early development of insects range from agriculture to material science.

Abstracts can be submitted only if you are registered for the conference, including the required payment.

What is the effect of light at night on plant phenology and physiology, and how does this affect plant interactions with other species?

Lecture

On average, Dutch breeding birds have become more numerous in the period 1980-2010. The common species have even done better than birds in other European countries. Farmland birds are an exception: they declined sharply both in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.

Promotor: Prof.dr. P.G.L Klinkhamer

This thesis describes the role of pollution, specifically neonicotinoid insecticides, as an actor of the ongoing biodiversity decline.

PhD defence

Host-Microbe Interactions is one of the four research themes of the Institute of Biology Leiden.

The research at the Living lab attracts a great deal of press attention. Please find below a small selection of the many news reports that have been published. Also take a look at the Zembla programme about the Living Lab.

This ecological community has long been known to affect host biology, and their diverse roles have been further clarified in recent years following numerous studies of animal:microbiota interactions in diverse systems.

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme is to dissect how microorganisms and microbiomes interact with the plant host and the insects on those plants, and how these insights may be harnessed to improve plant growth and health, by steering microbiome composition and…

As a contribution to the changing legislation and evolving societal attitudes concerning environmental issues, this project aims to enhance and manipulate the plants’ own natural defense mechanisms against western flower thrips (WFT).

Scientists, including our faculty colleague Dr. Mike Field, studying an exceptionally well-preserved woolly rhinoceros have revealed details of what Britain's environment was like 42,000 years ago. The beast's remains were discovered in Staffordshire in 2002, buried alongside other preserved organisms…

Can metabolomic profiling be used to predict resistance against insect herbivores in plants?

The mission of the Plant Sciences cluster is to contribute to the sustainable production of high-quality crops, flowers and high-value bio-based products, and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity in natural ecosystems. This is realised by generating fundamental knowledge…

Chris Jacobs, former PhD-student of the IBL, received the national “Dissertation Award” for best PhD thesis of the year on insects. The award was handed out last Friday, the 18th of December, by Professor Matty Berg, president of the Dutch Entomological Society.

Does a mid-season fire impact invertebrate populations?

Assistant Professor at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Promotor: J.M. Memelink

Research from the Living Lab is important for society. For example, scientists from the Living Lab discovered that the pesticide thiacloprid is up to 2,500 times more harmful to insects than was thought on the basis of regular lab research. Partly because of this discovery, the European Commission decided…

Lecture

We examine how soil inoculation influences aboveground organisms (i) directly, and indirectly via (ii) its effects on plant chemistry or volatile emission, or via (iii) mediating the effects of belowground pathogens on aboveground organisms via the shared plant.

The latest research from the Leiden outdoor laboratory ‘Living Lab’ shows that the insecticide thiacloprid strongly influences even the most common and robust dragonfly species in the Netherlands. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.