Butterflies behaving like cuckoos
The beautiful and rare Alcon Blue butterfly, Maculina alcon, has a surprising life cycle; for about nine months of the year it behaves like a cuckoo. It belongs… Read more »
Editor at BugBitten
Hilary is Professor Emeritus of Parasitology at Keele University, UK, having retired at the end of 2013. Her research interests have revolved around parasites transmitted by insects and their interactions with their vectors. She was Director of the Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology at Keele for over ten years and served as President of the British Society for Parasitology.
Latest posts by Hilary Hurd (see all)
Can cows protect against mosquito bites?
The use of livestock as bait to attract mosquitoes away from biting humans, and thus reduce malaria transmission, is an attractive proposition that has been… Read more »
Bumblebees in danger
Emerging infectious diseases in honey bees have now been shown to spillover into bumblebee populations and may contribute to the worrying global decline in… Read more »
Another step towards inhibiting malaria transmission to mosquitoes
A malaria ookinete ~ image from the Tewari lab The most vulnerable stage of any parasite’s life cycle is generally the point at which it moves from one host… Read more »
Will we see global eradication of the fiery serpent in 2014, or are there signs of the worm turning?
Smallpox, eradicated in 1980, still remains the only success story in mankind’s efforts to eliminate disease. In 1986, inspired by this success, the World… Read more »
Revival of an old malaria vaccine strategy
The recent Parasites and Vectors blog by Vera Unwin picked up on the attention given by the media to the encouraging announcements concerning the RTS,S malaria… Read more »
Travellers provide new isolates for malaria research
Over 1,300 cases of imported malaria have been reported in the UK annually for the past 10 years. A few of these unfortunate travellers have recently… Read more »