Invasive insects—an underestimated cost to the world economy
Invasive insects cause at least 69 billion euros of damage per annum worldwide. Such is the estimation made by an international research team led by Franck Courchamp, CNRS research director at Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution (Université Paris-Sud/CNRS/AgroParisTech) and notably including entomologists from IRD Montpellier and a CNRS economist. Their study brought together the largest database ever developed on economic damage attributable to invasive insects worldwide. Covering damage to goods and services, health care costs and agricultural losses, this study, conducted with the support of ANR and the BNP Paribas Foundation, considered 737 articles, books and reports. This work was published in Nature Communications on 4 October 2016.