IKEA upcycles furniture into colourful Wildhomes for Wildlife
IKEA worked with UK artists and designers to create this series of animal habitats, repurposed from the company's used furniture. More
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![Atelier Boelhouwer designs artificial flowers to help urban insects thrive]()
Matilde Boelhouwer designs artificial flowers to feed urban insects
Dutch designer Matilde Boelhouwer has designed a series of artificial flowers that turn rain into sugar water, to serve as emergency food sources for city-dwelling insect pollinators. More
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Refugio shelters aim to make solitary bees feel at home in cities
Mexico-based creative studio MaliArts has designed a series of three structures for solitary bees living in built-up areas to help welcome nature into urban environments. More
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Bench-top insect farms are intended to make mealworms part of our everyday diet
The world's first edible insect farms have gone into production after a successful Kickstarter campaign by Katharina Unger and her company Livin Farms. More
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Swarms of cyborg insects could be used to map dangerous environments
These "biobots" developed by a research team at North Carolina State University could map out areas or collapsed buildings in the wake of a disaster. More
![Cyborg beetles by a team from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the University of California Berkley]()
Remote-controlled flying cyborg beetles could replace drones
A group of engineers and scientists has come up with a way to remotely control insects, which they believe could provide an "improved alternative to remote-controlled drones". More
![Livin farm by Katharina Unger]()
Katharina Unger's Livin farm lets users raise edible worms at home
The "world's first edible insect desktop hive" will allow owners to cultivate and harvest mealworms in their kitchens for use in a variety of recipes. More
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Bugs adorn the walls at renovated Renwick Gallery in Washington DC
American artist Jennifer Angus has used an intricate pattern of insects to decorate a vivid pink room at the Renwick Gallery in Washington DC, set to reopen next month following renovation work (+ slideshow). More
![Jungle Bar by Búi Bjarmar Aðalsteinsson]()
Insect-infused Jungle Bars are boosted with powdered cricket protein
A team of Icelandic designers has launched chocolate protein bars made from powdered crickets. More
![From Insects by Marlène Huissoud]()
Marlène Huissoud uses insect by-products to develop new materials
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: French designer Marlène Huissoud explains how she produced a range of "glass" and "leather" objects using resin collected from beehives and silkworm cocoons in this movie from Eindhoven. More
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Snøhetta entices bees into Oslo with honey-coloured Vulkan Beehives
Norwegian architecture studio Snøhetta has designed a series of wooden hives for the roof of an Oslo food court to encourage bees to take up residence in the city (+ slideshow). More
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Bees could 3D-print "concrete honey" to form architectural structures
Writer Geoff Manaugh and designer John Becker have imagined a scenario in which genetically modified bees could be trained to print detailed concrete structures rather than produce honey (+ interview). More
![From Insects by Marlene Huissoud]()
Marlène Huissoud creates products with the help of insects
Graduate designer Marlène Huissoud has used materials made by bees and silkworms to craft a series of vessels and furniture (+ movie). More
![Apiarium beehive by Bettina Madita Bohm]()
Bettina Madita Böhm creates Apiarium hive for urban beekeepers
Design graduate Bettina Madita Böhm has created a cylindrical concrete beehive for urban beekeepers to use on the roofs of city buildings. More
![Fly Factory by Bui Bjarmar Athalsteinsson]()
Fly Factory produces insect pate that "tastes like chicken"
Icelandic product design graduate Búi Bjarmar Aðalsteinsson has created a Fly Factory that breeds insect larvae for human consumption (+ slideshow). More
![Robotic bricklayers developed to work like termites]()
Robotic bricklayers developed to work like termites
News: a team of researchers from Harvard University has developed a team of robots that can build architectural structures based on the behaviour of termites. More
![Entomo website design promotes insects as food]()
Entomo website design promotes insects as food
A Dublin-based graphic designer has developed a digital resource encouraging people to eat insects. More
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Honey bees can be trained to detect cancer "in ten minutes" says designer
Dutch Design Week 2013: Portuguese designer Susana Soares has developed a device for detecting cancer and other serious diseases using trained bees ( + slideshow). More
![Coleoptera insect plastic by Aagje Hoekstra]()
Young designers transform beetles into plastic and printing ink
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in our next movie from Eindhoven, design graduates Aagje Hoekstra and Evelien Crooy show us the bioplastic and ink made from insects that they presented at this year's Dutch Design Week. More
![Insect ink by Evelien Crooy]()
Ink made from insects by Evelien Crooy
Dutch Design Week 2013: graphic design graduate Evelien Crooy has made her own ink from insects and used it to screen-print the cover of a book about the creatures. More
