Mongabay article on pharmaceutical accumulation in insects

It was nice to have been interviewed for a new story out today by Mongabay on a great new paper in ES&T led by Marek Let. The study shows that aquatic insects exposed to treated wastewater can bioaccumulate a suite of pharmaceuticals and some compounds persist (or even increase) after emergence, meaning insects can export these contaminants from rivers to land. It’s a useful reminder that the aquatic environment isn’t where the story ends. Emergent insects are a major aquatic–terrestrial link but the downstream ecological risks of pharmaceutical contaminants for insect-eaters are still relatively understudied.

Mongabay article: https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/insects-are-moving-pharmaceutical-pollutants-from-rivers-to-land-risks-unknown/

Let, M., Grabicová, K., Balzani, P., Musil, M., Roje, S., & Bláha, M. (2025). Bioaccumulation of pharmaceutically active compounds from treated urban wastewaters in aquatic insect larvae and aerial adults. Environmental Science & Technology, 59(10), 5293–5305. doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c13781