Events

Pestival’s Zombie Ant Fungus on BBC Radio 4

The Art of Being a Zombie Ant Fungus

BBC Radio 4’s The Art of Being a Zombie Ant Fungus explores the extraordinary fungus that takes control of an ant’s nervous system, altering its behaviour so it can reproduce. Presented by cultural entomologist and Pestival collaborator Bridget Nicholls, the programme brings together science, philosophy, music and sound art to examine questions of autonomy, control […]

Featured

Zombie Ant Fungus at The Royal Institutition

The response from audiences, writers, scientists and performers was extraordinary.

Zombie Ant Fungus: The Chemistry of Control brought together science, theatre, music, performance and visual storytelling in a wildly imaginative exploration of one of nature’s strangest phenomena: the parasitic fungi that manipulate the behaviour of ants.

Featured

Zombie Ant Fungus: The Chemistry of Control

"We've known you 300 million years..."

This performance traces the strange choreography between host and parasite, where chemistry becomes behaviour, and control has no single centre.

Featured

Pestival Turns 20

More bugs. More love. More life.

In 2006, Pestival began with a simple idea: what if insects were not something to swat away, but something to celebrate?

Churchill Travel Fellowship

Expedition into the entomological unknown In 2023–24, our founder, Bridget, travelled through Asia and the USA on a Churchill Travel Fellowship.Her mission was to learn various new ideas and stories about insects and their importance to human cultures. A documentary of her journey is now in the making.  

Events

ARUP Workshop

Inspiring a new generation of engineers

Inspiring the next generation in biomimicry and how we can learn from insects for more resilient future cities and architectures

Competition

Pimp My Hive

Blinged up insect homes

Create your own insect hotel, beehive or anthropod haven and help Pestival Make More Insects

Events

Bee Symphony

Honey harmonies

We commissioned Cabaret Voltaire’s Chris Watson to create a new interspecies work for bees and humans

Uncategorized

Is Cordyceps Evil — Or Are We Just Projecting?

Morality still matters. But it comes second.

When people first learn about cordyceps — the parasitic fungus that hijacks an ant’s body, forces it to climb, bite down on a leaf, and then kills it to release spores — the reaction is almost universal: that’s evil. But that reaction tells us more about us than it does about the fungus.

Uncategorized

We Are Already Thinking Together

We are not starting from zero.
We are remembering how to listen.

Much of how we imagine intelligence is shaped by a simple idea: that thinking happens inside individual minds. That agency lives in brains. That intention begins and ends with us. But what if that picture is incomplete?

Climate

Bugged Out News!

-A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides, says the Guardian -Scientists have discovered a remarkable new species in Australia’s rainforests – Acrophylla alt, which is the heaviest recorded stick insect in the country. More information […]

Climate News

Do It For Yourself

If not for the insects

Leading entomologist delivers sharp warning about the future of insects and ourselves

Donate

We need you! Your donations, however small, will be used to fund individual Pestival projects, events and collaborations. Help us to help you!

Community

We have cultivated a formidable force of creatives, experts and innovators: all lending their voice to the little guys

Partners & Collaborators

Whether you’re a big brand, stand out individual or major institution, we’re working with a diverse body of insect supporters, makers and doers

Pest Friends

Our hive of pest friends is ever growing, but Pestival still needs you! From experts to newbies, students to teachers, artists to scientists; join the buzz!

Sponsors and Funders

We are a community interest company supported through philanthropy, grants, donations and income from our campaigns

Pestival Studio

Meet the passionate team behind all things Pestival and discover a motley crew of ardent insect fans

Ambassadors

Thanks to the likes of comedian Stewart Lee, writer Margaret Atwood and eco-entrepreneur Tim Smit KBE, we are able to spread the word and garner support for the Pestival mission

Advisory Board

Our learned board of professors, directors, experts and specialists help Pestival reach new audiences, gaining invaluable insight and dynamic new perspectives