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Researchers have recorded a cicada species new to Bangladesh, Dundubia annandalei, after field surveys in orchards and plantations across the country.

The study was carried out by Professor Mohammad Abul Manjur Khan of the Department of Entomology at Bangladesh Agricultural University and Kong Wei of Northwest A&F University in China. Indian researcher Babu Saddam and BAU postgraduate student Shahmot Jawad collected field data and specimens. The paper has been published in the international journal Insects.

The team collected 63 specimens in surveys between February and March 2025. They are now preserved at the BAU Entomology Department Museum, and one female was found under a streetlight on the university campus.

The insect turned up in orchards of mango, litchi, dragon fruit, guava, pineapple, banana, jackfruit, lemon and orange. Adult cicadas and their discarded exoskeletons were also found on sal, bamboo, teak and jarul.

Dundubia annandalei is grass-green while alive and turns brown when dried. It resembles Dundubia terpsichore, but a distinctive structural feature of the male separates the two species. Only one species of the genus Dundubia, Dundubia ensifera, had been documented in Bangladesh before.

The researchers used a MaxEnt species distribution model to map habitat suitability. They estimate that about 861,000 square kilometres of the study area is currently suitable, including around 300,000 square kilometres classified as highly suitable and 179,000 as moderately suitable. Rainfall was the most influential factor, with elevation and temperature also important.

Climate projections suggest suitable habitat could expand to roughly 1.752 million square kilometres by 2060 and 1.94 million by the end of the century under a lower-warming scenario, potentially reaching about 2.63 million square kilometres by 2100 under higher warming. The researchers cautioned that these are model-based projections of environmental suitability, not confirmed future distribution or evidence of increased crop damage.

Professor Khan said cicadas are present in fruit orchards across the country, and their loud breeding calls can often be heard around mango trees in summer. The study did not determine how the newly identified species affects agriculture. He said identifying a species is not enough, and its distribution, life cycle, feeding habits and potential economic impact still need investigation, especially as commercial fruit farming expands in the hilly regions.

A Bangladeshi journalist who reported on smuggling, drugs and local irregularities was shot dead outside a tea stall in Netrokona's Durgapur upazila on Thursday night, police and his family said.

Lutfozzaman Fakir Alif, 44, was the Netrokona correspondent of the private IP television channel Ruposhi Bangla and ran a Facebook page called 'Detective Article', where he wrote about corruption and crime.

Police suspect the killing was planned and may have been linked to his reporting on trafficking and smuggling. According to Dhaka Tribune, two young men walked up to the stall and opened fire on Alif before fleeing; police recovered pistol cartridge casings and an unexploded bullet from the scene.

A post-mortem examination at Netrokona Modern Sadar Hospital found six bullet wounds, three of them to the chest. A doctor who conducted the examination said most of the shots were fired at close range. A murder case was filed at Durgapur police station against seven to eight unidentified people, and no arrests had been reported.

Alif had warned that his life was in danger. In a video of a meeting with police that resurfaced after his death, he said that people threatening him had been waiting with firearms, that he had told police about the threats, and that he might have to leave the country if no one was arrested. In November 2024 he survived an attack with sharp weapons near Teribazar ghat and filed a case; police arrested two named suspects who were later released on bail.

Netrokona Superintendent of Police Md Tarikul Islam said teams from the police, the Detective Branch and the Criminal Investigation Department were working to identify the attackers, and that no one involved would be spared. Police said they had advised Alif to tell them whenever he visited the area so that security could be arranged.