Insect-derived and biohybrid biosensors for vector surveillance: current advances, emerging opportunities for insecticide resistance monitoring, and future perspectives

The rapid evolution of vector-borne diseases and the widespread emergence of insecticide resistance demand innovative, sensitive, and field-deployable surveillance strategies. This review critically examines recent advances in insect-derived biosensors as emerging tools for vector monitoring and resistance detection. This review synthesizes current approaches that exploit insect olfactory systems, neural components, and biomolecular recognition elements to develop highly selective and responsive biosensing platforms. Emphasis is placed on the biological principles underlying these technologies, the engineering strategies used to translate them into functional devices, and their demonstrated applications in pathogen detection, environmental monitoring, and resistance profiling. In addition to highlighting technical achievements, this review assesses the practical challenges limiting large-scale implementation, including stability, standardization, field robustness, scalability, and regulatory considerations. Comparative analysis with conventional diagnostic and surveillance methods is provided to clarify the added value and current constraints of insect-based systems. Finally, this review outlines key research gaps and proposes future directions aimed at improving sensitivity, integration with digital surveillance frameworks, and real-world deployment in resource-limited settings. By consolidating interdisciplinary progress and identifying translational barriers, this review provides a forward-looking perspective on the role of insect-derived biosensors in next-generation vector surveillance and resistance management.