We Need to Talk About The Rapid Decline in Insects Around The World
17 JANUARY 2021
Apocalypse or revolution? Depending on the study making headlines, insect numbers around the world are either in dramatic freefall or simply an alarming state of flux, with some species even benefiting from changes in climate.
While researchers debate the details, most are in agreement that our existing lifestyle is fundamentally linked with insect numbers, and unless we act fast, we can expect trouble in the future.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (
PNAS), experts sum up the state of insect numbers as a measure of biomass, individual numbers, and species. And no matter which way we cut it, it s an issue we really need to get on top of.
Is this a new Silent Spring?
Decline of insects is a catastrophic loss we can ill afford.
Credit: CC-0
Entomologists have united to take stock of growing warnings about an “insect apocalypse” in a special feature published in the journal
PNAS.
These teeny little critters, some of which have been around for about 475 million years, provide vital ecosystem services yet have received relatively little attention compared to other animals as the Earth faces a sixth mass extinction.
And while awareness is rising, the emerging picture is far more nuanced than initial reports suggested, according to David Wagner from the University of Connecticut, US, and his co-authors in the feature’s introductory overview.