We have a new global tally of the insect apocalypse.
We have a new global tally of the insect apocalypse. It’s alarming.
Not good. Biodiversity = a healthy ecosystem. Insects for the base of the pyramid. A healthy ecosystem benefit us all. Wake up.
We have a new global tally of the insect apocalypse. It’s alarming.
What’s killing all the insects?
The state of insect biodiversity is “dreadful” because we know what happens when ecosystems lose insects: They lose other species as well.
In October, a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencedocumented that between 1976 and 2013, the number of invertebrates (like insects, spiders, and centipedes) in the Luquillo rainforest in Puerto Rico caught in survey nets plummeted by a factor of four or eight. When measured by the number caught in sticky traps, invertebrates declined by a factor of 60. And that loss of insects coincided with losses of birds, lizards, and frogs. “The food web appears to have been obliterated from the bottom,” the Washington Post’s Ben Guarino reported on the study.
So what’s happening?
The researchers in the new Biological Conservation paper outline four broad, global problems leading to insect loss. They won’t surprise you.
The state of insect biodiversity is “dreadful” because we know what happens when ecosystems lose insects: They lose other species as well.
In October, a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencedocumented that between 1976 and 2013, the number of invertebrates (like insects, spiders, and centipedes) in the Luquillo rainforest in Puerto Rico caught in survey nets plummeted by a factor of four or eight. When measured by the number caught in sticky traps, invertebrates declined by a factor of 60. And that loss of insects coincided with losses of birds, lizards, and frogs. “The food web appears to have been obliterated from the bottom,” the Washington Post’s Ben Guarino reported on the study.
So what’s happening?
The researchers in the new Biological Conservation paper outline four broad, global problems leading to insect loss. They won’t surprise you.
- Habitat loss as a result of human development, deforestation, and the expansion of agriculture
- Pollution, particularly via pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial wastes
- Parasites and pathogens — like the viruses that attack honeybees — and invasive species
- Climate change
Not good. Biodiversity = a healthy ecosystem. Insects for the base of the pyramid. A healthy ecosystem benefit us all. Wake up.
