The Decline of Insects is Worse than You Think

When we think of bugs, most people get grossed out and have no interest in whether they live or die. Most people don’t even know why bugs are important, and the beauty that bugs have. To some, bugs are everything; in fact, bugs are the reason ecosystems continue to stay alive. Bugs are the reason humans are alive as well. In recent times, insects have been seen less and less. A study in Colorado showed that insects were declining by 70% in areas that humans either did not visit or rarely visited. 

Dragonflies have thousands of species, and most are endangered. Some of which are species that have black spots on their wings. The University of Colorado Denver did a study to figure out why these dragonflies were declining, and what they found is extremely concerning. The black spots absorb heat, which means during mating season, males have to rest more and can’t spend lots of time hunting and mating. Due to global warming, dragonflies are getting overheated quickly, which explains their decline in population. This was found with over 40 years of public data. Butterflies have also been struggling with a 22% decline for 554 species in 2000-2020. 

In the United States, butterflies in the east were able to double their population, but the west still struggles. 107 species have declined by over 50% due to pesticides and climate change. Dung beetles have been declining globally at an alarming rate. Brazil has seen a decrease of 40% from 1995-2021. Dung beetles have been suffering due to habitat loss, livestock management, global warming, and pesticides (particularly dewormers that cause less manure to be produced). In 2020, it was found that all terrestrial insects have been declining by 9% per decade globally. 

This should alarm the world since insects have been racing to extinction at a rate that is eight times faster than mammals. Over 40% of species are threatened, with North America and Europe facing the worst of it. This is mainly due to the fact that insects can not thrive in human-altered environments. Insects are critical for pollination and are the basis of a food web. Insects also break down compost and are the workers of every ecosystem. Planting native plants, reducing light pollutants, and avoiding pesticides and herbicides are a few ways to help this declining crisis. A world with no insects is doomed to collapse.