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What Bugs You?
Why insects are some of our best friends.
Insects are declining rapidly — here’s why that needs to change.
What is causing the sharp decline in Insects? Recent studies show human behavior is to blame. Surprise, surprise. Humans, the top predator and the top destructor on the planet.
Researchers say various factors including monoculture farming, deforestation, habitat loss, and illegal use of insecticides are to blame for the plight of insects that are essential to agriculture, ecosystems, and human life and life in general on this planet.
Declines in insect population are a worldwide problem. A study back in 2014 in Science Magazine documented a steep drop in insect and invertebrate populations in nearly every country around the globe. The situation has not improved over the last six years. Combining data from the few comprehensive studies that exist on insect life worldwide, lead author Rodolfo Dirzo, an ecologist at Stanford University, developed a global index for the invertebrate abundance that indicated a forty-five percent decline over the last four decades. Dirzo points out that of 3,623 terrestrial invertebrate species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] Red List, 42 percent are classified as threatened with extinction.
