The world’s most important insect kingdom is going to ‘die with a thousand cuts’, the world’s leading error experts said. Climate change, insecticides, herbicides, light pollution, invasive species and changes in agriculture and land use cause the earth to probably lose 1% to 2% of its insects annually, said David Wagner, entomologist at the University of Connecticut, lead author of the special package, said. of 12 studies in Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences written by 56 scientists from around the world.
The problem, sometimes called the insect apocalypse, is like a jigsaw puzzle. And scientists say that they do not yet have all the pieces, and therefore they struggle to understand its scope and complexity and to show the world and do something.
Wagner said scientists need to determine if the insect loss is greater than in other species. “There is some reason to be more concerned,” he added, “because it is the target for insecticides, herbicides and light pollution.
Co-author and entomologist from the University of Illinois, May Berenbaum, a winner of the national medal of science, said: “Insect decline is similar to climate change 30 years ago because the methods around the extent, the rate (of loss) was difficult to determine. “
To make matters worse, in many cases people hate bugs, even though they pollinate the world’s food, are crucial to the food chain and get rid of waste, she said.
Insects “are absolutely the substance with which Mother Nature and the tree of life are built,” Wagner said.
Two famous people – honey bee and Monarch butterflies – illustrates the best insect problems and decline, he said. Honeybees have declined drastically due to diseases, parasites, insecticides, herbicides and lack of food.
Gene J. Puskar / AP
Dryer weather due to climate change in the American west means fewer dairy crops for butterflies to eat, Wagner said. And changes in American agriculture are removing weeds and flowers they need for nectar.
“We are creating a giant biological desert, except for soybeans and wheat in a giant area in the Midwest,” he said.
Last month, Trump administration officials announced On Tuesday, the Monarch butterfly was a “candidate” for federal designation as an endangered species – but will not receive the designation for several years as there are other priorities.
The zoo said the number of honeybees from the ‘dangerously low’ levels of less than 30,000 princes has declined over the past two years. “The incredible migration of Western princes is a unique but fragile piece of North American natural history, and it is on the verge of collapse,” said Paige Howorth, director of invertebrate care and conservation. San Diego Zoo Global said.
Monday’s scientific articles do not provide new data, but nevertheless show a large but incomplete picture of a problem that is beginning to attract attention. Scientists have identified 1 million insect species, while another 4 million more need to be discovered, Berenbaum said.
University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy, who was not part of the study, said they highlighted how the world has spent billions of dollars ‘over the past thirty years’ finding new ways to kill insects and mere pennies working to preserve it. ‘
“The good news is, with the exception of climate change, individuals can do much to prevent subsidence,” Tallamy said in an email. “This is a global problem with a grassroots solution.”
Sophie Lewis contributed to this report.