{"id":2994,"date":"2019-01-17T16:59:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T16:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/01\/global-insect-collapse-threatens-all-life-on-earth\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T10:05:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:05:02","slug":"global-insect-collapse-threatens-all-life-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/01\/global-insect-collapse-threatens-all-life-on-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Global insect collapse threatens all life on Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull is-light curved-bottom\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#b4a896\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/soilbanner.jpg\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-post-image\" alt=\"Soil banner\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/soilbanner.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/soilbanner-300x113.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/soilbanner-1024x384.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/soilbanner-768x288.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/soilbanner-1536x576.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\"><h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-title\">Global insect collapse threatens all life on Earth<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2019-01-17T16:59:24+00:00\">17 January 2019<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"lead\">Recently documented <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2019\/jan\/15\/insect-collapse-we-are-destroying-our-life-support-systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">insect population crashes<\/a> in Puerto Rico and Germany reflect a worrying global trend that is gaining increasing media coverage for good reason: insects are essential for the healthy function of ecosystems.&nbsp;The named culprits are climate change, habitat destruction and pesticides use, all of which are driven and amplified by our growing numbers.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While still neglected in the conservation movement which is predominantly focused on &#8220;charismatic megafauna&#8221;, an increasing number of scientific studies are now shining a light on the disappearance of insects and the serious implications for food supplies and biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without insects, food webs collapse and ecosystem services fail, threatening the existence of all other species, including us humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet it is humans who are responsible for the &#8220;insect apocalypse&#8221; \u2013&nbsp;safeguarding both human and animal life on this planet requires&nbsp;ending and ultimately reversing human population growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"715\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/monarch-butterfly_david-clode-527265-unsplash_0.jpg\" alt=\"monarch butterfly_david-clode-527265-unsplash_0\" class=\"wp-image-2488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/monarch-butterfly_david-clode-527265-unsplash_0.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/monarch-butterfly_david-clode-527265-unsplash_0-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/monarch-butterfly_david-clode-527265-unsplash_0-768x536.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">monarch butterfly_david-clode-527265-unsplash_0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Puerto Rico\u2019s missing millions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists studying invertebrates in Puerto Rico\u2019s Luquillo rainforest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/115\/44\/E10397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">compared current insect abundance to that recorded during the 1970s<\/a> in the same area. They discovered a staggering 98% drop in insect biomass on the ground and an 80% decline in the leafy canopy. These trends were matched by declines in the lizards, frogs, and birds that rely on invertebrates as their primary food source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With forest temperatures in the area having&nbsp;risen by 2 \u00b0C in the last 30 years, the researchers believe climate change to be&nbsp;the primary driver of&nbsp;this&nbsp;collapse. As tropical species are adapted to very narrow temperature ranges, they may not be able to adapt to our rapidly changing climate \u2013 a grim implication for the world\u2019s most biodiverse areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Climate change is caused by climate changers. The more of us there are, the increasingly difficult it becomes to curb emissions. The combination of educating girls and improving access to family planning has\u00a0been identified as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drawdown.org\/solutions-summary-by-rank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">number one most effective solution<\/a> to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Germany\u2019s silent spring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Puerto Rican findings mirror a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0185809\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">long-term study conducted in Germany<\/a>. Scientists monitoring the abundance of flying insects in Germany\u2019s nature reserves recorded a 75% drop since 1989. The study\u2019s authors attribute the decline to destruction of insect habitat and the rise in agricultural pesticide use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/michal-janek-727232-unsplash_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4035\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The little things that run the planet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Insects comprise two-thirds of all life on Earth \u2013 they pollinate flowering plants, decompose waste, control pests and serve as prey for millions of other species. They may be small and hard to notice but their global decline has become so serious that even city dwellers are reporting the \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/news\/2017\/05\/where-have-all-insects-gone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">windscreen phenomenon<\/a>\u2019 \u2013 driving long distances no longer leads to bug-spattered cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Time is running out to save the little things that run the planet\u2019s life support system. As our patron Sir David Attenborough said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIf we do not take charge of our population size, then nature will do it for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-share\"><a class=\"fb-share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F01%2Fglobal-insect-collapse-threatens-all-life-on-earth%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div>\n  \nShare<\/div><\/a><a class=\"tw-share\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F01%2Fglobal-insect-collapse-threatens-all-life-on-earth%2F&amp;text=Global+insect+collapse+threatens+all+life+on+Earth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div>\n  \nTweet<\/div><\/a><a class=\"li-share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F01%2Fglobal-insect-collapse-threatens-all-life-on-earth%2F&amp;text=Global+insect+collapse+threatens+all+life+on+Earth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div>\n  \nPost<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-light-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-grid grid grid-3\">\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-post-teaser\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/climate-change\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>Climate change<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"285\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/example_banner_2-768x285.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/example_banner_2-768x285.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/example_banner_2-300x111.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/example_banner_2-1024x380.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/example_banner_2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/img>\n\t\t\t\t<p>The climate crisis is already devastating lives and if we don&#8217;t take action, the effects will be catastrophic. Find out how population matters to climate change, and what we can do about it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-post-teaser\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/our-patrons\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>Our patrons<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Meadow-banner_web-768x288.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Meadow-banner_web-768x288.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Meadow-banner_web-300x112.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Meadow-banner_web-1024x384.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Meadow-banner_web.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/img>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Our distinguished patrons give us their endorsement and bring greater authority and a higher profile to the issue of population concern (We regret that we are unable to provide contact&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recently documented insect population crashes in Puerto Rico and Germany reflect a worrying global trend that is gaining increasing media coverage for good reason: insects are essential for the healthy&#8230;","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[10,14],"class_list":["post-2994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-story","tag-biodiversity","tag-environment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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