What about insects?

Over the years, Diana and I have noticed the steady decline of insects where we live in southwest Montana. Bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and even flies (we don't get to pick and choose), are all far scarcer. Some of the more charismatic species, like butterflies, are finally receiving research attention. And the findings are truly discouraging.

Researchers investigating the status of 114 species of butterflies in the United States found that populations are declining at a rate of nearly 8% a year, or a 50% decline in a decade (for more information, see my November 10, 2024 blog post).

Many of us intuitively know that this change is ongoing and that it's part of the biodiversity crisis affecting most life on Earth. Yet, it's a subject rarely in the news, unless you watch some of the wonderful Nature documentaries on PBS starring David Attenborough (God bless him).

Insects and other arthropods provide so many ecological services upon which we knowingly or unknowingly depend. Besides pollinating the majority of flowering plants, they form the basis of the food chain for many vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish) that have evolved to survive on them or the plants they pollinate.  Loss of these invertebrates is a contributing factor to the loss of North American birds, which have declined in abundance by 29% since 1970, according to a study published in Science. Arthropods also decompose organic matter; they recycle nitrogen; etc, etc.

So you'd think that we'd want to know as much as possible about this vast group of animals that are foundational to sustaining life on Earth. Yet a recent study shows that the conservation status of most (89 %!) are completely unknown.

We continue on this path at our own peril as Jonas Salk famously warned, "If all insects on Earth disappeared, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish."