Noticed fewer bugs in your back yard lately? It’s not just you. Insects around the globe may be dying out. And yes, it’s our fault… but we also hold the keys to saving them
by PROF ADAM HART Adam is an entomologist at the University of Gloucestershire and presents shows on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.
REVIEW
This year has seen a general sense of dismay spread across social media regarding the number of insects seen during the spring, with many naturalists and entomologists noting that there seem to be fewer around. So what’s happening with insect life? Are there actually fewer bugs in our gardens? And what could this mean for the wider ecosystem?
WHAT’S THE CURRENT STATE OF INSECT LIFE?
The sad fact is that we simply don’t know. We have a serious lack of data on long-term trends in insect populations worldwide. Given the huge number of species – possibly as many as 10 million – it’s perhaps unsurprising. However, over the past few years, many studies have tended to point in the same general, downward direction. Of those insects we know much about, some are doing okay, but there are declines in well-known groups across the board, including butterflies, moths, dragonflies, some beetles and many bee species.
One survey that monitored insect splatter on car registration plates in Great Britain suggested that the number of flying insects has plunged by almost 60 per cent from 2004 to 2021.
IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF A LARGER-SCALE DECLINE?
Possibly. But we can’t say this with any sense of certainty just yet. Many entomologists suggest that the very hot and dry summer last year may be affecting insects and this is certainly a good working hypothesis.
On the flip side though, others are reporting normal insect numbers in some parts of the country. To find out for certain what’s happening this year we’ll need to wait for the combined data from long-term studies.
What we do know is that we’re still degrading the natural world in many places, sometimes seriously so. We can also say that, despite some improvements and success stories, the overall picture isn’t positive whether we’re looking at insects, mammals, birds, fish, plants or most other groups of living things. That said, we have proved to be very good at reversing declines when we want to. Tigers, for example, have rebounded in India and Nepal, doubling their numbers.
A big issue with insects is that people are much less likely to care about them than they are about big charismatic mammals like tigers.
WHAT’S CAUSING THE DECLINE?
Insects are extraordinarily diverse
