Environment-Biodiversity

‘Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn

The Guardian 11/13//2019

A new report suggested half of all insects may have been lost since 1970 as a result of the destruction of nature and heavy use of pesticides. The report said 40% of the 1million known species of insect are facing extinction.
The analysis, written by one of the UK’s leading ecologists, has a particular focus on the UK, whose insects are the most studied in the world. It said 23 bee and wasp species have become extinct in the last century, while the number of pesticide applications has approximately doubled in the last 25 years.

Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers

Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers Science Direct 4/2019

• Over 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction.

• Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and dung beetles (Coleoptera) are the taxa most affected.

• Four aquatic taxa are imperiled and have already lost a large proportion of species.

• Habitat loss by conversion to intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines.

• Agro-chemical pollutants, invasive species and climate change are additional causes.

The Bugs We Can’t Live Without

WSJ 7/17/2019 Paywall

Insect populations are in dramatic decline, and the consequences could be serious for everything from waste management to agriculture 

DailyKos 7/17/2019 No Paywall

"Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and a third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains.
The recent decline in bugs that fly, crawl, burrow and skitter across still water is part of a gathering "mass extinction," only the sixth in the last half-billion years.
"We are witnessing the largest extinction event on Earth since the late Permian and Cretaceous periods," the authors noted.

The Guardian Biodiversity Crisis UN report 503 2019

The Guardian Loss of Natural World 5/06/2019