Insect Apocalypse
Jun. 11th, 2025 04:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides.
They include in Germany, where flying insects across 63 insect reserves dropped 75% in less than 30 years; the US, where beetle numbers dropped 83% in 45 years; and Puerto Rico, where insect biomass dropped up to 60-fold since the 1970s. These declines are occurring in ecosystems that are otherwise protected from direct human influence.
[---8<---]
At one research centre – falling within a 22,000-hectare (85 sq mile) stretch of intact forest in Panama – scientists comparing current bird numbers with the 1970s found 70% of species had declined, and 88% of these had lost more than half of their population.
As the insects die off, everything that eats them -- birds, amphibians, reptiles, etc. -- suffers a decline also.
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides.
They include in Germany, where flying insects across 63 insect reserves dropped 75% in less than 30 years; the US, where beetle numbers dropped 83% in 45 years; and Puerto Rico, where insect biomass dropped up to 60-fold since the 1970s. These declines are occurring in ecosystems that are otherwise protected from direct human influence.
[---8<---]
At one research centre – falling within a 22,000-hectare (85 sq mile) stretch of intact forest in Panama – scientists comparing current bird numbers with the 1970s found 70% of species had declined, and 88% of these had lost more than half of their population.
As the insects die off, everything that eats them -- birds, amphibians, reptiles, etc. -- suffers a decline also.
insects and more
Date: 2025-06-11 10:24 am (UTC)Did you read that terrifying letter reposted by
in March about the utter ecological devastation on Samos?
Good luck, planet :/
Re: insects and more
Date: 2025-06-11 07:33 pm (UTC)I have not seen that, do you have a link?
>> Good luck, planet :/ <<
The planet will be fine. Planets are big and hard to break.
The biosphere is struggling, but it has survived much worse. Humans are only second most destructive species ever to exist. That honor goes to whatever green alga first discovered fire, harnessed the power of the Sun, and farted so much oxygen that it turned Earth from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere -- which killed almost everything else.
So, the ecosystem will survive this too. It's not even the first time major climate change has occurred, like that time it rained for 2 million years, and that was part of the setup for dinosaurs who became one of the greatest ecosystems the Earth has ever known. Something will survive. I've chosen to bless jellyfish (some of whom are thriving) and carnivorous plants (who already know how to move fast, just need to figure out how to travel).
What we're losing are the photogenic megafauna, the cohesive ecosystem networks, and most of the other stuff that depends on them. Some species are not only doing fine but expandikng: all the invasive species and most of the bandage plants or recolonizer animals. This is unfortunate for humans, who are megafauna and depend a lot on those webs, especially flowering plants pollinated by insects. Humans are above the 50-pound limit where warm-blooded species may survive a mass extinction, plus have the low respawn rate of large intelligent species. It remains to be seen whether sapience will suffice to break that ceiling.
Re: insects and more
Date: 2025-06-12 11:28 am (UTC)Here it is:
https://sinners4diseasecontrol.dreamwidth.org/1900.html
In this case the decline is attributed to EMF, particularly 4G and 5G. I think there is a good case for the claim.
Oh well, not all of us are photogenic :/ so not a complete tragedy.
Re: insects and more
Date: 2025-06-13 12:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-06-11 03:07 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2025-06-11 08:09 pm (UTC)My local yard still has plenty of insects, which is good. I have a bee tree this year! :D 3q3q3q!!!!
However, the monarch butterfly population has crashed. We're on a main migration route. When I was little, clouds of butterflies would fill the sky and chains would cover the Home Base mulberry tree. Now it's a rare year when they chain at all. :(
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2025-06-12 01:01 pm (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2025-06-13 01:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-06-11 09:55 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2025-06-11 10:41 pm (UTC)Coyotes, maybe. They've expanded their range tremendously, but that's largely because humans killed off the other large predators such as wolves. However, Canis Soup -- a mix of coyote, wolf, and dog -- has proven downright formidable. Given the dog gene pool's access to the small size options, I think they stand a serious chance of long-term survival.