According to a CNN article, more than 40% of insect species could become extinct in the next few decades, according to the "Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers" report, published in the journal Biological Conservation.
In addition to the 40% at risk of dying out, a third of species are endangered -- numbers that could cause the collapse of the planet's ecosystems with a devastating impact on life on Earth.
While the focus in the past has been on the decline in vertebrate animal biodiversity, this study stressed the importance of insect life on interconnected ecosystems and the food chain. Bugs make up around 70% of all animal species.
"If we don't have insects as moderators of other pest populations, we have insect populations that flare up and ruin crops and make them difficult to grow," he said. Indeed, "ecosystem services provided by wild insects have been estimated at $57 billion annually in the USA," according to an earlier study. Some 80% of wild plants use insects for pollination while 60% of birds rely on insects as a food source, according to the study. Sands said an immediate danger of the insect decline was the loss of insectivorous birds, and the risk of larger birds turning from eating insects to eating each other. Did you have any idea that your life and the lives of your the people that matter to you depend on that little bee going across your garden? Or on that weird-looking dragonfly? Every "little" life matters, DON'T FORGET. And if you really want to help, ask where and how your food is grown and harvested.
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