WEBVTT - Are We in an Insect Armageddon?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from How Stuff Works. Hey there, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel. Bomb here. When you hear the word armageddon,

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<v Speaker 1>you might imagine a battle thought at the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the world by humans. But it's possible that battle is

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<v Speaker 1>being fought right now. Only all the casualties are bugs.

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<v Speaker 1>Insects are vitally important to the functioning of the world's ecosystems.

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<v Speaker 1>They do most of the plant pollination, after all, while

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<v Speaker 1>providing food for the bulk of the world's birds, amphibians, reptiles,

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<v Speaker 1>and mammals. They're also essential in nutrient cycling, breaking down

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<v Speaker 1>the world's dead stuff, manure, and what have you to

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<v Speaker 1>make more dirt for us to grow our food in.

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<v Speaker 1>Every ecosystem on the planet needs insects, which is why

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<v Speaker 1>the apparent tanking of bug biomass is so alarming. Study

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<v Speaker 1>published in October in the journal Plos one confirms the

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<v Speaker 1>insect decline that many scientists and insect enthusiasts previously suspected,

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<v Speaker 1>and it turns out their suspicions weren't just validated, but surpassed.

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<v Speaker 1>In Germany, insect biomass is declined by roughly seventy percent

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<v Speaker 1>over a little less than three decades. We spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>co author Casper Hallman of the Institute for Water and

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<v Speaker 1>Wetland Research at Radbound University in the Netherlands. In an email,

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<v Speaker 1>he said declines in insects as a group have been

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<v Speaker 1>suspected for quite some time, indirectly through declines in insectivorious birds,

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<v Speaker 1>but around the globe only a few data sets exist

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<v Speaker 1>to inform us, and these data are mainly concentrated around bees,

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<v Speaker 1>butterflies and moths. Since a group of amateur entomologists in Kerfeld, Germany,

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<v Speaker 1>has been collecting all kinds of insects from sixty three

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<v Speaker 1>German nature reserves between spring and autumn each year, following

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<v Speaker 1>a highly standardized sampling protocol. Over the years, they realized

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<v Speaker 1>that the tent like traps specially designed to catch flying

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<v Speaker 1>insects were yielding a smaller and smaller catch each year,

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<v Speaker 1>even though every aspect of their sampling regime remained constant.

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<v Speaker 1>Weighing the total biomass of the yearly hall over time

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<v Speaker 1>allowed them to quantify it exactly how big a hit

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<v Speaker 1>these flying insects have taken over the decades. They found

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<v Speaker 1>an overall three quarters decline in insects when they looked

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<v Speaker 1>at the entire collecting season, but in high summer, when

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<v Speaker 1>insect numbers are at their highest, the decline was even

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<v Speaker 1>more noticeable at These findings are of course specific to

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<v Speaker 1>Germany and data are very scarce for nature preserves in

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<v Speaker 1>other parts of the world, but the drop in insect

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<v Speaker 1>populations is in no way limited to Germany. The study

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<v Speaker 1>authors speculate that their study locations are representative of similar

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<v Speaker 1>preserves around the world, and study published in the journal

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<v Speaker 1>Science detailed the decline in worldwide populations. The reason it's

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<v Speaker 1>important to compare these data to those taken from other

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<v Speaker 1>protected areas has to do with the fact that agricultural

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<v Speaker 1>or urban areas have relatively little to offer insects and

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<v Speaker 1>are often outright toxic to them. Therefore, it's tough to

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<v Speaker 1>note based on data from these areas whether insects are

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<v Speaker 1>doing poorly in other places in the world, in habitats

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<v Speaker 1>where they should be thriving. That said, general data sets

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<v Speaker 1>on butterflies, moths, and most famously bees around the world

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<v Speaker 1>mostly point in the same disabal direction. Additionally, the so

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<v Speaker 1>called windshield phenomenon might not be data driven science, but

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<v Speaker 1>it seems that all over the world in recent decades,

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<v Speaker 1>people have been noticing fewer squashed bugs on their windshields

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<v Speaker 1>than ever before. But what could be causing this more

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<v Speaker 1>than decimation of Germany's insects. While the research team looked

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<v Speaker 1>at whether changes in climatic conditions, the landscape, or the

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<v Speaker 1>local habitat may have caused the decline, co author Hallman

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<v Speaker 1>says they were unable to explain it based on these analyzes. Quote,

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<v Speaker 1>Our best guess at this point are the negative influences

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<v Speaker 1>of land use surrounding the nature reserves, particularly agricultural practices

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<v Speaker 1>such as extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers, as well

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<v Speaker 1>as over decline in habitat sustainability in between the reserves.

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<v Speaker 1>But the effects of so many fewer insects can already

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<v Speaker 1>be observed in the decline of birds in Germany. During

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<v Speaker 1>the same time period, twelve million pairs of breeding birds

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<v Speaker 1>have disappeared, and the same trend has been observed in

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<v Speaker 1>other parts of Europe. So the next time you see

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<v Speaker 1>a bug in your house, reconsider squashing it and maybe

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<v Speaker 1>just escorted outside. It's kind of having a tough thirty

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<v Speaker 1>years of it. Today's episode was written by Justlyin Shields

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tristan McNeil. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other depressing yet important topics, visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how Stuff Works dot com