Mass Extinction of Insects

The fastest extinction of insects in Earth's history is happening now.

Extinction of insects

Mass extinction / Extinction of insects
Extinction of Delhi Sands flower-loving fly
It is the first and only fly whose extinction has worried many biologists around the world. The Delhi Sands flower-loving fly habitats are highly unusual and are not found anywhere else on earth. Protection of the flower-loving fly is important because it will protect many other species also living in the dunes.
Extinction of monarch butterfly
This butterfly sometimes is called a nature’s wonder. One of the world’s most well-known butterfly species. The western population is at greatest risk of extinction, having declined by 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to less than 1900 butterflies for the last 30 years.
Extinction of bees
There are about 20,000 species of bees in the world, and they are probably the most important insect pollinators. At least every third piece of food, a mankind owes to bees. Bees are at risk of extinction largely due to human activities. Their disappearance result in a food crisis for humanity.

According to the most recent data, the extinction rate of 50 thousand species per year was recorded. More than 100 species of living things go extinct forever every day. This is a record in the history of planet Earth.

The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the newest global scientific review.

More than 70% of insect species are declining and a half are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is ten times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. The total mass of insects is falling by a precipitous 5% a year, according to the best data available, suggesting they will vanish within a next thirty years.

Insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times. They are “essential” for the proper functioning of all ecosystems as food for other creatures, pollinators and recyclers of nutrients.

One of the biggest impacts of insect loss is on the many birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that eat insects. If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death.

Eventually, the extinction of insects will lead to the extinction of life on Earth.