Insect Armageddon

By Kumar Vikrant

While driving your car at high speeds in the prime of summer, have you ever wondered that something is amiss? You are not alone in noticing that the windshield doesn't get plastered with insect carcasses so often, and that one doesn't need to clear off the smeared bugs to maintain a spotless driving experience. People around the world are reminiscing about their childhood and wondering, what happened to all the bugs? Where did they go?

If your nostalgia is giving way to worry, you are in for a shock. A recent study demonstrated that the monarch butterfly population has declined 90 percent in the last two decades. Another study found that the population of flying insects has declined by 75 percent in German nature reserves over the last three decades. Similar trends are being observed globally. A 2014 study estimated a decline of 45 percent in insect abundance at globally monitored locations. The bugs are simply not here anymore.

One may ask, “Why should we be worried? After all, most bugs are nothing but a nuisance for us.” Scientists point out that the global insect population decline could result in unpredictable catastrophes. Bugs are an integral part of several food chains and are the primary food sources for various reptiles, birds, small mammals, and other animals. Several food crops and plant species rely on insects for pollination, while several insect species help degrade organic matter to recycle soil nutrients. Hence, a dwindling insect population could result in global ecological collapse.

The exact reasons behind the bug Armageddon remain a mystery and is a question that needs to be answered by further research. The severe loss of insect biomass in nature reserves is particularly worrying as the problem could be worse elsewhere. The proposed drivers include climate change, excessive pesticide use, deforestation, single-crop farming, and environmental pollution.

As the bug catastrophe is a relatively unknown subject among the populous (possibly due to fewer studies or being eclipsed by other grander socio, economic, and political issues), it is time for the younger generation to be made aware of the dwindling insect biomass. More youngsters need to develop an interest in the scientific discipline of entomology (a branch of zoology) to further the research needed to solve this critical situation.

On a larger level, the world's governments and private bodies should invest more into entomological research to help scientists conduct large-scale and in-depth studies to understand the exact reasons behind the insect catastrophe and what it means for our planet, and the actions needed to alleviate the issue. Although nature is resilient, humans may be knocking on hell's doors. The time is ripe to brainstorm and push the envelope. Let's create a planet full of life so that our younger generations can continue to call it home.

Kumar Vikrant (kvikrant071@gmail.com ; https://www.kumarvikrant.com/) is a doctoral student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea.