How Can You Help Save Bugs From Disappearing?
Insects are everywhere, and people are often caught trying to eradicate them. Mistakes can make life very uncomfortable, even a little rough, but they are one of the most important parts of our ecosystem. And they disappear. Here’s what you can do to stop their dangerous decline.
The Guardian recently reported new data published in the journal Biological Conservation that shows insect populations are declining worldwide . There are some rather grim statistics that should scare even people who hate mosquitoes:
The analysis showed that more than 40% of insect species are declining, and a third is threatened with extinction. The extinction rate is eight times that of mammals, birds and reptiles. According to the best available data, the total weight of insects is falling rapidly by 2.5% per year, suggesting that they could be extinct within a century.
According to the USDA, humans are primarily insect-dependent: about half of the world’s pollinators are invertebrates. We need them to grow food crops. They are also a link in a chain; many animals eat insects as their main beneficial source. You can imagine the disastrous outcome of breaking this link: if there are no mistakes, then there is nothing to gnaw on all kinds of birds, reptiles and mammals.
When we receive bad news about the environment, it is often overwhelming; but people can still do to make a difference. Here’s how to help.
Grow insect food
The reasons why bugs disappear at such a high rate compared to other species of life are a matter of debate; Gwen Pearson , a writer and entomologist at Purdue University, explained in an email to Lifehacker that there is not enough information to know for sure:
When I look at the data we have on insect-eating birds, they also see a decline. Personally, I believe that we do not have all the data, but it may be too late to wait until we have enough to tell exactly what is happening with insects.
The main reasons proposed by the study are heavy use of pesticides, climate change and “urbanization”. There is not much food that is not covered in poison, and in many areas it is difficult to find what is left. But it’s not just city dwellers who pave everything with concrete – if you live in an area that’s mostly lawns, this is a very different kind of wasteland for insects. Some, of course, can live there, but pollinators need flowers to survive.
Replace your grass, or at least much of it, with flowers and plants that are attractive to your regional pollinators. According to Pearson, no change can be too small:
Everything helps! Any single plant system – be it a cornfield or your front yard – won’t support as many insects (and other animals) as it is more diverse. Even small changes can help our native insect species find food and shelter.
A variety of what you grow means a greater variety of insects, which makes the ecosystem healthier.
Consider your eating habits
When we talk about pesticides, we usually talk about growing food, often in monoculture, as Pearson warned about. Huge harvest of corn, especially corn, or other livestock feed. Buying organic food or going vegetarian is not an option for everyone. However, if you can make a change, read about where your food comes from; in DM writer Sophie Benoit, scientist Mark Caspari said that even cutting meat could make a difference because the goal is to reduce the amount of land devoted to large-scale agriculture:
The way food is produced is a huge key to our planet’s survival – you don’t have to go hard vegan to make changes that will make a difference.
Contact your representatives
The preceding points place a burden on individuals, but there is only so much we as consumers can do. There will always be a huge slice of the population that will not have the time and money to invest in making sure they get the most environmentally friendly pile of kale. The real pressure must be on corporations that benefit from all this pesticide use; this means we need new policies at both the local and federal levels.
As Caspari mentioned above, even city ordinances encouraging wildlife rearing for pollinators can make a difference. But you can also support organizations that work specifically on insect conservation; Pearson proposed a non-profitXerxes Society .
Don’t lose hope
Finding that we might be on the brink of disaster is very frustrating; Personally, I often feel like the frozen scale of what needs to be done in the face of climate change and environmental destruction. Pearson, who knows a lot more about the lives and deaths of insects, says her feelings about how much hope there is still:
I’ve seen so many negative changes due to species introductions and habitat loss in our forests and public lands, and it’s hard not to be pessimistic. But I also only know this if I get up every day and work to make things better; and inspire and inspire my students, can I do something better?
She would also like to point out that the language we use with regard to the insect crisis is a little misleading:
It is not reasonable to say that all insects will die out – there are so many of them! Some will do better. Some will do worse. Some of them are spreading all over the world (example: fire ants), and some have already disappeared (example: butterfly, after which the Society of Xerses is named).
So instead of thinking that all insects are dying, think that you would rather be surrounded by butterflies than fire ants. Plant the seeds of the world you want to live in.