
Where have all the insects gone? - sergeant3
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone
======
ashark
Interesting. So maybe it wasn't just my imagination.

I remember butterflies being _everywhere_ in Spring in this area when I was a
kid. Fields and air full of 'em for weeks. Monarchs especially, but all kinds.
I haven't seen that kind of thing even once in probably a decade, at least.

And the windshield thing. I hadn't really thought about it, but I remember my
parents having to scrape the windshield just about every gas-station stop to
get rid of several really bad splatters. Now I rarely get even one bad one,
and almost never need to scrape, even on road trips.

~~~
flowersoldier
I've noticed a decline in Monarchs here in Northern California as well. The
very few I do see are colored differently than when I was a kid. They used to
be a deep orange hue, but now they are all a pasty yellow color. At first I
thought it was a different species. I've mentioned it to other people, but
they don't really care. They're more interested in upgrading their cell phone
or checking their instabook.

~~~
vivekd
The monarch population is actually declining to dangerous levels. Scientists
believe this is due to the decline of the milkweed plant which is the
monarch's main source of food.

------
notadoc
> No one can prove that the pesticides are to blame for the decline, however.

No one can prove that insecticides are responsible for killing insects? If
only someone would do some sort of study on this, or perhaps if we somehow had
some way to know the purpose or function of pesticides and insecticides.

~~~
vivekd
The issue of pesticides was considered and some countries did pass legislation
based on it. While intuitively the connection between pesticides and insect
population collapse looks attractive, the facts are a little more murky.

Some scientists suspected that neonectide pesticides were linked to the
decline in insect populations, particularly bees. Despite the fact that this
connection was not fully proven, many EU countries banned the use of
neonectide pesticides in 2013.

While bee populations recovered slightly, the issue is that bee populations
started recovering before the ban was even issued. Also the recovery was also
felt in Canada, where there was no pesticide ban _1_. This suggests that the
decline in bee population was more related to climate than to insecticides . .
. suggesting similar possibilities for other insects.

Yes insecticides kill insects but I don't think that's enough to conclude that
they are causing the general massive collapse in insect colonies - which is a
relatively recent phenomenon, while insecticides have been used for quite some
time.

 _1.[http://www.agprofessional.com/news/bee-population-rising-
aro...](http://www.agprofessional.com/news/bee-population-rising-around-
world*)

~~~
Xeoncross
Pesticide sales went up 13% between 2006-2007[1] (current growth is about the
same[2]). While pesticides have _existed_ for a while, their use is growing
quickly and the chemicals used are getting stronger and more refined. This
same wild growth pattern is copied by drugs - the other chemical market.

Compared to 30 years ago, drugs and pesticides are everyday items now.

This could easily explain the more recent detection of insects like bees being
affected as levels of pesticides in the environment could now have reached
high enough levels.

[1][https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents...](https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/market_estimates2007.pdf)

[2]:[https://ourworldindata.org/fertilizer-and-
pesticides/#pestic...](https://ourworldindata.org/fertilizer-and-
pesticides/#pesticides)

------
jostmey
"The mass of insects collected by monitoring traps in the Orbroicher Bruch
nature reserve in northwest Germany dropped by 78% in 24 years". That number
is scary. If that number is even close to the same across the world, the
planet is in more trouble than anyone realizes

~~~
Arizhel
This is rather worrisome, but I sure didn't see any lack of mosquitoes last
summer :-(

Maybe this is affecting the "good" insects while the "bad" ones are
thriving...

~~~
notadoc
There is truth to that.

Data demonstrates that disease carrying pests like mosquitoes and ticks are
proliferating, while pollinators are vanishing.

That is really not a good trend.

~~~
Arizhel
Nature's attempting to curtail the numbers of a particular highly-invasive
species.

------
wycke
I wonder what the long-term impacts of so many homeowners applying lawncare
chemicals will have. It just seems like a bad idea to spray chemicals all over
the lawn, yet so many do it it. I also wonder how many are over-applying, thus
making matters worse. Any thoughts on how to change people's mindsets. It
seems herd mentality has taken over, even though most likely know this is not
healthy or environmentally friendly.

~~~
perseusprime11
Lawns, in general, are not environment-friendly because of the need to use
fuel to cut it and for spraying chemicals to keep the weeds and mosquitoes
out. I lost the battle with my HOA to completely take the lawn out and instead
just plant some useful trees. People don't realize how much money they spend
on a 30 year basis to keep the lawns healthy.

~~~
tcfunk
I don't understand why more people don't use push reel lawnmowers. I've used
one ever since I stopped living in apartments, and they are not that difficult
to use. They are lighter-weight than their gas-powered cousins, and you don't
have to fill it up with gas every damn time you mow. Also it doesn't make
9000dB of noise.

~~~
AlexandrB
I use electric. Has most of the advantages of a push mower with the added
benefit of easier cutting. Just have to watch for the cord.

~~~
hasbot
The cordless mowers appear to be getting better and better. With my new yard
full of beds, trees, and other obstacles, half the mowing time is time
managing the cord. So, I'm buying a Ryobi battery operated 21" lawnmower.

------
uxhacker
One issue not mentioned in the article is mono cultures and foreign plant
species. With forign plant species the issue is that there are no insects that
have evolved off them, and with mono-cultures the issue is that they may only
support a small subset of insets. One thing people can do is plant native
plants in their gardens. This creates an island of bio diversity.

------
giardini
Lots of speculation present in the article, which points out the need for some
good science to determine whether we're facing an imminent insect population
collapse or its "business as usual".

As for the cars...

More cars and more car miles this year than in yesteryear means fewer
bugsplats per vehicle mile. I would assume that, once a vehicle has swept past
a volume, the bug population in that volume is restored by a "random walk/fly"
process that depends on the average number of insects per unit volume in the
area surrounding the highways.

Also vehicles pass in clumps depending on traffic patterns and time of day, so
a bug that might have splatted on your vehicle is instead swept up by a driver
in front of you.

Over time, insect populations for flying insects near roadways may decline,
given the death rate is higher there. OTOH that may vary depending on whether
the species is attracted/repelled by light, heat, roadkill, fumes, etc.

As for the article...

The article said: "the Krefeld Entomological Society... in 2013 .. When they
returned to _one_ of their earliest trapping sites from 1989, the total mass
of their catch had fallen by nearly 80%. "

Note the word " _one_ " as in _one_ of "100 nature reserves in western
Europe". The article continues:

"Through more direct comparisons, the group—which had preserved thousands of
samples over 3 decades—found dramatic declines across more than a _dozen_
other sites."

So, perhaps 12 of 100 sites show a "dramatic decline". That's about 8% of
sites, so what about the other 88 sites? Did numbers there go up, decline or
what?

Like the article says, time for some good science. But NOT time for alarmism.
The sky is not falling.

All-in-all, pretty anecdotal stuff that could also attract some fun modeling.
But first maybe, let's get some good solid science.

~~~
musha68k
From the article, past the first paragraphs..

"Over that time the group, the Krefeld Entomological Society, has seen the
yearly insect catches fluctuate, as expected. But in 2013 they spotted
something alarming. When they returned to one of their earliest trapping sites
from 1989, the total mass of their catch had fallen by nearly 80%. Perhaps it
was a particularly bad year, they thought, so they set up the traps again in
2014. The numbers were just as low. Through more direct comparisons, the
group—which had preserved thousands of samples over 3 decades—found dramatic
declines across more than a dozen other sites."

"The mass of insects collected by monitoring traps in the Orbroicher Bruch
nature reserve in northwest Germany dropped by 78% in 24 years."

~~~
giardini
The study concerns a 220-acre area.

To extrapolate from that to the world is a mistake. From what I believe is the
original paper (copy at [http://www.bouldercountybeekeepers.org/wp-
content/uploads/20...](http://www.bouldercountybeekeepers.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/02/Orbrioch-Nature-reserve.pdf) ):

 _" The results show that, in the same two areas, sampled in the years 1989
and 2013, there was a dramatic fall in the number of flying insects.

Using the same traps, in the same areas, significant reductions of insect
populations, of more than 75%, were found.

Our data confirms, that in the areas studied, less than 25% of the original
number of flying insects collected in 1989, were still present in 2013.

Orboicher Bruch Area

The Orboicher Bruch, to the Northwest of Krefeld, is a designated Nature
Reserve of around 100 hectares (220 acres). Due to the reserve’s relatively
remote location and its rugged landscape, intensive farming came to the area
only recently."_

------
strictnein
> 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1—with some pretty sleek lines. "I used to have to
> wash my car all the time. It was always covered with insects." Lately,
> Martin Sorg, an entomologist here, has seen the opposite: "I drive a Land
> Rover, with the aerodynamics of a refrigerator"

It wouldn't surprise me at all if a modern Land Rover was more aerodynamic
than a 1969 Mustang. The Land Rover wouldn't look it of course, but the 1969
Mustang had a pretty steep windshield and a front that probably did lots of
crazy stuff to the air:

[http://cdn.barrett-
jackson.com/staging/carlist/items/Fullsiz...](http://cdn.barrett-
jackson.com/staging/carlist/items/Fullsize/Cars/91075/91075_Side_Profile_Web.jpg)

~~~
ludoo
The Land Rover in question is probably a Defender, with a design substantially
similar to the original model from the '50s. It really is a refrigerator on
wheels.

------
Lordarminius
I thought I was the only one to notice this.

When I was a kid there were a ton of grasshoppers around. Now kids don't even
know what they are.

A related observation I have made is that ALL the frogs have disappeared
leaving only toads. I recall reading somewhere that this is due to UV
radiation that kills off the eggs.

Its going to be a silent planet soon

~~~
purephase
Yeah, you're spot on. Grasshoppers and frogs were everywhere in the 80's when
I was a kid. I can't remember the last time I even saw a grasshopper.

Not sure if it's related, but I rarely see dew any more either.

~~~
throwanem
Where in the world are you? There's deer all over the damn place here, despite
that it's a city where you wouldn't really expect off the top of your head to
find them. And the last time I went wandering deer trails - which was last
week, actually - I saw plenty of grasshoppers, including a couple the size of
my thumb, along with a half dozen or so deer, one rather suspicious fox, a
Cooper's hawk soaring overhead, several small furry things which might've made
the hawk a good supper, and more midges, gnats, noseeums, and general tiny
flies-up-your-nose things than I could guess within two orders of magnitude.
Oh, and one large bush that I'm pretty sure contained a beehive, although I
wasn't about to approach any closer once I noticed it was humming!

------
irrational
Could the windshield thing have something to do with more cars on the roads?
Instead of 1 car hitting 100 insects, 100 cars are each hitting 1 insect? When
I was a kid there were a lot fewer cars on the highways. I grew up in the
Western US and I remember that on road trips my dad (who was in the military)
would often pull off on the side of the free way, set up some targets, and do
some target shooting with us kids. It wasn't a big deal back then with few
people on the roads, but if someone was to pull out some rifles right off the
side of the freeway nowadays...!

------
ciconia
I'm incredibly fortunate to live in the French countryside (Bourgogne). I can
go out the front door, lie on the grass and witness JFK-scale traffic of
insects. It's really astounding the amount of _life_ around my house.

If any of you care about wildlife, you can actively contribute to its
preservation just by buying a piece of land and letting it be.

------
rojobuffalo
If you're not doing so already, please compost organic waste. For the average
household, it's about one-third of your trash. If you want to step it up, you
can collect compost from coffee shops, restaurants, and grocers. You can use
all that mass to build a hugelkultur, which becomes an oasis for soil
organisms, insects, and birds. It also gives you a fertile spot to grow some
beautiful and/or edible plants.

[https://terra.farm/wiki/The_many_benefits_of_hugelkultur](https://terra.farm/wiki/The_many_benefits_of_hugelkultur)

------
atticusCr
Interesting article. I live in Costa Rica in the country side in the mountain
and we are experiencing the same issue here. Back in the date, there were
really big grasshoppers and all kind of colorful bugs. Now they no longer
exists. I tried to blame the bad agricultural practices the do a heavy usage
of pesticides.

------
phkahler
It may also be that with urbanization people are driving slower on average
(EPA urban drive cycle for MPG ratings averages ~20MPH). It's hard to kill
bugs when you're stuck in traffic.

On a trip "up north" my car still needs a good washing to get all the bugs off
when I get home. I still found TFA interesting, and the traps are another data
point.

------
Daishiman
So when will people stop minimizing that, literally, the planet is dying?

~~~
VA3FXP
When will people stop with this hyperbole?

The planet; as-in this rocky, water-world orbiting Sol, will exist for
BILLIONS of years.

The _life_ on this planet AS WE KNOW IT is dying, along with ourselves. That
is a huge difference and one that needs to be repeated with as much clarity as
possible.

Will homo-sapiens still exist in 10,000 years? maybe. 100,000 years? doubtful.
1,000,000 years? nope.

Will single-celled life forms, virus, prions, etc still exist? Probably.

This entire pyramid that we have existed at the top of is brutally fragile and
will not continue as it is forever. To repeat one of most favorite quotes:
"Nature is in a constant state of recovering from the previous disaster."

This is the distinction. Something as immutable as granite can't die. We can
barely wrap our brains around the concept of water being able to erode such
permanence. How can you expect them to believe such histrionics? But life,
that is more delicate and temporary then a snowflake in the Sahara.

~~~
ashark
> The planet; as-in this rocky, water-world orbiting Sol, will exist for
> BILLIONS of years

Well, to nitpick a bit, not billions, for the "water-world" part. A few
hundred million. It'll likely be quite parched by the 1 billion mark. Large,
complex life forms are expected to have a Really Bad Time starting in the
500-600 million year range and shortly (geologically speaking) be gone
entirely, assuming no acute planet-scale disasters before then.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future)

~~~
VA3FXP
Point taken and acknowledged. I was on a bit of a rant.

Question regarding the "loss" of the oceans:

Won't that turn the atmosphere into 'soup'?

------
dennyabraham
I remember reading about this some years ago and noticing the same windshield
phenomenon. However, on a midwestern road trip a few weeks ago I noticed more
and larger insect populations than I had in years. I wonder if increased
organic farming and native flora projects have helped the biomass, if not the
composition, of insects recover.

------
cpfohl
They're all terrifying wasps or yellowjackets now.

And they're all constantly trying to build nests in or near my house. I
thought this was universal knowledge...

~~~
ythn
You thought it was universal knowledge that 80% of insect biomass has dropped
in nature reserves around the world with no obvious cause?

~~~
cpfohl
The lack of intonation and body language in internet communication strikes
again...

Although I thought I had done a good job of making it sound tongue in cheek.

------
dghughes
Dragonflies have always been the cool bros of insects.

I used to love it when I almost ran into them but they saw my car and freak
out as if to say "Pull up!" and the dragonfly banks away a max throttle.

------
mrfusion
Is anyone else noticing more carpenter bees? Maybe they're filing the niche
left by honey bees.

Also I'm noticing more wasps than usual.

------
Gnarl
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23915130](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23915130)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367734](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22367734)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27960592](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27960592)

------
exabrial
I carry Windex in a small spray bottle for my late night motorcycle rides.
Bugs are so thick here (Midwest) a 15m ride results in blocked vision

------
ge96
unrelated thought

I was listening to a podcast about this folding microscope thing and they were
talking about how this special "cell?" becomes a coil and is able to pull
oxygen/becomes the 'lungs' for the insect... pretty neat.

If you get shot in the lungs lay on your side to try keep them open. PSA, I
don't know I looked it up one day.

------
sporkenfang
We've fucking killed them all, just like the predators.

------
edw519
Maybe it's just selective breeding.

The insects with DNA that made them more likely to hit a windshield didn't
live long enough to breed. :-)

------
tripzilch
oh dear, this ... is the exact plot-starter to eco-thriller "Dust" by Charles
Pellegrino o_O

[https://www.sfsite.com/05b/dust33.htm](https://www.sfsite.com/05b/dust33.htm)

------
xyzzy4
80% decrease isn't that much on a log scale. 99.99% decrease would be more
worrying.

