#[1]alternate [2]alternate [3]Homepage Accessibility links * [4]Skip to content * [5]Accessibility Help [6]BBC Account [7]Notifications * [8]Home * [9]News * [10]Sport * [11]Weather * [12]iPlayer * [13]Sounds * [14]CBBC * [15]CBeebies * [16]Food * [17]Bitesize * [18]Arts * [19]Taster * [20]Local * [21]Three * [22]Menu [23]Search Search the BBC ____________________ (BUTTON) Search the BBC [24]News BBC News Navigation Sections * [25]Home * [26]Video * [27]World * [28]US & Canada * [29]UK * [30]Business * [31]Tech * [32]Science selected * [33]Stories * [34]Entertainment & Arts * [35]Health * [36]In Pictures * [37]Reality Check * [38]World News TV * [39]Newsbeat * [40]Special Reports * [41]Explainers * [42]The Reporters * [43]Have Your Say [44]Science & Environment [45]Science & Environment Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent * 23 April 2020 * [46]Share this with Facebook * [47]Share this with Messenger * [48]Share this with Twitter * [49]Share this with Email * [50]Share this with Facebook * [51]Share this with WhatsApp * [52]Share this with Messenger * [53]Share this with Twitter * [54]Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window + [55]Email Share this with Email + [56]Facebook Share this with Facebook + [57]Messenger Share this with Messenger + [58]Messenger Share this with Messenger + [59]Twitter Share this with Twitter + [60]Pinterest Share this with Pinterest + [61]WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp + [62]LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link [63]https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 [64]Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window (BUTTON) Close share panel butterfly Image copyright Getty Images The global health of insect populations is far more complicated than previously thought, new data suggests. Previous research indicated an alarming decline in numbers in all parts of world, with losses of up to 25% per decade. This new study, the largest carried out to date, says the picture is more complex and varied. Land-dwelling insects are definitely declining the authors say, while bugs living in freshwater are increasing. * [65]Humans 'threaten 1m species with extinction' * [66]Exploiting nature 'drives outbreaks of new diseases' * [67]Insect decline may see 'plague of pests' * [68]Cranes make comeback in Britain's wetlands Reports of the rapid and [69]widespread decline of insects globally have caused great worry to scientists. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mayflies have benefitted from cleaner water legislation The creatures are among the most abundant and diverse species on the planet and play key roles, from aerating the soil to pollination and recycling of nutrients. Case studies, [70]such as one from nature reserves in western Germany, indicated a dramatic fall, with around a 75% decrease over 27 years. Many other, [71]similar reports have followed. But many of these were specific to a region or a species. This [72]new study, the largest on insect change to date, aims to give a more complete understanding of what's really happening to bugs worldwide. Drawing on data from 166 long-term surveys across 1,676 sites, it paints a highly nuanced and variable picture of the state of insect health. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Grasshoppers are one of the species to have suffered significant declines The compilation indicates that insects like butterflies, ants and grasshoppers are going down by 0.92% per year, which amounts to 9% per decade, lower than many published rates. This is not as bad as previous reports but the authors stress that it is still substantial. "That is extremely serious, over 30 years it means a quarter less insects," said lead author Dr Roel Van Klink, from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research. "And because it's a mean, there are places where it is much worse than that." Many people have an instinctive perception that insects are decreasing - often informed by the so-called "windscreen phenomenon", where you find fewer dead bugs splattered on cars. The researchers say it's real. "Many insects can fly, and it's those that get smashed by car windshields," said Prof Jonathan Chase, another author from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research. "Our analysis shows that flying insects have indeed decreased on average." Image copyright Oliver Thier Image caption Water-based insects such as common water striders have increased in numbers "However, the majority of insects are less conspicuous and live out of sight - in the soil, in tree canopies or in the water." The losses were strongest in the US West and Midwest and in Europe, especially in Germany. Trends in Europe have become more negative in recent years, with the biggest declines since 2005. However while many land-based species are declining, the new study shows that insects that live in fresh water, like midges and mayflies, are growing by 1.08% per year. This positive trend was strong in northern Europe, in the western US and since the 1990s in Russia. The researchers believe this is because of legislation that has cleaned up polluted rivers and lakes. However the increase in water based insects will not compensate for land losses. "They are just a fraction of land based insects, not more than 10%," said Dr Van Klink "The area of freshwater we have on earth is just a small percentage of the total land mass, so the numbers of freshwater insects will never be able to compensate for the terrestrial insects." The scientists say there is no smoking gun on insect declines but they find the destruction of natural habitats due to urbanisation, to be key. This finding about habitat destruction has been echoed in other major pieces of research on biodiversity, including last year's [73]IPBES Global Assessment. Image copyright Gabriele Rada Image caption A European orchard bee helping to pollinate some flowers The overall picture is complex - even in close geographical areas, some insects can be doing well next door to members of the same species who are struggling. Ann Swengel, another author on the paper has spent more than 30 years studying butterflies in parts of the US. "We've seen so much decline, including on many protected sites. But we've also observed some sites where butterflies are continuing to do well," she said. "It takes lots of years and lots of data to understand both the failures and the successes, species by species and site by site." While the findings are complicated the authors believe they offer hope for the future. "We believe that because we see these increases in fresh water insects, that are related to legislation being put in place, it makes us hopeful that if we put in place the right types of legislation for land insects we can also make them recover," said Dr Van Klink. "The nice thing about insects is that most have incredibly large numbers of offspring, so if you change the habitat in the right way we will see them recover really fast." The [74]study has been published in the journal, Science. Follow Matt [75]on Twitter. Related Topics * [76]Biodiversity * [77]Insects * [78]Extinction Share this story [79]About sharing * [80]Email * [81]Facebook * [82]Messenger * [83]Messenger * [84]Twitter * [85]Pinterest * [86]WhatsApp * [87]LinkedIn Top Stories [88]EU leaders agree multi-billion euro rescue package The EU agrees to inject billions of euros of emergency aid into Europe's struggling economies. 23 April 2020 [89]Coronavirus job losses and 'the millennial curse' 23 April 2020 [90]First patients injected in UK Covid vaccine trial 23 April 2020 Features The new house rules of my life under lockdown Coronavirus job losses and 'the millennial curse' Why fractious EU still believes together is better BBC Worklife: The reason Zoom calls drain your energy Video Coronavirus: How will the developing world cope? Saudi tribe challenges crown prince's plans for tech city Rina Sawayama: Turning familial pain into pop gold 'Searching for the truth about my murdered son' BBC Culture: The surprising story of a banned fabric Elsewhere on the BBC [91] Football phrases 15 sayings from around the world [92]Full article Football phrases [93]Why you can trust BBC News BBC News Navigation Sections * [94]Home * [95]Video * [96]World + [97]World Home + [98]Africa + [99]Asia + [100]Australia + [101]Europe + [102]Latin America + [103]Middle East * [104]US & Canada + [105]US & Canada Home * [106]UK + [107]UK Home + [108]England + [109]N. Ireland + [110]Scotland + [111]Wales + [112]Politics * [113]Business + [114]Business Home + [115]Market Data + [116]Global Trade + [117]Companies + [118]Entrepreneurship + [119]Technology of Business + [120]Connected World + [121]Global Education + [122]Economy * [123]Tech * [124]Science selected * [125]Stories * [126]Entertainment & Arts * [127]Health * [128]In Pictures * [129]Reality Check * [130]World News TV * [131]Newsbeat * [132]Special Reports * [133]Explainers * [134]The Reporters * [135]Have Your Say BBC News Services * [136]On your mobile * [137]On smart speakers * [138]Get news alerts * [139]Contact BBC News Explore the BBC * [140]Home * [141]News * [142]Sport * [143]Weather * [144]iPlayer * [145]Sounds * [146]CBBC * [147]CBeebies * [148]Food * [149]Bitesize * [150]Arts * [151]Taster * [152]Local * [153]Three * [154]Terms of Use * [155]About the BBC * [156]Privacy Policy * [157]Cookies * [158]Accessibility Help * [159]Parental Guidance * [160]Contact the BBC * [161]Get Personalised Newsletters Copyright © 2020 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [162]Read about our approach to external linking. References Visible links 1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52399373 2. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/ 4. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373#page 5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/ 6. https://account.bbc.com/account?ptrt=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 7. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/ 9. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news 10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport 11. https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather 12. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer 13. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds 14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc 15. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies 16. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food 17. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize 18. https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts 19. https://www.bbc.co.uk/taster 20. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/localnews 21. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree 22. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373#orb-footer 23. https://search.bbc.co.uk/search?scope=all 24. https://www.bbc.com/news 25. https://www.bbc.com/news 26. https://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/headlines 27. https://www.bbc.com/news/world 28. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/us_and_canada 29. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk 30. https://www.bbc.com/news/business 31. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology 32. https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment 33. https://www.bbc.com/news/stories 34. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment_and_arts 35. https://www.bbc.com/news/health 36. https://www.bbc.com/news/in_pictures 37. https://www.bbc.com/realitycheck 38. https://www.bbc.com/news/world_radio_and_tv 39. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat 40. https://www.bbc.com/news/special_reports 41. https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers 42. https://www.bbc.com/news/the_reporters 43. https://www.bbc.com/news/have_your_say 44. https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment 45. https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment 46. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 47. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 48. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 49. mailto:?subject=Shared from BBC News&body=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 50. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 51. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 52. fb-messenger://share/?app_id=58567469885&redirect_uri=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&link=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373?CMP=share_btn_me 53. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 54. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373#share-tools 55. mailto:?subject=Shared from BBC News&body=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 56. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 57. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 58. fb-messenger://share/?app_id=58567469885&redirect_uri=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&link=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373?CMP=share_btn_me 59. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 60. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 61. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 62. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 63. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 64. https://www.bbc.co.uk/faqs/questions/bbc_online/sharing 65. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783 66. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52204724 67. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47198576 68. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52384853 69. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-50406278 70. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41670472 71. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50226367 72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aax9931 73. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48169783 74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aax9931 75. https://twitter.com/mattmcgrathbbc 76. https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c9grgwq2krzt/biodiversity 77. https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cnegp3zl2pyt/insects 78. https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c88kg9wjn36t/extinction 79. http://www.bbc.co.uk/help/web/sharing.shtml 80. mailto:?subject=Shared from BBC News&body=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 81. http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=58567469885&redirect_uri=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&link=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373?SThisFB&display=popup 82. http://www.facebook.com/dialog/send?app_id=58567469885&redirect_uri=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&link=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373?SThisFB&display=popup 83. fb-messenger://share/?app_id=58567469885&redirect_uri=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&link=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373?CMP=share_btn_me 84. https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=BBC News - Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought&url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373 85. https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/create/bookmarklet/?url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&description=The health of insect populations globally is far more varied than previous research suggested.&title=Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought&media=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2015/newsspec_10857/bbc_news_logo.png?cb=1 86. whatsapp://send/?text=BBC News | Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373?ocid=wsnews.chat-apps.in-app-msg.whatsapp.trial.link1_.auin 87. https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373&title=Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought&summary=The health of insect populations globally is far more varied than previous research suggested.&source=BBC 88. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-52391597 89. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52349808 90. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52394485 91. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/51MWxHsTD7YhW4gTWWtPvKf/end-to-end-with-15-football-phrases-from-around-the-world?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=fifteenfootballphrases_article&intc_linkname=radio4_sm_mid_c3 92. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/51MWxHsTD7YhW4gTWWtPvKf/end-to-end-with-15-football-phrases-from-around-the-world?intc_type=promo&intc_location=news&intc_campaign=fifteenfootballphrases_article&intc_linkname=radio4_sm_mid_c3 93. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/help-41670342 94. https://www.bbc.com/news 95. https://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/headlines 96. https://www.bbc.com/news/world 97. https://www.bbc.com/news/world 98. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/africa 99. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/asia 100. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/australia 101. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/europe 102. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/latin_america 103. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/middle_east 104. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/us_and_canada 105. https://www.bbc.com/news/world/us_and_canada 106. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk 107. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk 108. https://www.bbc.com/news/england 109. https://www.bbc.com/news/northern_ireland 110. https://www.bbc.com/news/scotland 111. https://www.bbc.com/news/wales 112. https://www.bbc.com/news/politics 113. https://www.bbc.com/news/business 114. https://www.bbc.com/news/business 115. https://www.bbc.com/news/business/market-data 116. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-38507481 117. https://www.bbc.com/news/business/companies 118. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-22434141 119. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-11428889 120. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45489065 121. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-12686570 122. https://www.bbc.com/news/business/economy 123. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology 124. https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment 125. https://www.bbc.com/news/stories 126. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment_and_arts 127. https://www.bbc.com/news/health 128. https://www.bbc.com/news/in_pictures 129. https://www.bbc.com/realitycheck 130. https://www.bbc.com/news/world_radio_and_tv 131. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat 132. https://www.bbc.com/news/special_reports 133. https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers 134. https://www.bbc.com/news/the_reporters 135. https://www.bbc.com/news/have_your_say 136. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628994 137. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/help-50068132 138. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628323 139. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/20039682 140. https://www.bbc.co.uk/ 141. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news 142. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport 143. https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather 144. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer 145. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds 146. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc 147. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies 148. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food 149. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize 150. https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts 151. https://www.bbc.co.uk/taster 152. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/localnews 153. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree 154. https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/terms/ 155. https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc 156. https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/ 157. https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/cookies/ 158. https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/ 159. https://www.bbc.co.uk/guidance 160. https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact 161. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnewsletter 162. https://www.bbc.co.uk/help/web/links/ Hidden links: 164. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52399373#core-navigation 165. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52358591 166. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52349808 167. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52383141 168. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting 169. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-52382234/coronavirus-how-will-the-developing-world-cope 170. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52375343 171. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52380231 172. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52356400 173. https://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20200420-the-cutesy-fabric-that-was-banned