WHY ARE INSECT NUMBERS FALLING?

Sadly, insects are in decline, in the UK and around the world. UK butterfly populations have roughly halved since the 1970s, while the number of monarch butterflies in North America has declined by 90% in 20 years. A German study showed that flying insect ‘biomass’ has fallen by 75% since 1989. Most of us of a certain age can remember car windscreens covered in splatted insects, a phenomenon not seen for decades. Habitat loss to intensive monoculture farming, the widespread use of insecticides, light pollution and climate change are all contributing to these declines.