© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Insects Around The World Are Disappearing. What Can We Do About It?

Agapostemon splendens bee sitting on a flower
Michael C. Thomas
/
PNAS

Insects are the most abundant group of animals on the planet. There are an estimated 10 quintillion of them on Earth.

But in recent years, scientists have found disturbing evidence that insect populations are on the decline around the world.

The environmental threats to insects are numerous: deforestation, pesticides, and climate change all seem to play a part in declining populations, a phenomenon UConn ecologist David Wagner and colleagues described as a “death by a thousand cuts” in a January 2021 special issue of PNAS dedicated to the issue of insect decline.

This hour, we talk with the scientists and journalists trying to make sense of the precipitous decline in insect populations around the world.  We hear from a Nevada researcher whose recent study in the journal Science helps pinpoint the role of climate change in disappearing butterfly populations across the American West.

And we ask: what does loss could mean for us, and what can we do about it?

GUESTS:

  • Elizabeth Kolbert - Staff writer at the New Yorker and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. She wrote a cover story for National Geographic’s May 2020 issue about worldwide insect decline. Her new book is Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
  • Dr. David Wagner - Entomologist and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UConn
  • Dr. Matthew Forister - Insect ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno

Further Reading:

National Geographic: Where Have All The Insects Gone? (April 23, 2020)

“If humans were to suddenly disappear, biologist Edward O. Wilson has famously observed, the Earth would ‘regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed 10,000 years ago.” But “if insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.’ It is, therefore, shocking—and alarming—that in most places scientists have looked recently, they’ve found that insect numbers are falling.”

ScienceButterflies are vanishing in the western U.S.—but not for the reasons scientists thought (March 4, 2021)

“Earth is in the midst of an insect apocalypse, with thousands of species dwindling over the past several decades. Scientists have often blamed habitat loss or pesticide use. But a new study of butterflies in the western United States has found that warmer fall weather may be taking as big, if not a bigger, toll.” Read the full study here.

PNAS: Eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines (January 12, 2021)

“Eight simple actions, most with immediate impact, that many people can undertake on their own, regardless of background, occupation, or geographic location.”

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired March 5, 2021

Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.
Carmen Baskauf was a producer for Connecticut Public Radio's news-talk show Where We Live, hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil from 2017-2021. She has also contributed to The Colin McEnroe Show.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Related Content