INSECT ATLAS Facts and figures about friends and foes in farming 2020 - Friends of the Earth Europe
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INSECT ATLAS Facts and figures about friends and foes in farming 2020
IMPRINT The INSECT ATLAS 2020 is jointly published by Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin, Germany Friends of the Earth Europe, Brussels, Belgium Chief Executive editors: Christine Chemnitz, Heinrich Böll Foundation (project management) Christian Rehmer, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland Katrin Wenz, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland Editorial support: Mute Schimpf, Friends of the Earth Europe Managing editor, graphics research: Dietmar Bartz Art director and graphics: Ellen Stockmar Insect illustrations: Lena Ziyal (Infotext GbR) Image editing: Roland Koletzki English edition Editor: Paul Mundy Proofreader: Maria Lanman German edition Chief sub-editor: Elisabeth Schmidt-Landenberger Documentation and final editing: Andreas Kaizik, Sandra Thiele (Infotext GbR) Contributors: Sandra Bell, Silvia Bender, Silke Bollmohr, Christine Chemnitz, Eric Guerin, Heike Holdinghausen, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Christian Rehmer, Hanni Rützler, Maureen Santos, Christoph Scherber, Mute Schimpf, Peter Schweiger, Anke Sparmann, Valerie Stull, Teja Tscharntke, Henrike von der Decken, Daniela Wannemacher, Katrin Wenz, Heiko Werning We thank Roel van Klink for his assistance. Cover image: Collage © Ellen Stockmar based on a photo by GordZam/istockphoto.com The views do not necessarily reflect those of all partner organizations. The maps show the areas where data are collected and do not make any statement about political affiliation. Editorial responsibility (V. i. S. d. P.): Annette Maennel, Heinrich Böll Foundation 1st edition, June 2020 Production manager: Elke Paul, Heinrich Böll Foundation Production: Micheline Gutman, Muriel sprl, Brussels, Belgium Printed by Drukkerij Van der Poorten, Leuven, Belgium This material – except the cover image, publication covers and logos – is licensed under the Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0). For the licence agreement, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode, and a summary (not a substitute) at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en. Individual graphics from this atlas may be reproduced if the attribution “Bartz/Stockmar, CC BY 4.0” is placed next to the graphic. For graphics with insect illustrations, “Bartz/Stockmar/Ziyal, CC BY 4.0”, in case of modification “Bartz/Stockmar (M), CC BY 4.0” or “Bartz/Stockmar/Ziyal (M), CC BY 4.0”. Friends of the Earth Europe gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from the European Commission (LIFE Programme). The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with Friends of the Earth Europe. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the funder mentioned above. The funder cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. FOR ORDERS AND DOWNLOADS Heinrich Böll Foundation, Schumannstraße 8, 10117 Berlin, Germany, www.boell.de/insectatlas Friends of the Earth Europe, Rue d’Edinbourgh 26, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, www.foeeurope.org/insectatlas
INSECT ATLAS
Facts and figures about friends and foes in farming
2020TABLE OF CONTENTS
02 IMPRINT diversity of insects are heading downhill.
Plugging the gaps in the data will do nothing
06 INTRODUCTION to change this conclusion.
20 PESTICIDES
TO THE LAST BREATH,
08 TWELVE BRIEF LESSONS OR AS A LAST RESORT
ON INSECTS, AGRICULTURE Agrochemicals are used to control many organisms
AND THE WORLD that might reduce crop yields. They are becoming
ever more precise in their workings. Despite this,
10 THE BASICS more and more of them are being applied on the fields.
SIX FEET ON THE GROUND
They are on the land, in the water and in the 22 PESTICIDES IN AFRICA
air; they eat and are eaten; they pollinate BANNED IN EUROPE, COMMON IN KENYA
plants, aerate soil and clean up leaves: insects The developed world is waking up to the risks
are an integral part of ecosystems. associated with the use of pesticides. The situation
is different in the developing world: chemicals that
12 AGRICULTURE are banned in Europe and North America are still
BALANCING PRODUCTION used routinely to control pests. Stricter controls
AND SUSTAINABILITY are needed, along with better information for farmers.
Their services in pollination and soil
management make insects vital for agriculture. 24 MEAT
But farming also poses grave threats to FROM FOREST TO PASTURE,
them. We need to better maintain and restore FROM PASTURE TO FEEDLOT
biodiversity in farmed landscapes. Worldwide demand for meat sparks a chain reaction
of deforestation, monocultures and chemical
14 GLOBAL INSECT DEATHS sprays. Nature is being destroyed fastest in those
A CRISIS WITHOUT NUMBERS areas that are especially rich in insects.
The decline in both insect populations and in
the number of species is well documented, 26 CLIMATE CHANGE
though the evidence is patchy outside Europe TOO FAST TO KEEP UP
and North America. Scientists agree that A warming planet harms many species of insects.
agriculture has a negative influence. Both the But it is good for a few species, and some of
expansion and intensification of farming seem these are making themselves all too visible
to be to blame. in the fields. Experts warn that pests will cause
greater damage in the future.
16 POLLINATOR DECLINE IN EUROPE
KILLING FIELDS 28 PESTS AND BENEFICIALS
Europe’s fields and meadows used to be MAINTAINING A BALANCE
abuzz with insects, all busily flitting from flower To limit the damage that insect pests cause to
to flower in search of nectar and pollen. With crops, we call on their natural enemies – mostly
the spread of chemical-intensive farming, other insects. Biological pest control is
the insects are disappearing and the fields are all the more successful if diversity is higher.
falling silent.
30 FERTILIZER
18 INSECT NUMBERS IN GERMANY COWPATS AND SHEEP DROPPINGS,
ON THE WAY DOWN NOT GRANULATE AND SLURRY
Long-term research, individual studies and the The number and types of beetles crawling over
Red Lists all tell the same story: the numbers and the dung of grazing animals, and of flies buzzing
4 INSECT ATLAS 2020around it, indicate how intact or damaged 44 ECONOMICS
an agricultural system is. Biodiversity often INCENTIVES OR BANS,
suffers from the application of too PRICE TAGS OR RULEBOOKS
much artificial fertilizer and manure slurry. Can the value of nature be expressed in terms
of money? That is debateable. Attempts to do
32 INSECTS AS FOOD so aim to convince governments of the need
SNACKING ON SILKWORMS, to take action. They have met with little success.
LUNCHING ON LOCUSTS
Adding insects to our menus could help 46 ORGANIC FARMING
overcome the world’s food-supply problems. BUZZING AND CHIRPING
But the industrial production of insects is VS SPRAYS AND SILENCE
controversial: would it be useful or dangerous? Organic farming focuses on maintaining
soil fertility and biodiversity. But for
34 ANIMAL FEED an insect-friendly future, the whole farm
ROOTING FOR GRUBS landscape will have to change.
In economic terms, livestock feed made
from insects is still a rarity. If it can be 48 LIVING ALTERNATIVES
used to fatten chickens and pigs, the MAIL-ORDER POLLINATORS
market will take off.The environmental As farmers and the agricultural industry
sustainability is a different question. search for alternatives to pesticides, the
raising of insects for sale is becoming more
36 BEEKEEPING common – pollinators such as bumblebees,
HONEY FOR HUMANS, and pest-controllers such as ladybirds.
POLLEN FOR PLANTS
Honeybees produce honey, beeswax and 50 GENETIC ENGINEERING
royal jelly, earn money for beekeepers, and OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO THE FIELD
pollinate a wide range of crops. But many Resistance results in higher yields. This
types of wild bees are endangered – and we principle is being used to confer
know little about many species. crops with the ability to tolerate herbicides
and pests. Now, insects too are coming
38 BEES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA into the crosshairs of genetic engineering.
CLIMBING TREES TO HARVEST GOLD
In Europe, we are accustomed to bees 52 A WORLD WITHOUT INSECTS
that nest in hives, making it easy to harvest TECHNOLOGY WON’T SAVE US
the honey. In Southeast Asia, the bee species If insect diversity were to disappear, a vital part
are different: honey hunters must climb of the system that supports us would be lost.
trees to cut down the combs of wild bee Nature would change, and our diet would have
species. Even these bees are threatened by to change with it. Pollinator robots would not
modern farming methods. be able to compensate for the absence of insects.
40 GENDER 54 HISTORY
MICROLIVESTOCK AGAINST POVERTY AN ANCIENT COMMUNITY OF FATE
In poor countries, women can earn extra The relationship between humans and
money by collecting, processing and insects has long been a difficult one. The history
selling nutritious insects. But harvesting of farming is in part the history of pest
too many can threaten sustainability. management. It is only relatively recently that
we have come to appreciate the value of insects
42 POLICY as pollinators.
PLENTY OF PROMISES,
TOO LITTLE ACTION
The dramatic die-off of insects and its
possible effects on nature and humanity are 56 AUTHORS AND SOURCES
scientifically proven. But policymakers are FOR DATA AND GRAPHICS
hesitant to respond. They often shy away from
picking a fight with the agricultural industry. 58 ABOUT US
INSECT ATLAS 2020 5INTRODUCTION
I
f we were to count them, we would
have around 1.4 billion insects from an
estimated 5.5 million species for each
„ A very big chunk
of the plant world
depends on diligent
person alive today. We share our world pollination by insects.
with an incredible number and variety of
six-legged animals. Some we find beautiful;
others, with huge fangs, are perhaps a little forces and launched initiatives to protect
scary. Insects fly, crawl, tunnel, sting and insects in several EU countries. For example
bite. They are experts at hiding. And they in the German region of Bavaria, where
are at home in almost every ecosystem on 1.75 million people supported a referendum
Earth. for more nature conservation. Or in the
UK the Bee Cause in 2012 aiming to reverse
But they are facing massive threats. May- bee decline. A European citizens’ initiative,
be it is because of their seemingly infinite appropriately named “Save Bees and
numbers that we humans have for so long Farmers”, was launched in October 2019.
failed to recognize the scale of the danger
I
that insects face. Or because there is little ndustrial agriculture, with its ever-big-
long-term research on their population ger fields, its reliance on pesticides and
status. Such studies are especially scarce in its monotonous landscapes, poses one
the southern hemisphere. of the biggest challenges to the world of
insects. There is no alternative: to protect
A
very big chunk of the plant world de- insects, farming must become part of the
pends on diligent pollination by in- solution. Not just for the sake of society, but
sects. Bees must visit around 10 milli- also for the sake of farming itself – because
on plants to collect enough nectar to make it, too, needs insects. Nevertheless,
half a kilogram of honey. In doing so, they since autumn 2019, tractors have blocked
carry pollen from flower to flower. Insects the streets of Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam,
also clean up our world. They decompose and Madrid, as thousands of farmers have
manure as well as dead plants and animals, voiced their displeasure at stricter
so improving the quality of the soil. environmental protection regulations.
Their anger is a result of decades of failure
The public reacted all the more clearly to in agricultural policy.
the alarming scientific findings on insect
mortality that emerged in 2017. Becau- At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
se policymakers are not responding fast the EU committed itself to protecting biodi-
enough, citizens, environmental groups, versity. Way back then, policymakers could
farmers and political parties have joined have set a course in the right direction.
6 INSECT ATLAS 2020But nothing happened. Farmers deserve a
better set of policies: one that sets the right
incentives and policy frameworks for the
„ We do not pay enough
attention to protecting
insects. And farmers do
future. An insect-friendly type of farming not get paid for doing it either.
has to be promoted. In practical terms, that
means financial support.
agreed on during the 15th UN Biodiversity
W
e do not pay enough attention to Conference in China in 2020, where the
protecting insects. And farmers do EU could play an important role and put
not get paid for doing it either. But the protection of insects right at the top of
this is exactly what must happen. The Euro- the agenda.
pean Union should use the nearly 60 billion
B
euros it allocates to agriculture each year y presenting the facts and figures in
in a targeted manner to support climate- this Atlas we want to contribute
and insect-friendly farming practices. In to a lively debate on agriculture
the long term, we can only justify spending and insects. At the same time, we want
such sums if this money is used for projects to illustrate how diverse, colourful and
that are important to us as a society. worthy of protection the world of insects
is. Our intention is to show that agricul-
It is not enough to merely keep watch on ture and insect conservation need ambi-
the fields outside our own front doors. tious policies, not only in the European
Much of the fodder that feeds the millions Union, but also worldwide. The challen-
of animals that supply our demand for che- ges are large, and to meet them, we must
ap meat is imported from South America. seek solutions together.
There, in one of the richest areas of the glo-
be in terms of biodiversity, millions of hec-
tares of forest are being cleared to make
way for soybeans and cattle ranching. The
European Union is negotiating a free-trade
agreement with the Latin American Mer-
cosur bloc. This will allow even more cheap
farm products to enter Europe without any
trade restrictions – and harm Europe’s far-
Barbara Unmüßig
mers as well as the world of insects.
Heinrich Böll Foundation
That is why policymakers must be active Jagoda Munić
internationally. A course of action can be Friends of the Earth Europe
INSECT ATLAS 2020 712 BRIEF LESSONS
ON INSECTS, AGRICULTURE
AND THE WORLD
1 Around 90 percent of all animal species in the world are
insects. They are the MOST NUMEROUS GROUP of all living
things and are at home in all the world’s ecosystems.
2 Insects pollinate three-quarters of the most
important crops and BOOST their yields, but
also THREATEN crop harvests and stored food.
3 Agriculture and food production are intimately connected to the
presence of insects. They improve the QUALITY OF SOILS, help decompose
dead material from plants and animals, and POLLINATE crops worldwide.
4 Intensive farming, MONOCROPS and pesticides threaten
insects: both their diversity and their absolute numbers
are declining, especially in agricultural areas.
5 It is difficult to combine farming and the
protection of insects. But IT IS WORTH IT.
Worldwide, pollination by insects is valued
at hundreds of billions of dollars.
6 ORGANIC FARMING avoids using pesticides and
artificial fertilizers, but relies on crop rotations
that control insect numbers while providing
them with a range of suitable habitats.
8 INSECT ATLAS 2020INSECT ATLAS 2020 / STOCKMAR, ZIYAL
7 Humans in over 130 countries eat insects.
They contain MANY NUTRIENTS that
are effective against malnutrition.
8 Around the world, insects serve as a SOURCE OF
INCOME FOR POOR WOMEN. Those that have no land
often collect insects in the forest. If the market
is profitable, men often take over the marketing.
9 EATING LESS MEAT protects insects. Much of the soybean used to
feed intensively kept livestock comes from South America, where
species-rich landscapes are being turned into monocultures.
10 Insects can be used as livestock feed, but this is not yet
common. Feeding insects to CHICKENS and PIGS will depend
on whether this is found to be ecologically sustainable.
11 CLIMATE CHANGE harms insect habitats especially
in hot regions. In temperate areas, the balance
between beneficial and harmful insects will shift,
threatening harvests.
12 The international community
decades ago committed itself
to protecting insects. But little
has happened on the ground, and
all the INTERNATIONAL TARGETS
set so far have been missed.
INSECT ATLAS 2020 9THE BASICS
SIX FEET ON THE GROUND
They are on the land, in the water and organs. Insects have no skeleton. Their bodies are encased
in the air; they eat and are eaten; within a thin, horny layer of chitin that protects the animal
they pollinate plants, aerate soil and from water and gives its body stability along with flexibility.
Insects do not have lungs; they breathe via a system of tubes
clean up leaves: insects are an integral
and sacs known as trachea that run throughout the whole
part of ecosystems. body.
Their hairlike sensory organs, which are distributed
T
he world of insects is amazing and diverse. No other around the body, allow insects to detect odours, vibrations,
group of animals has developed such an enormous ar- temperature and humidity. They smell, taste and feel with
ray of species. We encounter them in the widest range their antennae. They have a simple nervous system, and
of shapes and sizes, and they shimmer in a rainbow of hues. their internal organs are bathed in blood. The mouthparts
They may be as big as your hand, or microscopically small. are very varied, depending on the species and the types
All of them have three pairs of legs: hence the scientific of food it eats. The Heteroptera (bugs) and beetles have
name “Hexapoda”, or “six feet”, the zoological subphylum a sharp apparatus that they use to stab other animals or
that covers insects along with a few other, less-common pierce the epidermis of plants so they can suck out the juic-
creatures. es. Butterflies, on the other hand, have a long, coiled pro-
Insects are often confused with other creepy-crawlies, boscis that they use to sip liquid food from fruits or water
such as mites, ticks and woodlice. The same is true of cen- from puddles.
tipedes and millipedes, although their names (“hundred” Science has so far described around 1.8 million species
or “thousand feet”) indicate that they cannot possibly be of animals, plants and fungi. Half of them are insects. They
insects. Spiders are also sometimes lumped together with make up around 70 percent of the world’s animal species,
insects, though they have eight legs. Nor are crabs, which and as such comprise the largest group of all living things.
have ten legs (including a pair of pincers) counted as hexa- Most insect species have not yet been discovered. In addi-
pods. tion to the million already catalogued, an estimated 4.5
Apart from all having six legs, insects have various other million more still await discovery, including 1.5 million
features in common. Their bodies consist of three segments: beetles alone. For example, three-quarters of Germany’s an-
the head with the mouth parts and thousands of individual imal species are insects: over 33,300 species in all, including
lenses clustered into compound eyes; the thorax that bears bees, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, ants
three pairs of legs, and in flying insects, the wings; and the and flies.
abdomen, which houses the digestive and reproductive The lifestyles and requirements of individual species
vary widely in terms of habitats, climate and food. There are
the so-called generalists that are flexible in their diet, along-
side specialists that are much fussier: they depend on a par-
QUICK DEATHS
ticular type of plant, animal or habitat. The viper’s bugloss
Development stages and typical population losses
of the lime butterfly (Papilio demoleus) mason bee (Osmia adunca), for example, collects pollen
only from plants of the genus Echium (including the viper’s
bugloss, Echium vulgare). Other insect species are closely
Individuals
3,500 adapted to certain types of trees, or live on dead wood. In-
3,261
sects are to be found from the seaside right up into the high
3,000 mountains. They are absent only in the open sea.
Insects pass through several stages of development,
2,500
some of which may make completely different demands on
their habitat – both in terms of their structure, features and
The Southeast Asian butterfly
2,000 is a pest in tropical citrus
interrelationships, and in their food sources. Most insects
plantations. Mortality rates lay eggs that hatch and pass through several larval stages,
from the eggs up to the adult
stage were studied on 210
perhaps along with a pupal stage. Some types of insects,
1,500
mandarin bushes in Malaysia. including dragonflies, crickets and bugs, do not undergo
a pupal stage; others, such as bumblebees, butterflies and
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / SUWARNO, ZIYAL
1,000
beetles, must pupate to produce an adult.
Insects play various roles in the ecosystem. This is also
500
70
0
eggs 1 2 3 4 5 pupa Only between one and four percent make it to
larval stages adult adulthood. Rain, spiders, mantises and birds decimate
the eggs, larvae and pupae of the lime butterfly
10 INSECT ATLAS 2020INSECT ATLAS 2020 / STORK, WIKIPEDIA
A WORLD FULL OF INSECTS
Estimated numbers of species by biogeographical regions and by membership of major zoological orders
520,000
120,000
Nearctic Palaearctic
730,000 190,000
980,000 Indomalaya 720,000
Oceania
2,230,000 Neotropic
Australasia
Afrotropic
true flies, incl. mosquitoes true bugs, incl. cicadas, aphids
Known insects by zoological order and flies (Diptera) and planthoppers (Hemiptera) other
24,000
387,000 157,000 155,000 117,000 104,000 80,000
1,024,000
beetles (Coleoptera) butterflies, moths bees, wasps, ants grasshoppers
(Lepidoptera) (Hymenoptera) (Orthoptera)
There may be over 5 million species of insects, but only
true for cultural landscapes – those that have been created 1 million have been described. Many species are threatened
or adapted by humans – as many species perform impor- with extinction before they have even been named
tant services in agriculture. A bumblebee, for example, may
pollinate up to 3,800 flowers in a single day. Insects combat
pests: almost 90 species are used in biological crop protec- butterfly caterpillars eat plants, and are therefore unwel-
tion. Insects also form the food source of other animals, come in arable farming, where they are regarded as pests.
decompose organic material, clean up water supplies, and Predators such as beetles and lacewings that eat other in-
maintain soil fertility. sects can be helpful as beneficial insects in crop fields.
Insects feed on both animal and plant food. Almost all Some groups of insects, including ants, termites and
crickets, form huge communities. An ants’ nest in Jamaica
may contain up to 630,000 individual animals. Over 3 mil-
Pollinators also include bats, birds and lion individuals were found in one South American termite
reptiles – but of all animals that help fertilize nest, and swarms of locusts may consist of over a billion in-
plants, insects are by far the most important sects.
MANY ROUTES TO THE SAME GOAL
Methods of transferring pollen from the male anthers wind pollination
in a flower to the female stigma, generalized depiction (anemophily)
neighbour pollination
(geitonogamy)
self-pollination cross-pollination
(autogamy) (xenogamy)
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / IPBES
INSECT ATLAS 2020 11AGRICULTURE
BALANCING PRODUCTION
AND SUSTAINABILITY
Their services in pollination and soil mana- Pollinators are an important part of many agricultural
gement make insects vital for agriculture. systems. By carrying pollen from one plant to another, in-
But farming also poses grave threats to them. sects enhance seed set and facilitate the mixing of genes in
both crops and non-cultivated plants. Three-quarters of the
We need to better maintain and restore
world’s most important crops exhibit a yield benefit from
biodiversity in farmed landscapes. pollinators: they contribute directly to around one-third of
global food production. Promoting wild bees – which are
E
cosystems depend on insects to function properly. usually more important pollinators than honeybees – can
Plant eaters, which chew on leaves or suck plant sap, double the yields of strawberries and cherries.
are just as important as predators that feed on herbi- Insects can be harmful as well as helpful. If they eat
vores, or – like parasitic wasps – lay their eggs in a host in- crops, instead of weeds, they can cause huge amounts of
sect, where their larvae hatch and consume their hosts from damage. Worldwide, insects are responsible for between 17
the inside. Carrion-scavengers and dung-eaters consume and 30 percent of crop-yield losses, especially in countries
dead organisms. Litter-decomposers break down dead already afflicted by hunger and poverty. Insects also cause
plants, making it easier for microbes to work. a lot of damage to crops after the harvest: postharvest losses
may be as high as 40 percent in developing countries.
Just as insects affect agriculture, so too does agriculture
affect insect populations. Alongside climate change and
GOBBLING THROUGH GRAIN
light pollution, the spread and intensification of farming
Infestation by the grain weevil Sitophilus granarius, a global pest of
stored grain, in a maize store in Homa Bay, western Kenya, by storage is by far the most important cause of the global decline in
type and with or without use of the insecticide Actellic Super Dust insect numbers. Intensified production makes agricultur-
and Phostoxin (aluminium phosphide, a gas), al landscapes structurally much simpler. Overfertilization
in percent of the damaged grains of maize leads to monotonous communities of plants that provide
habitats for only a few species.
woven polypropylene bag, no insecticide
woven polypropylene bag, with Actellic
Pesticides kill insects both directly and indirectly. The
airtight Super Grain Bag*, no insecticide frequent use of herbicides to control weeds reduces the
airtight metal silo, no insecticide diversity of plants and impoverishes the food webs of the
airtight metal silo, with Actellic insects. Insecticides usually kill insects directly. But even if
airtight metal silo, with Phostoxin they are not lethal at first, they can still prove deadly – by re-
ducing insects’ vitality and reproductive ability, by harming
100
their ability to find their resources, and by increasing their
90
susceptibility to diseases. Plant protection using chemicals
has increased steadily since the 1930s in many industrial-
80 ized countries, as well as in Latin America, Asia and Oceania.
In the 1960s, the crop-protection industry was valued at less
70 than 10 billion US dollars, and farmers could choose among
products based on around 100 different active ingredients.
50
Today the sector is worth over 50 billion US dollars, and cus-
30
tomers worldwide have a choice of about 600 different ac-
tive ingredients.
40 What is more, the number of chemical products in use
around the world continues to increase. And, their nega-
30 tive effects on the insect world are also becoming more and
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / DE GROOTE ET AL., ZIYAL
more evident. This is not just because a growing number of
20
chemicals are being applied; the formulations are also in-
creasingly effective and can be used more selectively.
10
The nature of agricultural production and the structure
0
month 1 month 2 month 3 month 4 month 5 month 6
To reduce postharvest losses during grain
* made from patented film, air pressed out, enclosed in a polypropylene bag storage, the important thing is not
insecticides but biteproof and airtight containers
12 INSECT ATLAS 2020GLOBAL SERVICE PROVIDERS
Value of agricultural production made possible by pollinators,
US dollars per hectare*
East Asia
Western Europe
USA
Eastern Australia
and New Zealand
over 1,500
251–1,500
101–250
61–100
26–60
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / LAUTENBACH ET AL.
11–25
under 10
not evaluated Central South America
no data
Middle East and its neighbours
* corrected for inflation and purchasing power, standardized for year 2000
Using cold, hard cash to measure the value of
of the agriculture landscapes can be optimised to hinder pollination services by animals – mostly insects – shows that
harmful insects and promote those that are beneficial. Pests even costly protection measures may well be profitable
benefit from monocultures and from the fact that the same
crop is planted season after season. A diverse range of crop
types, long rotations (planting different crops each season) hedges and wildflower strips have a significantly greater
and small fields all help to sustain a diverse insect popula- positive effect on insect diversity than in colourful, variegat-
tion and make it easier for farmers to maintain a balance ed landscapes where such structural elements are common.
between pests and beneficial insects. Further, conservation measures are necessary across all re-
A comparison of eight regions in Europe and North gions, because the composition of insect populations may
America shows that smaller fields lead to a marked increase be radically different from one region to another.
in species diversity. This is because insects, birds and plants
can take advantage of the wider range of resources that are
available. The edges of the fields are especially important, as
NO MORE CHOCOLATE
they enhance dispersal across landscapes. Reducing the av-
Threatened decline in production of 107 plant foods* in absence
erage field size from around 5 to 2.8 hectares in a landscape of pollination by animals, numbers of food types and examples
has the same positive effect on biodiversity as increasing the
proportion of near-natural habitats from 0.5 percent to 11 decline by
percent. over 90 percent watermelons pumpkins
40–90 percent Brazil nuts cacao
It is not just how individual fields are managed, but even
10–40 percent
more so, it is the makeup of the whole landscape that is 1–10 percent
important for maintaining insect diversity. This is because 9 13
none
7
most insect populations are not confined to small locations, no data
but range over a wide area. For example, chalk heathlands cucumbers
are home to one-third more species if they are surrounded pepper 21 30 plums
tomatoes cherries
by a high percentage of near-natural habitats instead of pre-
kidney beans apples
dominantly arable fields. Efficiency of management is high-
papaya almonds
er in monotonous, cleared landscapes, because introducing 27
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / IPBES
lemons
figs strawberries coconuts
About one-eighth of humanity’s sunflowers coffee
most important plant foods depend * used for human consumption and traded on the world market
to a large degree on pollinators
INSECT ATLAS 2020 13GLOBAL INSECT DEATHS
A CRISIS WITHOUT NUMBERS
The decline in both insect populations and able evidence is relatively thin, the researchers estimated
in the number of species is well documented, that total insect biomass is declining by 2.5 percent a year.
though the evidence is patchy outside Most of the research studies they included in their review
came from Europe, some from North America and only
Europe and North America. Scientists agree
a few from Asia, Africa or Latin America. The existence of
that agriculture has a negative influence. these gaps has been met with criticism. Some critics point-
Both the expansion and intensification of ed out that the researchers had paid too little attention to
farming seem to be to blame. studies that showed positive changes in insect numbers.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodi-
C
ompared to plants, mammals, birds and fish, insects versity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) says the proportion
are little researched. Only a small fraction has even of insect species worldwide that are endangered is un-
been classified. Particularly little research has been known. But based on the available data, this international
done on the long-term occurrence and population dynam- organization cautiously estimates that 10 percent of spe-
ics of insects outside Europe and the US. cies are endangered.
Scientists agree that several well-studied species, such In Europe and North America, research shows that the
as monarch butterflies, some groups of moths and butter- numbers and diversity of moths, butterflies, beetles, wild
flies, and some species of bees and beetles are in decline bees and other insects are clearly dwindling, though at
– especially in Western Europe and North America. There different rates in each region. Individual analyses in other
is also consensus that insect biodiversity is decreasing in parts of the world reveal the same trend. A study on the Car-
many parts of the world, while the numbers and biomass of ibbean island of Puerto Rico over a period of 36 years found
the animals vary greatly depending on the region, climate that the biomass of arthropods in the rainforest fell by be-
change and land use, as well as the adaptability of each spe- tween 78 and 98 percent (arthropods include insects along
cies. with creatures such as spiders, scorpions and millipedes).
There is no scientifically confirmed figure for the global Studies in Madagascar and New Zealand, and the Red List
decline in insects. A first review by the University of Sydney of Threatened Species compiled by the International Un-
in 2018 compiled information from research studies in var- ion for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), show that insect
ious regions. It found that the populations of 41 percent of species are at risk throughout the world. At the same time,
species are in decline, and one-third of all insect species are research in colder regions has found that insect numbers
threatened by extinction. While cautioning that the avail- there are rising. Research in Russia revealed that the popu-
lation of springtails in the tundra has increased as temper-
atures there rise.
Insects are disappearing mainly from cultivated land
SMALL IS VULNERABLE
and intensively used pastureland. Since the early 1960s in
Species of ground beetles (Carabidae) and other beetles
in New Zealand in comparison, in percent by characteristics New Zealand, the population of moths in grasslands has
fallen by 60 percent, and in intensively used areas with a
high livestock density by as much as 90 percent. The Acad-
by mobility type endangered not endangered
emy of Sciences Leopoldina, in the city of Halle, states that
flightless beetles the frequency of species in agricultural landscapes in Ger-
66.7 many has fallen by around 30 percent. In woodland, marsh-
(flighted) ground beetles land and settlements, by contrast, numbers have remained
42.2 stable or have even risen.
The scientific consensus is that agriculture has a nega-
tive influence on insects. Farmland throughout the world is
by body size in millimetres*
being used more and more intensively. Applications of fer-
over 30 tilizer and pesticides have risen significantly in an attempt
15.9 to squeeze out higher yields per hectare. Above all, though,
the type of land use has been changing. In just 300 years,
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / LESCHEN ET AL., ZIYAL
20–29
25.0 between about 1700 and 2007, the areas of arable land and
10–19 pastureland both increased fivefold, with big expansions
31.8 especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Humans
under 10
36.4
Ground beetles in New Zealand are
* share of ground beetles of all beetle types studied: 40.9 percent threatened mainly by the expansion
of cattle pastures for dairying
14 INSECT ATLAS 2020INSECTSATLAS 2020 / SÁNCHEZ-BAYO/WYCKHUYS
EVIDENCE CIRCUMSTANTIAL BUT SUBSTANTIAL
Statements on the decline in insects in 73 studies (as of 2019)
terrestrial
28 38 56
threatened declining number of studies aquatic
33 44 17
insects
31 41 73 beetles (Coleoptera)
34 49 12
mayflies (Ephemeroptera)
geographical distribution of studies 27 37 3
wasps, bees, ants (Hymenoptera)
44 46 21
butterflies, moths (Lepidoptera)
1 34 53 17
43
18 2
2 dragonflies (Odonata)
1 13 37 6
1 grasshoppers, crickets (Orthoptera)
1 49 1
1 stoneflies (Plecoptera)
1 29 35 7
1
caddisflies (Trichoptera)
1 63 68 1
A great deal of research on insects focuses on particular
cleared forests, drained swamps, and converted steppes species, groups and geographical areas. Global statements
and savannas to fields and pastureland. Wild animal and are often useless. But it is still possible to see some trends
plant species that require undisturbed habitats declined or
disappeared.
Between 1980 and 2000, over half of the new agricul- tant reasons for deforestation are to clear pastureland for
tural land in the tropics was created by clearing forests. cattle, establish oilpalm plantations, and opencast mining
Between 2000 and 2010, the figure was 80 percent. Two of minerals.
countries, Indonesia and Brazil, were responsible for over The demand for farm products is rising across the
half of this tropical forest loss. But it is precisely in the trop- globe: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
ical countries of Latin America and Asia that the numbers Nations predicts a 60 percent increase by 2050. That will go
and diversity of insects are especially high. The most impor- hand in hand with an expansion in agricultural land – de-
pending on rising yields per unit area – of up to 100 million
hectares. But these developments can be averted. If the de-
More than half of all specialized publications veloped world were to consume less meat and if agricultur-
point to changes in habitat as the most al products were no longer used as fuel, the pressure on the
important factor in the decline in insect populations land areas could be reduced considerably.
NEED THAT HABITAT
Main causes of decline in insect populations 5.0 warming
genetic traits
according to scientific literature,
distribution in percent pathogens
1.3
1.9 intensive farming
biological traits 15.8
23.9
12.6 53.5 habitat changes
ecological traits
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / SÁNCHEZ-BAYO/WYCKHUYS
Strategies to fight the major
causes of insect decline must 3.1 urbanization
be combined. According to
the authors of a metastudy, other pollutants deforestation
10.1 10.7
the most effective way to
reverse the decline of insects pollution 25.8
drainage
is to recreate their habitats, to 12.6 6.3 8.8
drastically reduce the use of artificial fertilizer 1.9
agrochemicals and switch to
fire
1.9
less intensive farming methods. pesticides
introduced species
INSECT ATLAS 2020 15POLLINATOR DECLINE IN EUROPE
KILLING FIELDS
Europe’s fields and meadows used to be Red List. A further 5.2 percent, or 101 species, are consid-
abuzz with insects, all busily flitting from ered “near threatened”. However, for more than 55 per-
flower to flower in search of nectar and cent of all species not enough data is available to evaluate
their risk status. As more data become available, many of
pollen. With the spread of chemical-intensive
the currently unclassified bees may prove to be threatened
farming, the insects are disappearing as well.
and the fields are falling silent. Europe’s most widely managed pollinator is the hon-
eybee. Most of its wild and feral colonies are already lost,
I
n Europe, the main pollinators are bees, hoverflies, but- and existing colonies are managed by beekeepers. For
terflies and moths, plus some beetles and wasps. Around some years, honeybee losses were severe and widespread
84 percent of crop species and 78 percent of wildflower throughout much of Europe, but since 2004 the number of
species in the EU depend at least in part on animal pollina- hives has increased steadily. In 2018, there were more than
tion, and up to almost 15 billion euros of the EU’s annual 17 million hives in the EU.
agricultural output is directly attributed to insect pollina- Intensive agricultural production is considered one of
tors. This ecological and economic importance makes the the most important drivers for the decline in pollinators.
current considerable decline in pollinators worrying. De- Land-use changes for agriculture and agricultural intensifi-
creases in wild bees and hoverflies have been clearly docu- cation result in the loss and degradation of habitats, and less
mented in parts of Europe. At least one out of ten bee and crop diversity in the fields. This results in a loss of diversity
butterfly species is threatened with extinction. in flora, reducing food supplies and nesting opportunities.
The lack of data makes it difficult to determine how Exposure to insecticides poses an additional threat to polli-
many species are actually at threat: is it possible to count nators.
those species for which no (or inadequate) data exist? Of the Research in Sweden shows that there is not only a de-
2,000 wild bee species in Europe, 9.2 percent are thought to crease in abundance – there is also a reduction in diversi-
be threatened with extinction, according to the European ty. Bumblebee populations there started changing in the
1960s. Two generalist species have increased in relative
abundance: they now completely dominate the bee com-
munity at the expense of other specialized species. This may
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT DESPITE BREXIT
be related to the loss and fragmentation of key bumblebee
Flight altitude in metres and number of hoverflies
(e.g., Episyrphus balteatus) during flight from the European habitats in the agricultural landscape, such as hay meadows
continent to southern England and semi-natural pastures.
The butterfly’s status is equally endangered. Of the 482
metres
1,150 different species found in the EU, 7 percent are threatened
with extinction, and another 11 percent are considered as
“near threatened”. About a third of Europe’s butterfly spe-
950
cies are declining, with a 39 percent drop since 1990. Re-
searchers also attribute this decrease to agricultural inten-
750 sification, which leads to uniform, almost sterile grasslands
for butterflies. The use of fertilizer reduces plant diversity
on the pasture, while high frequency mowing and haymak-
550
ing are particularly detrimental for pollinators.
Agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides have
350 a significant negative impact on pollinators. They do not
just affect the local area where they are applied, as once
thought, but influence the occurrence of pollinators on a
150
large scale across Europe. Even though the EU’s regulatory
system for pesticides is widely regarded as the most rigor-
0 ous in the world and the EU has been promoting reduced
0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 pesticide use and the adoption of integrated pest manage-
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / WOTTON ET AL.
numbers
ment practices, the amount of pesticides used in the EU is
Between one and four billion hoverflies with a biomass of 80 tonnes, including
not decreasing.
many marmalade hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus), fly each year from the
European Continent to southern England. They and their larvae eat up to 10
trillion aphids, pollinate billions of plants, before returning to the Continent as
a new generation, 1 billion stronger and with 28 tonnes more biomass. By riding
the wind, they can travel long distances and may fly up to 1,000 metres high, Billions of Episyrphus balteatus hoverflies transport
according to radar measurements.
pollen across the Channel every year in either direction,
helping maintaining biodiversity on both sides
16 INSECT ATLAS 2020TEMPERATURES UP, NUMBERS DOWN
Most important drivers for European pollinators including bumblebees, and climate change-related change
in bumblebee species richness, model calculation based on thermal and precipitation positions
main influencing factors, change in bumblebees species richness,
percent 1901–1974 to 2000–2014,
climate percent
land cover -35 to -30
soil < -30 to -25
land use intensity < -25 to -20
(e. g., effects of agrochemicals) < -20 to -15
< -15 to -10
100
< -10 to -5
90 < -5 to -2.5
< -2.5 to 2.5
80 > 2.5 to 5
> 5 to 10
70 > 10 to 20
no data
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / FRANZÉN/POTTS ET AL., SOROYE ET AL.
60
50
40
30
hoverflies bumblebees
20
butterflies solitary bees
10
0
Not just threatened, but already gone – in
Neonicotinoid insecticides have been proven to be par- some parts of Europe, one-third of
ticularly harmful to bees. A report presented by the Europe- the bumblebee species have disappeared
an Food Safety Authority in 2018 confirmed that most uses
of neonicotinoids pose a risk to wild bees and honeybees.
This was based on a review of more than 1,500 studies. A licy need to be shifted to support high nature value farm-
study covering 2,000 hectares across three EU countries, ing, organic farming, and agroecological systems. Stricter
found evidence of harm to honeybees and wild bees. It con- regulations for pesticide approvals are also needed. These
cluded that in bumblebees and solitary bees, higher con- measures will help strike a balance between agriculture,
centrations of neonic residues found in nests led to fewer habitats and insects in the EU. Since political decision mak-
queens. Another study shows that honeybee colonies that ers have not yet acted appropriately, the EU-wide citizen
were chronically exposed to neonicotinoids performed initiative “Save Bees and Farmers” is now needed to show
worse in the short-term: the number of adult bees fell (–28%), decision makers how important this issue is to European
as did the amount of brood (–13%), honey production (–29%) citizens.
and pollen collection (–19%). There is also evidence that the
use of neonicotinoids is a factor in the decline of farmland
butterflies in England.
LIKE A HUNDRED YEARS AGO
As a result of overwhelming scientific evidence, the EU
Seed yields in red clover fields in Sweden,
has banned and restricted the use of some neonicotinoids. in kilograms per hectar
Member states can still apply for emergency use. This au-
600
thorization is only meant for a plant-protection crisis where
other means of protecting the crop are not available – but 500
it has been used more widely. Seven countries have been
400
investigated for inappropriate use of this authorization pro-
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / BOMMARCO ET AL.
cess. In addition, new neonicotinoids – such as Sulfoxaflor 300
– have been approved by the EU.
Farming subsidies from the Common Agriculture Po- 200
100
No red clover seeds without bumblebees – the 0
transformation of hay meadows and pastures into cropland 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
has deprived the pollinators of their habitat
INSECT ATLAS 2020 17INSECT NUMBERS IN GERMANY
ON THE WAY DOWN
Long-term research, individual studies Apart from the Krefeld research,other long-term stud-
and the Red Lists all tell the same story: ies have been conducted in Germany on the populations of
the numbers and diversity of insects butterflies, wild bees and cicadas. They all show a decline in
the number of species, and partly also a dramatic fall in the
are heading downhill. Plugging the gaps
population density of the insects enumerated. In the case of
in the data will do nothing to change butterflies, this mostly affects the specialist species. These
this conclusion. include butterflies whose caterpillars depend on particular
food plants. Long-term counts in several parts of Germany
E
ntomological research – the study of insects – is not reveal permanent losses in over 70 percent of such species.
normally the stuff of headlines. But one finding hit Almost half of the 561 wild bee species are in decline.
the news around the world: in parts of Germany, more Apart from habitat loss, the widespread use of highly effec-
than 75 percent of the flying insects have disappeared. The tive neonicotinoid insecticides may have contributed to
study, published in October 2017, is based on data from the the marked drop in these bee populations. On the Swabian
Entomologischer Verein Krefeld (Krefeld Entomological Jura, a range of hills in southern Germany, the number of
Society). Members of this society had studied the occur- nests of the common furrow-bee, Lasioglossum calceatum,
rence of flying insects over a period of 27 years in over 60 shrank by 95 percent over a period of 46 years. In the Isar
locations, mostly in protected areas in the state of North- River floodplains in Dingolfing, Bavaria, three-quarters of
Rhine Westphalia. Although the study has been criticized wild-bee species have disappeared in just 10 years. Other
for methodological shortcomings, it provides long-term
data on the populations of whole groups of insects – data
that had never before been collected anywhere. The data Among those insect groups whose numbers have fallen
came from various parts of Germany and show a clear over the long term (50 to 150 years), almost half have also
trend. declined over the short term (in the last 10 to 25 years)
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / RIES
ON THE WAY DOWN ALMOST EVERYWHERE
Red Lists of insects in Germany, acute trends in insect groups declining in the long term,
distribution by percent of species
decline no change increase insufficient data
insect groups und number of species
hoverflies 176
dagger flies, dance flies, etc 622
robber flies 45
drain flies 12
biting midges 34
solitary midges 3
meniscus midges 10
butterflies 115
owlet moths 186
silk moths, sphinx moths etc 146
geometer moths, hook-tips 152
pyraloid moths 103
caddisflies 294
bees 233
ants 65
sawflies 150
ground beetles 252
water beetles 114
cicadas 322
grasshoppers, crickets 41
cockroaches 4
earwigs 3
total insect species 3,082*
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
* without invasive species, wasps, phantom midges (Chaoboridae) and thrips (Thysanoptera)
18 INSECT ATLAS 2020ALTERNATIVE REALITIES
Types of central European farm landscapes extensively managed protected areas, nature reserves unpaved road
undergoing change intensively managed new flowering strips and areas paved road
dry hilltops, levelled by farm fields function as
damp hollows machinery insect corridors
no more
asphalting
earthen and biodiverse field edges disappearance of stubble
larger fields
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / OPPERMANN ET AL.
grassed paths and border structures
species-rich use of pesticides and
pastures and fields artificial fertilizer
re-extensified areas
50 m 50 m 50 m
extensive management intensive management management for nature
Maintaining and restoring insect
groups of insects have also been decimated. Populations populations requires many changes, large and
of cicadas on dry grasslands in eastern Germany have de- small, both in the fields and outside them
clined by 54 percent over a timeframe of 40 to 60 years. In
wet grasslands in Lower Saxony, losses were as high as 78
percent. concentrate, which the livestock excrete along with their
Overall, the research in Germany shows that losses are dung. These residues go on to kill the beneficial beetles that
not confined to particular localities but occur across the rely on the dung.
country. Species with widely differing lifestyles and habi- In a new study, experts from Krefeld analyse the decline
tats are affected. By far the highest insect losses are in open in terms of individual insect groups and species. For hov-
parts of the landscapes. Such areas include arable land and erflies – the most important pollinators besides bees – the
meadows. According to an international team of research- number of specimens in a protected area in North-Rhine
ers led by the Technical University of Munich, the insect Westphalia sank from nearly 17,300 to around 2,700 be-
biomass in grassland areas fell by two-thirds between 2008 tween 1989 and 2014: a loss of 84 percent. Of the former
and 2017. During the same period, forests lost 40 percent of 143 species, only 104 were found 25 years later. The pro-
their insect biomass. ject Diversity of Insects in Nature protected Areas, or DINA,
The Red Lists are the most comprehensive collections launched in 2019, is looking at the causes: over a period of
of information on the threat status of individual species. four years, the scientists will study as closely as possible the
The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation has factors that give rise to insect mortality. They will try to de-
compiled them for the last 40 years. Continually expand- termine how important these factors are. The results will
ed, they portray the population developments of around help set priorities so as to reverse the current trends.
15,000 insect species over a period of 50 to 150 years. That
means they cover the situation of just under half the 33,000
insect species in Germany. The gaps that exist in the data
INVENTOR OF LIVESTOCK FARMING
are because many species are difficult to identify, and there
Diet of wood ants (Formica) by components, in percent
are not enough specialists to document their numbers on a
continuous basis. The Red Lists show that one in every two
animal cadavers, fungi
species covered is in decline. Only a small fraction of spe-
0.3 % 0.2 % seeds
cies – around two percent – are on the increase. The past
few decades have seen particularly striking losses among
tree sap 4.5 %
ant species. More than 90 percent of the 107 species found
in Germany are decreasing.
A large number of beetles have now been placed under
protection because they are threatened. The lack of dung
beetles can be determined from the condition of cow dung insects 33 %
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / WELLENSTEIN, ZIYAL
on the fields. In many locations they no longer degrade, 62 % honeydew
leading to the formation of “concrete cowpats”. One of the
causes is the presence of insecticide residues in animal-feed
Farming is one threat to ants in Germany, in part because of overfertilized
grazing land. But ants were keeping livestock long before humans: they cultivate
aphids, protect them from predators, and milk them for the honeydew they
It’s not a lack of food, it’s the disappearance produce. A colony with a million ants harvests around 200 litres of honeydew
a year, supplemented with some 11 million insects weighing 28 kilograms.
of their habitat: ants are the most
threatened group of insects in Germany
INSECT ATLAS 2020 19PESTICIDES
TO THE LAST BREATH,
OR AS A LAST RESORT
Agrochemicals are used to control many formed out the agrochemicals divisions of DowDuPont.
organisms that might reduce crop yields. The OECD, a club of developed countries, says that in 2017
They are becoming ever more precise in the pesticide sales of Bayer alone totalled 11.2 billion US
dollars, followed by Syngenta at 9.4 billion, and BASF and
their workings. Despite this, more and more
DowDuPont at between 7 and 8 billion US dollars each. In-
of them are being applied on the fields. cluding seeds sales, the figures are even higher.
Pesticides are one of the main causes of insect mortal-
T
he quantity of pesticides applied on crops has risen ity because they affect the entire ecosystem. Depending
fivefold since 1950. Even though organic farms make on their target organisms, they can be classified as insecti-
do without them wherever possible, conventional cides, herbicides, fungicides and others. Insecticides elimi-
farms apply over 4 million tonnes of chemical pesticides nate pests on crops, but other plants are inevitably also af-
a year worldwide. Global turnover in 2018 for these mate- fected. Neonicotinoids, for example, now the world’s most
rials totalled 56.5 billion euros. By 2023, according to esti- widely used type of pesticide, harm many species, includ-
mates, it may climb to as much as 82 billion euros. ing bees and bumblebees. They damage the insects’ nerv-
Four chemicals giants share two-thirds of the global ous systems, causing the bees to lose their sense of naviga-
market: BASF and Bayer in Germany, Syngenta in Swit- tion. Bumblebees even lose their sense of smell.
zerland (but Chinese-owned), and Corteva, a newcomer Herbicides are targeted against weeds. Selective her-
bicides are effective against specific types of plants, while
non-selective herbicides, or “total weedkillers”, kill almost
all plants. The most widely used non-selective herbicide
GOOD GUYS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
globally is glyphosate. Its sales have risen sharply because
Survival rates of two species of green lacewings of the genus
Chrysoperla with applications of various pesticides, larva to adult, it is used in combination with genetically modified crops,
in percent especially soybeans. These plants are designed to with-
stand the pesticide, which kills all the other plants nearby.
Chrysoperla carnea Chrysoperla johnsoni As a result, insects find fewer flowers and lose their source
of food. The herbicides may also harm insects directly. Ex-
0
periments by the University of La Plata in Argentina show
Novaluron that glyphosate can kill lacewings, beneficial insects that
0
prey on aphids.
The highest applications of pesticides are in Asia, espe-
0
Lambda-Cyhalothrin cially in China, India and Japan. Chinese farmers now ap-
0
ply three times more than the global average. The Ameri-
cas come next, with North America, Brazil and Argentina
7 consuming the largest quantities of pesticides in absolute
Cyantraniliprol
13 terms. Africa consumes only about two percent of the glob-
al total.
20 There is a lack of long-term research on the effects of
Chlorantraniliprol
27 pesticides on biodiversity and insects in Africa and Latin
America. Pesticides could have a big impact on insect mor-
33 tality in areas where applications are high and where regis-
Spinetoram
40 tration is poorly regulated. Pesticides banned decades ago
in the European Union are still used in South African vine-
INSECT ATLAS 2020 / AMARASEKARE, SHEARER, ZIYAL
87
yards and in vegetable production in Kenya. As discussed at
Water (control) the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in 2019, Bay-
80
er sells twelve active ingredients in Brazil that are no longer
permitted in the EU, including the insecticide Thiodicarb,
The larvae of the Chrysoperla lacewings are sometimes called “aphid lions”
which is effective against harmful butterfly species.
because they consume large numbers of pests. In the USA, two of the species
that are typically found in fruit and walnut orchards were exposed to five
common active ingredients of pesticides. The consequences were so serious for
the lacewings that secondary pest outbreaks occurred because there were too
few beneficial insects to prey on the pests. As a result, farmers have to apply yet Pesticides that kill beneficials along with pests often
more pesticides, which then kill even more beneficials.
worsen pest problems. The solution is integrated pest
management, which uses as few chemicals as possible
20 INSECT ATLAS 2020You can also read
