Many people despise insects; in fact, 25% of people are scared of bugs. Unfortunately for those people, we need bugs. They pollinate our plants, with 75% of plants relying on insects such as bees for pollination. However, with recent climate change, it’s not looking so good for our little workers.
Mass extinctions are not a very common issue. They only happen rarely, such as the End Ordovician event, which occurred approximately 444 million years ago. Natural disasters commonly cause extinctions, as seen when woolly mammoths went extinct due to climate change. However, the current mass extinction is the first to be caused by humans. And that mass extinction is currently happening to bugs.
40% of bugs are going extinct, which includes bees, moths, butterflies, and spiders. In fact, some have already gone extinct, including the levuana moth and Lake Pedder earthworm.
How does this affect you? If bugs disappear, we lose a massive pollinator and possibly a large number of plants. We would also lose honey, dyes, and silk.
Honey and beeswax are very common foods, used in cooking or to just eat alone. If we lose silk, then many luxury clothes wouldn’t be made anymore, and other silk items would rise in price.
Consequently, this would also result in a loss of market. We purchase silk and honey, but losing them could reflect terribly on the sellers, and they wouldn’t be making money.
Carmine color, used in Nerds Gummy Clusters, Yoplait yogurt, and some cake mixes, is a dye made from crushed cochineal insects. It creates a deep, pure red and is much healthier than Red 40. Losing carmine color and other insect-made dyes could make us lose healthier dyes, and people would resort to using chemical dyes more.
What did we do for this to happen? Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but also not doing much for climate change, caused this. Along with artificial light pollution and deforestation. Due to this, insect populations are going down 2% each year.
However, it’s not all bad, because you can help. You can plant native plants outside and use non-harmful chemicals to fertilize the plants. You can also try to be more eco-friendly; rather than using fewer artificial lights, you can use more natural lights. The next best thing is to spread the word. Tell your friends, family, and just post about this on social media.
In conclusion, whilst the bug mass extinction is a tragedy, you can still help save our little workers. Like famous American biologist, E.O. Wilson once said, “Insects are the little things that run the world.”
