Declining Bug Populations

It is easy to not notice an unpleasant something’s absence. Bug populations are declining by about 2% per year. That means a drop of about a third in two decades. Fewer clouds of bugs hitting windshields. Less of a need for bug screens on windows. Unfortunately, species extinction has consequences (remembering that humans are a species.) One hypothesis is that extra atmospheric CO2 is making bugs’ food supplies less nutritious. Impacts on the bottom of the food chain, like in plants, rises through the rest of the food chain, which we’re at the top of (unless you live among lions, tigers, and bears.) With projections of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide comes the possibility of increasingly less resilient food chains, something we rely on.

“Malnourished Bugs” – The Conversation