Can the insect killing still be stopped at all?

The importance of insects for ecosystems is underestimated by many people

A recent survey has shown that many people underestimate the importance of insects for ecosystems. This is fatal, especially because insect killing has reached massive proportions in recent decades. Is it possibly unstoppable??

80 percent fewer insects

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has recently reported that humans have killed 60 percent of all vertebrates in the last 50 years. An even greater decline can be seen in the insects. "Today there are 80 percent fewer insects in the air than in the days of our grandparents," says a statement from the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. And dying is likely to continue.

According to experts, there are about 80 percent fewer insects in the air today than in the days of our grandparents. Can the insect killing still be stopped at all? (Image: Alekss / fotolia.com)

Fatal consequences for humans

Scientists have been observing a massive insect killing for years. Above all, bee mortality has fatal consequences for humans.

Among other things, the insects play an essential role in the ecosystems and agriculture, because they pollinate the flowers of crops and thus directly influence the harvest.

However, younger and less educated people in particular underestimate the importance of insects for ecosystems.

The biologist Bruno Streit, Senior Professor of Ecology and Evolution at Goethe University and his colleagues at Bio-Frankfurt recently found this out in a survey of 1,979 people.

In an interview for the online magazine of the Goethe University reflected controversy over causes and possible solutions.

Creeping disaster

"Wasps are important environmental regulators," Streit argues, "but who thinks about them sitting on the plum cake?"

According to the information, there are 80 percent fewer insects in the air today than in the days of our grandparents. Older people regret the creeping disappearance of buzzing diversity more than younger ones. Maybe because they do not know it otherwise.

But according to the survey, the correct assessment of insect deaths is also a question of education. This distinguishes the creeping disaster most from the sudden, the consequences of which are directly noticeable.

"If all insects had disappeared suddenly, all insect-pollinated flowering plants would disappear, dismantling and conversion processes in the forest would largely come to a halt," explains the biologist.

"Birds, bats, hedgehogs and shrews that specialize in insect food would be largely or completely dying out," argues Streit.

Only in the course of many millions of years could theoretically adjust to a new corresponding diversity. "It will not happen that far, but a decrease in songbirds has already occurred," he adds.

Regional self-sufficiency could increase

Of course, this also has economic consequences. For example, on Chinese orchards, fruit pollination is sometimes done by people on ladders.

Streit believes that in the short term, some products such as fruit will be more expensive.

"But if the globalized world economy shrinks or collapses - a scenario that we are currently hiding - and the population in our country is increasingly turning into regional self-sufficiency, the disadvantages of an irreversibly impoverished nature will be drastically reduced," warns the expert.

Because with biological diversity, genetic resources also disappear from the earth. Bred plants and animals are mostly genetically impoverished and specialized. This increases the risk that they will fall victim to future parasitic or climatic stress.

In addition, many of the little-known wild species also contain substances or abilities that could be interesting for us in the future.

Sensitize people to the effects of insect killing

For Bruno Streit and his colleagues at Bio-Frankfurt it is a big issue how to make people aware of the consequences of insect killing.

"One can show the colourfulness of the privet swarmer, the impressive size of the stag beetle and the usefulness of the many pollinators for wild plants and our fruit to explain," explains the scientist.

"But people with disgust, phobias or notorious disinterest in 'creepy-crawlies' quickly reach the limits of their power of persuasion," Streit explains from experience.

Therefore, many colleagues used the honey bee as a popular figure. But this is just a bred high-performance farm animal, which - as is often assumed - regionally some of the currently still about 500 wild bees significantly under existential pressure.

Radical changes needed

Can the insect extinction be stopped at all? "Basically, it would still be possible to bring the original insect fauna back to crawling and humming. But to do that, our landscape and agricultural concept would have to be radically changed, "says Streit.

Pessimists argue that it will not be politically feasible to stop the endless monocultures, regulated watercourses, biocidal fogging and the transport of pollutants and fertilizers through wind, precipitation and leachate.

In addition, hedges, flower meadows and other open spaces would have to be generated again at the expense of the agricultural areas, which are to a large extent used for the production of animal feed.

That would generate costs, wage cuts and social tensions and ultimately reduce competitiveness on the world market.

As a compromise Streit and his colleagues demand the preservation of as much structural diversity and low burden as possible and socially acceptable. They are committed to strengthening the emotional connection with nature in children and adults who are still close to nature.

In addition to the traditional protected areas, they also plead for the establishment of "wilderness" areas.

"Then the non-biologist has another chance to see and experience how nature develops," says Streit.

"Because the understanding does not come simply by visiting the zoological and botanical gardens or museums, as valuable and important as these are additional motivational aids and remain!", So the biologist. (Ad)