"At present, a third of all insect species are threatened with extinction." - 'Hardly any insects left' -The study, to be published in the journal Biological Conservation, pulled together data from more than 70 datasets from across the globe, some dating back more than a century. By a large margin, habitat change -- deforestation, urbanisation, conversion to farmland -- emerged as the biggest cause of insect decline and extinction threat. "There are hardly any insects left -- that's the number one problem," said Vincent Bretagnolle, an ecologist at Centre for Biological Studies. Other insects filling the void left by declining species probably cannot compensate for the sharp drop in biomass, the study said.

Source: Bangkok Post February 11, 2019 16:52 UTC