In 2017, Plos One, sounded the alarm. The study showed that
the biomass of flying insects - the combined weight of all
individuals - decreased by 75% over 25 five years in about 60
nature reserves in Germany. A real "insect apocalypse",
according to some experts, "writes the Swiss newspaper Le
Temps. On September 7, the Swiss Academy of Natural
Sciences issued a report confirming the seriousness of the
situation. The authors of this work synthesized various sources
of information, including the Red Book, as well as monitoring
programs. other species, such as the Swiss Biodiversity
Monitoring Assessment of the threat status of 6% of insect
species The news was bad: the report confirms a sharp decline
in insect diversity in Switzerland compared to the situation at
the beginning of the 20th century Almost 60% of the 1,153
species listed in The Red Book, are currently under threat of
extinction or potential threat. For example, more than 40% of
wild bees in Switzerland are endangered, and 10% of them
(about sixty species) have already disappeared, "the newspaper
notes. "Of the 226 registered species of butterflies, 78 (35%)
are endangered, and 44 (19%) are under potential threat.
Among coleopteran insects (beetles, ladybugs, etc.) of the 256
assessed species, 118 (46%) are endangered and 47 (18%) are
potentially endangered Insects in agricultural areas and in the
aquatic environment are experiencing the greatest decline in
numbers.
But the population is harmful to the ecology of domestic bees,
bred by people, has grown. As many as 13 new species of these
winged parasites have appeared. The authors of the report point
out that the mechanisms of insect extinction are well known.
The disappearance of their habitats as a result of the intensification
of agriculture, as well as the drainage of wetlands, is especially
noted.
