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Glossary

Insect deaths

Insect death is the decline in the diversity, number and biomass of insects that has been observed by researchers in many areas of the world since the 1980s. Since insects play key roles in numerous biosystems as pollinators, food and in other functions, the development attracts a lot of concern. In agriculture, insects are both beneficial organisms and pests.

Although pesticides and agriculture are often blamed for insect death in the media debate, science sees a multitude of reasons for this development. These include a lack of habitats, surface sealing, the introduction of substances into the environment, light pollution, an increase in traffic, electromagnetic radiation and inadequate protection of biotopes. Current study results show that the development of insect populations strongly depends on region, climatic zone and time. While the number of insects living on land is declining, an increase can be observed in insect species living in water.

Sources

Terms from the glossary