Where have insects gone?

From bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the world’s food supply to butterflies that make places a bit more pretty, land-dwelling bugs are disappearing at a rate of just under 1% a year, according to a study in Thursday, April 23, 2020 edition of the journal Science.

Section:Gallery

Fri., April 24, 2020

Beekeeper Sean Kennedy inspects a swarm of honey bees, Monday, April 20, 2020, in Washington. From bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the world’s food supply to butterflies that make places a bit more pretty, land-dwelling bugs are disappearing at a rate of just under 1% a year, according to a study in Thursday, April 23, 2020 edition of the journal Science.

Andrew Harnik Associated Press
A clouded sulphur butterfly is photographed in September 2019, in Deering, N.H. In an April 2020 interview, Ann Swengel, a citizen scientist tracking butterflies for more than 30 years, recalled that a few decades ago she would drive around Wisconsin “look out in a field and you’d see all these Sulphur butterflies around. I can’t think of the last time that I’ve seen that.”

Michael Thomas Associated Press
Beekeeper Erin Gleeson looks at a honey bee that landed on her glove, Monday, April 20, 2020, in Washington. From bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the world’s food supply to butterflies that make places a bit more pretty, land-dwelling bugs are disappearing at a rate of just under 1% a year, according to a study in Thursday, April 23, 2020 edition of the journal Science.

Andrew Harnik Associated Press