5 vital roles insects play in our ecosystem
As insect populations plummet, scientists show what the world would lose if bugs disappear.
This story appears in the May 2020 issue of National Geographic magazine.
Insects may sting or startle us, but they help keep the planet livable. As some insect populations plummet, scientists are scrambling to understand why—is it climate change, pesticides, loss of habitat to farms and cities?—and to identify some of the many unknown species before they’re gone.
