What Would Happen If All Insects Disappeared? | Unveiled

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What Would Happen if All Insects Disappeared?</h4>

Do you ever feel like there are less insects now than there were when you were a kid? It’s not just in your head! Scientists believe that insect populations around the world really are falling. And, what’s more, that the declines could have a major, wider impact. It’s not yet a total extinction that’s on the cards, true… but if the insects ever weren’t here then we would certainly feel the effects.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; what would happen if all insects disappeared?

On the one hand, nature is robust. Over the billions of years of life on Earth, it has evolved and adapted to ever-changing conditions. In the broadest sense, it appears to roll with the punches. However, it’s fair to say that the natural world is also fragile. It’s built around a number of key systems - like the water cycle and the food chain - all of which can collapse under strain. 

The insects of our world aren’t usually given top billing when thinking about nature and the environment, but nevertheless they are a vital (and vast) part of all that goes on. In fact, in terms of biomass, insects account for around half of all animal species that there are - providing around one gigaton of all there is. Figures differ, but there are up to one million species of known insect on Earth… and perhaps up to ten million yet to be discovered. And yet, in recent years, there are increasing numbers of studies to show that either all insects or various types of insects are in decline. And also that the diversity of insects is narrowing. As to why this is happening, the picture isn’t yet entirely clear, but it’s thought that intensive, large-scale farming practices are much to blame. Not only due to the use of insecticides to get rid of unwanted pests, but also due to the conversion of huge areas of land into sprawling, controlled environments - into regimented fields. From the point of view of agriculture, there are perhaps clear and understandable reasons for both measures… but, from the point of view of nature, it’s now an open and dangerous world for insect life. Some have even brandished the current situation as an insect apocalypse.

So, what if the worst case scenario really did unfold here, and insects disappeared altogether? The first major problem would be the collapse of the food chain. Insects form a crucial level in the natural order of things, as they bridge between plants and animals. Insects eat the leaves, animals eat the insects, bigger animals eat the smaller animals that eat the insects, and so on. Remove the insects, then, and it’s like the rug is pulled from beneath everything else. Smaller animals have nothing to eat, and die… which leads to bigger animals having nothing to eat, and they die. All the way up to the top of the food chain, and to human beings. Think about all of the incredible life that will have been lost along the way. Without insects, most birds would perish; without them, many marine animals would struggle to survive. Without insects, most reptiles would starve. And, even if, when fully grown, an animal species doesn’t feed directly on insects, then there are lots of examples in which the young of that species does. Basically any instance of carnivorous life would be terminally impacted.

From the specifically human point of view, we would at least have the option to switch to a vegetarian diet en masse. Except, we actually wouldn’t have that option, at all. Because the second major problem in an insect-free world is the absence of pollinators. These are the creatures (predominantly insects) that move from flowering plant to flowering plant, encouraging the growth and replenishment of the natural world. Allowing, also, for the growth of fruits, vegetables, and vital crops that form the basis of what we eat. Understandably, bees and butterflies are probably the most well known pollinators of all, seeing as it’s fairly easy to witness them at work. But, really, there are thousands of pollinating species out there, all of which would be gone in this alternate scenario. Birds also play a crucial role in pollination but, given the collapse of the food chain, there would be less and less of them around, too. Consider even ants and beetles, of which there are currently uncountable millions. True, you’re not likely to see them floating in and out of a richly-petalled flower anytime soon. They’re not exactly the poster child for how the natural world works. And they don’t exactly pollinate the surrounding area, in the common sense. But, as they do go about their business on the ground, they too are moving organic materials around. Transferring dust and sediment and energy; shaping and reshaping the environment, as they go. All of this takes place largely unseen to the human eye, but it is always happening around us. And, again, if it suddenly were to stop happening, then it wouldn’t take long for us to notice the negative impact at our level.

There are perhaps two major, apparent benefits of an insect-free existence, although even they are dubious given the near total destruction of everything else that would happen. First, no insects means no insecticides. And, as the spraying of crops with chemicals has been variously linked to a number of illnesses in other animals and consumers, and to the development of some cancers, this on the face of it would be a good thing. Second, no insects means no insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, which currently kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. Again, the loss of malaria would clearly constitute a major improvement for humankind. However, it remains the case that even without malaria specifically to worry about, and even without the effects of insecticides to deal with, the quality and prospects of life in general will still have plummeted. 

Take the insects away, then, and what are we left with? The short answer is death. The transformation of this planet into a vast canvas of dying and decay. And, what’s more, after just a few weeks or so of living without insects, that death would become increasingly obvious. The bodies of dead animals would gradually mount up without insects to even play their usual role in that most grisly of natural processes; decomposition. Not all insects feed on dead things, but many do… and we’ll have lost those, as well. Similarly, not all insects feed on animal waste, but many do… so, in between the increasing corpses, there’s a general stagnation of waste recycling, too. If the moniker of insect apocalypse does ring true, then it all makes for a very unsettling, unsanitary and unsightly post-apocalyptic landscape. It might instinctively feel as though we wouldn’t miss the centipede, for example, but take it away and we’d soon be clamoring for its return.

If humans could survive (which is a pretty big if) then what do you think would happen next? Let us know in the comments. Ultimately (and thankfully) it is very difficult to imagine exactly what life would be like without insects. We know that it would be a world with fifty percent less biomass contributed by animal life. We know that it would mean the gradual end of naturally produced foods. And that it would mean the general collapse of the natural world’s central pillar of existence - the food chain. Could human beings adapt to all of that? Would we find some kind of solution? Would we even want to?

For now, it’s a hypothetical scenario only, but one that especially highlights one thing above all; insects are incredible and vitally important. They’re like unseen heroes, constantly ensuring that the key components of this planet are kept running. If their numbers are declining, if their diversity is getting less and less, then we should be trying to find out why, to potentially slow that decline and prompt a rebound. 

What’s your verdict on this emerging issue? What do you think we should be doing to help the insects out, both on a societal level and on an individual basis? Let us know in the comments, and if you have any particular tips for helping insect populations to thrive… then please share! As with so many of Earth’s wider problems, there’s no one solution to instantly make everything right, but the total disappearance of insects is certainly one worst-case-scenario that we want to avoid. These tiny and diverse creatures are what hold the natural world together. Every other species is entirely dependent on them being there. All of the world’s environments are in some way shaped by their presence. Take them out of the equation and the whole thing falls apart.

Perhaps, one day, we’ll live to see the return of the insects, as numbers and predictions tip the other way. Because, as bleak as it is, that’s what would happen if all insects disappeared.