SAN ANTONIO – Say what you want about not liking bugs or insects, but they are important to the health of the planet.
“If the insects disappear, we won’t be far behind,” Marianna Wright, director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas said.
Wright says the matter of our bugs and pollinators dying out right now is much more urgent than what people realize.
“Right now, we are experiencing what scientists call an insect apocalypse.”
Over the past few years, several studies have shown that at least 40% of the world’s insects are dying at a rapid rate, and some research shows that 90% of certain species have already been wiped out.
”And what that means for humans is higher temperatures, more terrible floods, worsening air quality, all of the worst aspects of climate change,” Wright said.
So what do bugs have to do with climate change?
Wright said that our pollinators -- especially the butterflies -- combat climate change by keeping our vegetation alive.
”Butterflies pollinate the majority of all of our grasses, wildflowers, shrubs and trees,” she said. “All of those things that green vegetation is what keeps our planet cool. It reduces erosion, it improves air quality, it filters water, it produces clean air.”
She said two big factors are hurting our pollinators: one is the severe drought, which we are experiencing here in South Texas -- and we saw it first hand at the National Butterfly Center.
Wright said usually this time of year it’s a native jungle, with lush greenery and blooms everywhere. She said they are experiencing about 50% of blooms. The other factor is pesticide use, especially through wide-use in farming.
“Pesticides are killing all the insects, because that is what pesticides are designed to do, they are designed to poison bugs,” Wright said. “All of them.”
Wright said it’s urgent we stop using pesticides immediately and combat climate change to help keep not just our pollinators alive, but us as well.
“Life on earth, literally, depends on pollinators. That’s butterflies, bees, birds, bats and other insects. They also are the basis of the food system for all living things,” she said.