What is it about?
A review of what is known about modern insect diversity, with particular reference to the perceived "insect armageddon" which is concerning many people. My overall conclusion is that we have too little data yet to be able to know exactly what the state of insects is, but we are right to be concerned.
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Why is it important?
Insects are increasingly seen as vital for all ecosystems and so a reality check on what we know is important, especially given the fears of recent catastrophic insect declines.
Perspectives
I enjoyed doing the research for and writing this paper. However, as soon as it came out a set of papers advancing the area much further, inevitably came out. I would especially recommend the volume of Insect Conservation and Diversity, edited by Didham et al ( 2020, Spotlight on insects: trends, threats, and conversation challenges). This is an extremely fast moving field and no clear consensus has emerged yet.
Dr Paul Eggleton
The Natural History Museum, London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The State of the World's Insects, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, October 2020, Annual Reviews,
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-050035.
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