The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World

Oliver Milman presents a fascinating look at what might happen if the insects we depend on to pollinate our food supply disappear. Scientists have sounded the alarm and are increasingly concerned that insect populations are declining rapidly. The honeybee’s plight is probably well known, but what about other insects like moths, dragonflies, and beetles that we tend to think of less often?

These and other insects may also be on the decline thanks to a host of environmental issues, for which we humans are mostly to blame. The increased use of pesticides, mono-cropping, habitat degradation, and climate change have all played a significant role in these changes. And even though, as Milman points out, insects have primarily been able to survive every other mass extinction the planet has seen, this may be changing.

The Insect Crisis should be required reading for anyone concerned about environmental issues and our future. It’s well researched, not to mention engagingly written. But most of all, it’s informative, and it shows the complex issues and challenges we face in the future in a world that may have fewer species.