Insect Armageddon

Listen 48:59
Honey bees at the entrance of a beehive. The bees fetch fresh air into the beehive. Thuringia, Germany, Europe Date: April 22, 2018 | usage worldwide Photo by: Klaus Nowottnick/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Honey bees at the entrance of a beehive. The bees fetch fresh air into the beehive. Thuringia, Germany, Europe Date: April 22, 2018 | usage worldwide Photo by: Klaus Nowottnick/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Guests: David Wagner, Thor Hanson

Populations of insects are plummeting around the globe. Bugs are in such steep decline that some scientists have called it an insect Armageddon. Today we will discuss what’s behind the worldwide die-offs of bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and many other species and what impact the losses will have on ecosystems. DAVID WAGNER, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut is our guest. Then, conservation biologist THOR HANSON talks about the evolution of bees, why they’ve been particularly hard hit in recent years, and the critical role they play in natural and human worlds. Hanson is the author of Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal