Bugs are everywhere.
Swarms of midges attack me when I open my front door. Moths gather around the street lights, casting flitting shadows on the illuminated asphalt. Bees hover around the flowers in my neighbors’ front yards. Every once in a while, I catch a mosquito hanging out on my arm. Why are insects so inescapable?
They’ve been around much longer than we have — around 450 million years — and have developed tools to keep their populations up.
Chris Dietrich is the state entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, where he is currently researching insect biodiversity.
“Part of the key to their success is their diversity. They’re so diverse that even if there’s a disaster that causes a lot of them to die, there’s still usually enough of them left to survive and reproduce and repopulate the area,” he says.
But Dietrich says this diversity is under threat. Illinois was once home to around 30,000 species of insects — he says today that number has been halved. As the state’s natural ecosystems have been replaced by monoculture farmland and urban landscapes, many insect species have faced significant habitat loss, putting them at risk of extinction. In short — things are not great in Illinois for insects.
According to Dietrich, this is part of a broader trend of insect biodiversity loss due to habitat destruction, pesticide use, pollution, disease, and climate change. It has been described by scientists as a “death by a thousand cuts.”
While these declines have been caused by a variety of human-induced environmental changes, Illinois’ monoculture agriculture of soybeans and corn have significantly threatened biodiversity.
Dietrich calls these agricultural areas “biodiversity-free zones,” because very few insects can use corn and soybeans as host plants, and because of pesticide and herbicide use.
Despite the numerous pressures on insect populations, there seems to be no shortage of bugs buzzing around on campus.
There are many different types of flying insects that form swarms — gnats, flies, ants, and soybean aphids, a non-native species that was introduced into Illinois around 20 years ago, that build up large numbers on soybeans during the summer.
When bugs come out in these annoyingly large swarms, it can be the result of unnatural, human-created conditions.
For example, soybean aphids are one of the most abundant species in Illinois, and they are a product of soybean monocultures planted around the state. Dietrich says, “We ourselves are to blame for most of the problems that are caused by insects.”
So why do we feel the need to escape, or sometimes even eradicate, insects?
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Entomology Graduate Student Association has held an annual festival to combat such sentiments. The Insect Fear Film Festival, since 1984, has been a grassroots effort to humanize insects.
Ember Clodfelter, the EGSA president and a PhD student in entomology, has participated in the festival for the past four years. They say the festival has gotten people thinking about insects, and how they influence our lives in different ways.
Clodfelter says public distaste for bugs can come from nature and nurture.
They say, “There’s this deeply ingrained idea in our brains that insects can be harmful, which is true. There are a lot that can be harmful, but most of them, especially in Illinois, aren’t going to be harmful.”
Additionally, fear of insects can be a learned behavior that develops as children watch nearby adults react to bugs.
Entomologists aren’t completely immune — Clodfelter is scared of spiders. “It’s very common for entomologists to be arachnophobic,” they say.
But having some curiosity about insects can be beneficial to humans and bugs alike.
“Responding with curiosity means you can learn something about what’s in front of you. Learn about what plants this bee pollinates. Learn about how parasites interact with their hosts,” Clodfelter recommends.
The Film Festival has fostered some of that curiosity.
Their insect petting zoo — a festival fixture — hosts different types of cockroaches, beetles, caterpillars, and tarantulas. It has inspired attendees to interact with insects in new ways.
“People who are squeamish going into it may end up holding a cockroach. I’ve seen people who will just give a little high five to the tarantula, and that’s a big step for people who don’t want to interact with insects at all,” says Clodfelter.
Learning about insects can also inspire us to look after them, at a time when the future of bugs looks bleak. While bug populations may seem resilient now, there is no telling when a species will reach its limit. That’s why insect conservation is an important tool.
For the average person, that can mean growing native plant species to support native insects, and avoiding pesticides or herbicides in your home garden. “The more plant diversity people can provide, just in their home gardens, the more they’re supporting insect biodiversity,” says Dietrich.
Dietrich also recommends mindful shopping, like choosing organic produce and supporting crops from diversified local farms.
We can only hope insects are here to stay. In the meantime, we can learn to put down the can of Raid and plant a flower, instead.