Bees can play soccer – 10 little-known facts about insects

If the climate crisis leads to an insect die-off, human life will be less livable - and more boring

The labyrinthine world of insects is in deep trouble. Scientists have uncovered startling declines in their populations , with the United Nations estimating that half a million species could be lost by the midpoint of this century.

In writing about this silent unfolding disaster for my new book, The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires that Run the World, I explored how the loss of insects imperils our food security, potentially deprives us of new medicines and degrades the ecosystems we all rely upon to sustain life. Through habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change, we are creating a version of hell for our greatest allies on this planet.