Insects Could Go Extinct In About 100 Years And It's Not A Good Thing

As much as we're easily freaked out when we come across bugs and insects, we may lose them forever if we're not careful.

According to the first global scientific review published in the Biological Conservation journal, approximately one third of the species are already endangered and over 40 per cent currently face extinction over the next few decades.

To help you understand how quickly this extinction rate is occuring, "in 10 years, you will have a quarter less. In 50 years, only half left, and in 100 years, you will have none".

Environmental biologist at the University of Sydney and co-author Francisco Sánchez-Bayo explained this unfortunate piece of information to the Guardian.

In fact, the total mass of insects around the world is already dropping by 2.5 per cent each year because they found that insects are dying faster than other species.

The rate of extinction is faster than mammals, birds and reptiles by eight times!

Now if you think that this is good news because you can't stand the thought of cockroaches, mosquitoes or flies, it really isn't.

Insects are actually vital to ensure that all ecosystems function properly because they act as food for many birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

"If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death," the authors said.

That means we could lose some of our food sources this way too!

Some of the reasons cited for what scientists are calling "the sixth mass extinction in the planet's history" is human overpopulation and overconsumption.

After examining 73 reports on insect population decline, the authors also found intensive agriculture and the use of pesticides, climate change and urbanisation as other factors that affect insects.

"Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades," they added.