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Twentieth-century insect declines and partial recoveries driven by changes in land use and climate

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Continuous 90-year trends of butterflies and deadwood-dependent beetles show clear mid-century declines and only partial recovery of these taxa. The declines were clearly related to agricultural intensification, and climate change and more biodiversity-friendly management helped in the recovery and stabilization — although butterflies are still far from their original diversity.

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Fig. 1: Changes in beetle and butterfly richness between 1930 and 2021.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

References

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This is a summary of: Neff, F. et al. Ninety-year trends reveal sharpest insect declines in the mid-twentieth century. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03074-6 (2026).

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Twentieth-century insect declines and partial recoveries driven by changes in land use and climate.
Nat Ecol Evol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03083-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03083-5

Source: Ecology - nature.com

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