Six-legged bugs might not attract as much attention or sympathy as larger, cuddlier mammals, the authors say, but their decline has been more dramatic and may have greater ramifications for humanity. The study points to evidence that suggests insect populations may have shrunk 50 percent or more since the 1970s, due to a combination of … More Insect populations across the world are plummeting at a startling rate. A report led by The Wildlife Trusts highlights just how dramatic the decline has been over the last few decades—a trend the paper’s authors call “the unnoticed apocalypse.”