Insecticide! (An ecological disaster that will affect us all)

[Bruce McKinlay]

While the plight of mammals and birds commands the world's attention, insects are quietly but rapidly disappearing. Michael McCarthy explains why their loss is bad news for the planet.

It is a realisation that may be dawning at last: the importance of the little things that rule the world. The great American biologist, E O Wilson, said insects were world-rulers, but although they play a central role in maintaining ecosystems and the whole web of life, most insects have long been viewed with distaste or even revulsion as creepie-crawlies (apart from butterflies, which have been viewed as something akin to honorary mini-birds).

Read the rest here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/insecticide-an-ecological-disaster-that-will-affect-us-all-1019520.html