In this book, we learn that insects have already declined recently by as much as 75% - which is probably not news to those of us whose automobile windscreens and grills lack the typical ‘bug spatter’ of yesteryear, particularly after long-distance drives at night. To achieve his point, he modelled this, his most recent book, on Rachel Carson’s impassioned and scientific remonstration against the widespread use of pesticides, Silent Spring. The author is a most capable guide on this journey of discovery: in addition to being a preeminent scientist and a bumblebee expert, Professor Goulson is also a celebrated popular science writer with six books to his credit. This book, Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse ( Harper Collins (US) / Jonathan Cape (UK) 2021: Amazon US / Amazon UK), argues that our fate as a species is inextricably tied to the fate of insects. These worrying truths are the inspiration at the heart of an eloquent and unflinchingly honest book by British entomologist, Dave Goulson, a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. But insects, as a class, are dying, and we are the cause. Many plants are pollinated by insects or are eaten by them, and they, in turn, are eaten by other insects as well as by birds, reptiles and a variety of small mammals. But insects are the foundation upon which the natural world rests. Insects evoke strong emotional responses - usually fear and loathing - in most people. Stock photo via Pexels) Michelle Reeves via a Creative Commons license A white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) pollinates a thistle flower.
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