According to Times science editor Nigel Hawkes, a fifth of Britain's insect species have disappeared during the 20th century.
The country has suffered the loss of some 400 species. Proper pollination has been put at risk, threatening complex food chains.
Said George McGavin, assistant curator of entomology at Oxford University's Museum of Natural History: "The problem is that insects are small and so the majority of people tend to overlook them. But in terms of how ecosystems function, insects are vital. Food chains depend on small things right down there at the grass roots and if you take them away, everything else collapses." (Sources: The Times, The Daily Mail [both London].)
