Butterfly populations have declined by 22% from 2000 to 2020

One-third of the world’s food supply relies on pollinators

By supporting crop production and farmland ecosystems, these animals contribute over $200B to the global economy. A 3% to 5% decrease in this production may result in as many as 427,000 deaths due to nutritional deficiencies.

Agricultural intensification has accelerated declines in pollinator populations

The practice of using farmland more frequently to increase its yield increases the number of residual pesticides and decreases botanical biodiversity. These processes tend to decrease carrying capacity for pollinators by eliminating food sources and nesting habitats.

Native, wild bees are at much greater risk of extinction than honey bees

It is estimated that there are more honey bees, which often compete with native bees for resources, on the planet than at any point in human history. Meanwhile, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, including wild bees and butterflies, face extinction in the coming decades.

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk from falling pollinator numbers

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that declines in pollinator populations would lead to higher rates of nutritional deficiencies, particularly in developing nations. Nations with large populations, such as China and India, would also be significantly impacted.

Even in nature reserves, climate change is driving rapid ecological collapse

Studies show a dramatic decline in insect populations, resulting in cascading global biodiversity losses across non-insect species. The balances in tropical ecosystems are the most affected by climate change.

Tracking butterfly migration via the pollen they collect

Trillions of insects migrate around the world each year, but many are too small to track with physical trackers, leaving their migratory routes a mystery. In recent years, scientists have utilized pollen grains collected from butterflies to analyze which plants that pollen originated from—providing substantial data to infer the insect's specific route. Research has shed light on many insects' migrations since, including the Painted Lady butterfly. Read more and see a map here.

Over 1,500 insect species pollinate plants in the UK

These insects—including bumblebees, moths, butterflies, and beetles—play a crucial role in the reproduction of flowering plants, also known as angiosperms. They do so by transferring pollen from the male reproductive organ—the anther—to the female one—the stigma—which enables the plant to produce fruit.

Visual deep dive into the collapse of insects

The most diverse group of organisms on the planet are in trouble, with recent research suggesting insect populations are declining at an unprecedented rate. Explore this visual interactive on the issue from Reuters Graphics.

US honeybee colony loss remains a concern, despite rebounding from the mid-2000s CCD

In the winter of 2006-07, worker honeybees began mysteriously disappearing from hives—a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder—triggering the loss of as many as 90% of hives. The lack of dead bees found near hives and the declining prevalence of CCD since then have made finding a single cause challenging.

Search plants, butterflies, and moths native to your area

This tool from the National Wildlife Federation allows you to search by zip code for native plants, ranked by the number of butterfly and moth species that use them as host plants for their caterpillars, to help identify what you can grow to support local pollinators.

Various pollutants may be contributing to a male infertility crisis

Male infertility, due to declining sperm counts or quality, accounts for about half of the cases of infertility among couples. Recent research has found that global sperm counts fell, on average, by 1.2% per year between 1973 and 2018—from 104 million to 49 million per milliliter. From 2000, this rate of decline accelerated to more than 2.6% per year. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Lightning may kill as many as 320 million trees each year

Ignoring the effects of tree loss resulting from lightning-induced wildfires, researchers at the Technical University of Munich developed a quantitative model to estimate the loss of these organisms due to cloud-to-ground strikes, based on global lightning data and forest structure. They expect the estimate to rise due to increased strikes resulting from climate change.

Feral and free-ranging cats rank among the most harmful invasive species

Transported across the planet by humans, cats can now be found in many environments and are estimated to kill about 2 billion birds each year in the US. Studies suggest cats have contributed to the extinction of at least 63 species worldwide.

Superbugs could claim 1.9 million lives per year by 2050

The increased use of antibiotics combined with an aging population, is projected to result in an almost 50% increase in global deaths from antimicrobial resistance each year. At the same time, antibiotic use for livestock is expected to increase by 30% over the same time frame.

Obesity rates have more than doubled worldwide since 1990

In the US alone, the percentage of the population meeting the clinical standard of obesity rose from less than 20% to more than 40% over the past three decades. This rise has been matched by many countries across the globe, from industrialized to developing nations.

The prevalence of microplastics came from plastic’s affordability and versatility

Microplastics' durability and overuse have led to massive pollution that overwhelms the planet's ecosystems. Avian, terrestrial, and marine life have been observed to contain microplastics in their bodies, but reverting to paper, cotton, and other materials in manufacturing also brings environmental challenges.

There have been five mass extinction events in Earth’s history

Each extinction event has resulted in the loss of at least 70% of Earth’s species at the time of the event, often due to significant changes in global temperatures. The most recent event occurred 66 million years ago and wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs.

Autoimmune disease prevalence and incidence are on the rise—but no one knows why

Researchers theorize that environmental factors, including shifts to less healthy diets, air pollution, infections, stress, climate change, and exposures to xenobiotics—substances like pesticides, plastics, and toxins that incite immune responses—may all be fueling epigenetic changes to our bodies that make people's immune responses go awry.

How bedbugs have evolved immunity against pesticides

Bedbugs, once nearly eradicated in the United States due to the use of pesticides like DDT, have made a resurgence, with New York being declared the most bedbug-infested city. The primary reason for the return is the evolution of resistance in...

Switzerland's glaciers have lost ice volume every year since 2001

The trajectory of global warming is projected to cause three-quarters of the country's glaciers to be lost by 2100. Accelerated glacial melting worldwide affects as many as 800 million people who rely on meltwater for agriculture and personal use.

By 2030, experts estimate a 1 in 1000 chance of a plane being hit by space debris

As more satellites and spacecraft are launched, the rate of space debris re-entering Earth's atmosphere, including those that do not burn up completely, increases. International space agencies and air traffic control systems will need to coordinate to develop standardized methods and technical solutions to prevent and minimize future crisis scenarios.

During the first Biosphere 2 mission, crew members lost 16% of their body weight

Food and oxygen shortages drove the “Biospherians” to split into two factions—one seeking to bring in outside resources and another aiming to maintain isolation for the experiment’s integrity. Psychological stress was exacerbated further by the increasing prevalence of insect pests.

Peanut allergies dropped by 43% after doctors reversed avoidance guidance, but questions remain

The study’s data appear to confirm the policy shift. Still, since the study did not include an examination of infant diet, researchers can’t definitively say that the guideline shift led to dietary changes and thus directly caused the decline.

Learn why the Montreal Protocol may help prevent millions of cancer deaths

By restoring the ozone layer and reducing ultraviolet exposure, full implementation of the Montreal Protocol is expected to prevent about 443 million cases of skin cancer, 2.3 million skin cancer deaths, and 63 million cases of cataracts among Americans born from 1890 to 2100.

An explanation distinguishing the butterfly effect from causality, necessity, and sufficiency

In pop culture, the analogy has conveyed the impression that the flapping of a butterfly's wings has a cascading effect that directly produces a tornado somewhere else on Earth. However, butterfly-wing flapping alone is insufficient to cause tornadoes, as the complexity of atmospheric systems requires many more conditions to produce them, any of which can be the tipping point to initiate tornadogenesis.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Three Ebola species are responsible for most large outbreaks of the disease, yet the only approved Ebola vaccine is known to work against just one of them.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect