Researchers led by Keith Sockman monitored flying insects in a Colorado subalpine meadow across 15 field seasons (2004–2024) and found abundance fell by over 70%—an average decline of 6.6% per year. The decline was strongly linked to warmer summer temperatures, especially higher nighttime lows, at a site with minimal direct human disturbance. Published in Ecology, the study suggests climate warming alone may destabilize insect populations in remote habitats. The authors call for expanded long-term monitoring and conservation measures to protect pollinators and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Remote Colorado Meadow Sees >70% Drop in Flying Insects — Study Links Decline to Warmer Nights
Researchers led by Keith Sockman monitored flying insects in a Colorado subalpine meadow across 15 field seasons (2004–2024) and found abundance fell by over 70%—an average decline of 6.6% per year. The decline was strongly linked to warmer summer temperatures, especially higher nighttime lows, at a site with minimal direct human disturbance. Published in Ecology, the study suggests climate warming alone may destabilize insect populations in remote habitats. The authors call for expanded long-term monitoring and conservation measures to protect pollinators and the ecosystems that depend on them.
12:52, 02.11.2025Environment
Study finds dramatic insect losses in a remote Colorado meadow
A long-term study led by Keith Sockman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tracked flying insects in a Colorado subalpine meadow across 15 field seasons from 2004 to 2024. The site had extensive weather records and experienced minimal direct human disturbance, making it an unusual place to detect large ecosystem changes.
The researchers report that flying insect abundance declined by more than 70% over the 20-year period — an average loss of about 6.6% per year — despite the meadow's relative isolation. The findings were published in the journal Ecology.
Statistical analyses showed the strongest links between insect declines and warmer summer temperatures, with higher nighttime lows (warmer nights) particularly associated with the drops in abundance. Because the study site lacked obvious local stressors such as intensive agriculture, pollution sources, or heavy human traffic, the authors emphasize that broad-scale climate warming is a likely driver.
"Insects are necessary for terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems to function," Sockman said, noting that most previous studies focused on human-altered landscapes.
Insects provide essential services: they pollinate crops and wild plants, decompose organic material and recycle nutrients, and form the base of food webs that support birds, mammals and many aquatic species. Declines of this magnitude could cascade through mountain ecosystems, threatening species adapted to cold, high-elevation habitats and undermining local biodiversity.
What the researchers recommend
The authors call for broader, long-term monitoring of insect populations across diverse and remote ecosystems to better understand how heat, changing weather patterns and seasonal shifts affect insect survival. They recommend conservation strategies such as restoring and protecting pollinator habitat, promoting wildlife-friendly landscaping, reducing harmful pesticide use, and cutting planet-warming emissions.
Local actions — planting native wildflowers, avoiding pesticides in home gardens and supporting policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions — can help, but the findings underline that global-scale climate change may already be destabilizing insect communities even in places we once considered pristine.