Flying insects have declined by 75 percent in 27 years, surprised researchers say

                                Photo: Harald Henkel/flickr

Insects may be in trouble, if a study published in the journal PLOS One is any indication.

Conducted over the course of 27 years, a German research team set up a series of malaise traps — tents that catch and funnel flying insects into bottles of alcohol — across 63 nature protection areas. Typically, such traps are used for general education purposes, but as the years went on, the team noticed they were collecting fewer and fewer insects. So much so that between 1989 and 2016, the total weight, or biomass, of the insects collected fell by 77 percent during the months between May and October…