ecosystem

Bees pollinate roughly one-third of the food we eat. If they vanished, our diets would collapse to staple grains, the prices of fruits, nuts, and vegetables would soar, and entire ecosystems built on flowering plants would unravel within a generation.

Insects pollinate roughly three-quarters of food crop types, recycle dead plants and animals, aerate soil, and feed countless animals. If they vanished overnight, terrestrial ecosystems would unravel within a few years and most of agriculture would fail.