April is Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas. But this time, we’re not talking about dogs, monkeys or bats — but bees, beetles and butterflies.

It might not seem like it on a summer night in Minnesota — when mosquitos are swarming your campfire — but Earth’s kingdom of insects is diminishing so rapidly, scientists have declared it a crisis.

In 2019, a report in published in Biological Conservation found that 40 percent of all insect species are declining globally and a third of them are endangered.

The reasons why are myriad. And while it might be tempting to hope for a planet without wasps that sting and roaches in the kitchen, journalist Oliver Milman says human beings would be in big trouble without insects.

Bugs play critical roles in pollinating plants, breaking down waste and laying the base of a food chain that other animals rely on — including us.

This week, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talked with Milman about his new book, “The Insect Crisis.” They explored what’s causing the decline and what can be done about it — and discuss some fun facts about insects, too.

Guest:

• Oliver Milman is an environmental correspondent for The Guardian. His book is “The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World.”

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS.

Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.