Bees, moths, butterflies, and other pollinators (beneficial) are significantly more affected by air pollution than plant-eating pests like aphids.
Pollinators experience a 39% decline in finding food (foraging efficiency) due to air pollution.
Reason for higher impact:
Beneficial insects rely heavily on scent-based communication for tasks like finding flowers, mates, and prey.
Air pollution disrupts their "sensory landscape" by altering or masking scent trails.
Pests often rely less on long-distance scent cues, making them less vulnerable.
Researchers analyzed how air pollution affects various insect behaviors and functions: feeding, growth, survival, reproduction, and finding food sources.
Finding food was the most significantly impacted by air pollution (33% decline on average).
Harmful pollutants:
Ozone is particularly harmful, reducing beneficial insect functionality by 35%.
Even low ozone levels below current air quality standards can cause significant damage.
Nitrogen oxides also significantly harm beneficial insects.
Long-term concerns:
The study suggests even low levels of air pollution are detrimental.
Predicted ozone increases could harm global insect populations and their ecological services (e.g., pollination).
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