New Tech Vital for Global Insect Rescue Success

Cameras, AI, and public data collection could help track insect populations globally.

Mar. 19, 2026 at 10:14am

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A new study has found that while the global plan to protect and restore nature by 2030 is well-designed, the current measurements used to track progress are not sensitive enough to detect changes in insect populations. The researchers recommend the UN establish a dedicated working group to develop insect-focused measurements and outline several practical new tools, including automated camera traps, weather radar, and public data collection, that could help create a worldwide picture of insect health.

Why it matters

Insects make up the vast majority of animal species on Earth and play a critical role in ecosystems, but previous studies have shown their populations are declining by around 1% each year on average. Tracking this decline at a global scale has been challenging, but new technologies could provide a way to better monitor insect populations and determine if conservation efforts are succeeding.

The details

The study, published in the journal Conservation Letters, highlights that while 23 biodiversity targets have been agreed by world governments to protect and restore nature by 2030, dragonflies and damselflies are the only insect group to have been fully assessed for extinction risk globally. This illustrates that very few of the current measurements used to track progress are sensitive enough to detect changes in insect populations. The researchers recommend several new tools that could help, including automated camera traps that photograph insects overnight and use AI to identify the species, weather radar that can detect insect movements, and public data collection efforts where people record the insects they observe.

  • The study was published on March 19, 2026.

The players

Dr. Andrew Bladon

The lead author of the study from the University of Reading.

Professor Lynn Dicks

The senior author of the study from the University of Cambridge.

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What they’re saying

“Insects are the foundations of life on Earth, and we are only just beginning to understand how fast we are losing them.”

— Dr. Andrew Bladon, Lead author

“Technology is opening up possibilities that simply did not exist a decade ago. We can now monitor insects at a scale and speed that was unimaginable to previous generations of scientists. The big question is whether governments are willing to use new technology to hold themselves to account. A plan to save nature that cannot measure whether nature is actually recovering is not good enough.”

— Dr. Andrew Bladon, Lead author

“If you tally up all the species on Earth, most of them are insects. They are critical to the ecosystems we all depend on, and current evidence suggests their populations are falling. The global nature plan actually contains all the right ingredients to turn that around. The problem is that the indicators being used to measure success are largely unable to detect any response by insects. We could be doing all the right things and have absolutely no way of knowing whether it is working.”

— Professor Lynn Dicks, Senior author

What’s next

The researchers recommend the United Nations establish a dedicated working group to develop insect-focused measurements to better track the success of global conservation efforts.

The takeaway

New technologies like automated camera traps, weather radar, and public data collection efforts could provide a way to better monitor insect populations globally and determine if conservation plans are succeeding in reversing the decline of these critical species.