studio b severin

Insects make up two-thirds of all life on earth. For hundreds of millions of years, they have flourished in every form of land-based habitat, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

A 2017 study revealed that 80% of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany had vanished in the previous two decades. Conservation is beset by a bias towards ‘charismatic megafauna’ – large animals with popular appeal such as lions, tiger and wolves. The disappearance of flyin insects, however, will have far greater implications for life on earth.

The reasons for their decline are complex (use of pesticides, loss of habitat and food, air pollution etc), and our level of ignorance when it comes to these threats, and the crucial role insects play in our food chain, is highly concerning.
Studio B Severin has created an insect memorial exhibiting various types of beetle, the least popular of the insect groups but the largest order:
around 400,000 variants of beetle make up about 40% of all insect species, and some 25% of all animals on earth.
Many have very specific habitats and long life cycles, which make them particularly vulnerable. The loss of the beetle comes to stand as a symbol for our collective failure to act as effective stewards of our global ecosystem.