Neue Erkenntnisse tragen dazu bei, dass die weltweiten Rückgang des globalen Insektenbevölkerung zunimmt, wobei einige Regionen in den letzten Jahrzehnten einen Rückgang von mehr als 75% überschreiten. Chlorothalonil, eines der weltweit am weitesten verbreiteten Fungizide, wirkt sich stark auf die Reproduktion und das Überleben von Insekten aus, selbst bei niedrigsten Werten, die für Lebensmittel festgestellt wurden.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250136

From the linked article:

A widely-used agricultural chemical sprayed on Australian fruits and vegetables to prevent fungal disease is killing beneficial insects critical for pollination and ecosystem health, new Macquarie University research shows.

The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, found **chlorothalonil – one of the world’s most extensively used fungicides – severely impacts insect reproduction and survival, even at the lowest levels routinely detected on food.**

The researchers exposed fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to chlorothalonil levels matching those typically found in produce from cranberries to wine grapes. Even at the lowest dose, flies showed a 37 per cent drop in egg production compared with unexposed individuals.

**The findings add to mounting evidence of global insect population decline, with some regions reporting drops exceeding 75 per cent in recent decades.**

„We need bees and flies and other beneficial insects for pollination, and we think this is an important problem for pollinator populations,“ Associate Professor Ponton says.

The research highlights a critical knowledge gap in pesticide regulation, with fewer than 25 scientific papers examining chlorothalonil’s effects on insects despite its widespread use.