Extinct Insects

To the list of recently extinct insects

Extinct Insects: Data & Facts (As of: October 2025)

Of the almost one million scientifically described insect species, the IUCN lists only around 19,000 species; 81 of these are considered extinct. Most insect species have therefore not yet been sufficiently studied and assessed by the IUCN, meaning the actual number of already extinct species is likely much higher. The reason for the insufficient data is certainly the difficulty of assessing the frequency of insects, which are generally small – in contrast, assessing the threat status of mammals or birds is considerably easier.

Furthermore, it is much more difficult to prove that a formerly widespread continental insect species has become extinct, whereas proof is easier for species that are or were exclusively native to islands. It is a great challenge to determine with certainty that certain animals no longer exist across an entire mainland. For this reason, most insects considered extinct are island animals, such as the scarab beetle species Semanopterus kingstoni from Lord Howe Island, which disappeared around 1979, the Stephens Island wētā from Stephens Island, which became extinct in 1931, or the St. Helena dragonfly and the St. Helena giant earwig from the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena; both disappeared in the 1960s.

According to the IUCN Red List, most insect species in North America are extinct – specifically, 40 of the 81 species listed as extinct. The American chestnut moth, which was considered extinct since the first half of the 20th century, was rediscovered in 2020. Among the extinct insects of North America are many moths and bees from the Hawaiian Islands. Also, within Europe, at least 9 insect species have become extinct: for example, Perrin’s cave beetle in France in 1945 or the Tobias caddisfly after 1938 in Germany. The other extinct insects originate from Oceania, South America, South or Southeast Asia (e.g., Ridley’s stick insect) or from Africa (e.g., the Mauritius snout butterfly or Morant’s blue).

Loss of Natural Habitat as a Decisive Factor

Insects are essential for biodiversity and the ecological balance of our world. They play a key role in plant pollination, the decomposition of organic substances, and as a food source for other animals. Nevertheless, they are globally affected by a dramatic decline. The reasons for insect extinction are diverse and often interconnected.

One of the main reasons for the decline in insect populations is the loss of their natural habitat, primarily due to human activities such as urban and industrial expansion, agriculture, and forestry. The most famous example is probably the Rocky Mountain locust, which once swarmed Nebraska, USA, in numbers of 12.5 trillion. Today, it is believed that habitat loss and the plowing and irrigation of agricultural land disrupted the locust species’ natural life cycle, preventing the animals from reproducing, leading to their extinction around 1902. Habitat loss also played a significant role in the disappearance of Darwin’s short-winged beetle in Argentina and the Brazilian diving beetle.

Such a connection can also be demonstrated in Germany: The Tobias caddisfly, a highly specialized species of the large rivers Rhine and Main, disappeared in the 20th century due to massive water pollution and habitat alteration. It was last reliably recorded in 1983 and is currently the only animal exclusively found in Germany that is officially recognized by the IUCN as extinct in modern times.

Threat from Introduced Species

Invasive species that destroy vegetation can lead to the eradication of plants that insect species feed on. A vivid example of this is the introduction of rabbits to the subtropical Hawaiian island of Laysan. The rodents destroyed all vegetation on the island, which is only four square kilometers in size, within a very short time. In doing so, they also annihilated the host and food plants of the Laysan moth, an owl moth that became extinct in 1911, which in turn was considered the main food source of the Laysan millerbird, which then also became extinct somewhat later. The flightless Koolau spur-winged long-legged fly from the Hawaiian island of Oahu fell victim to introduced big-headed ants in the early 20th century.

The Xerces blue butterfly from California is considered the first American butterfly to become extinct in 1941 or 1943 due to habitat loss from urbanization and the destruction of its host plants. The caterpillars of Sloan’s Urania butterfly from Jamaica also could no longer develop due to destroyed habitat and vegetation, leading to the species’ disappearance in the early 20th century. For the American chestnut moth, a chestnut blight fungus accidentally introduced from Asia to America caused the populations of the American chestnut, the moth species’ host plant, to collapse.

Extinct Insects as a Result of Pest Control

Pest control plays a particularly critical role in insect mortality. The use of pesticides and fertilizers contributes significantly to the decline of insects due to direct toxic effects on insects or their food sources. For example, the coconut or Levuana moth, which lived in the Fiji Islands and threatened coconut harvests, was eradicated in 1925 due to a biological control program: a parasitic fly species was introduced, which not only reduced the Levuana moth population as planned but wiped it out.

Why the Madeira large white butterfly became extinct around 1977 is not precisely known, but it is likely that the use of fertilizers, in addition to habitat loss, contributed to its disappearance. It is possible that a virus or parasite introduced to the Portuguese island then definitively eradicated the butterfly species.

Another factor in the disappearance of insects is climate change: altered weather conditions, such as increased temperatures and changed precipitation patterns, can directly influence the life cycles of animals. Droughts and wildfires, exacerbated by climate change, further destroy habitats and thus threaten the existence of many species.

Detailed pages are available for the following insects:

• Brazilian diving beetle
• Chestnut casebearer moth
• Rocky Mountain Locust
• Stephens Island Weevil
• Tobias’ caddisfly: Germany’s only endemic species to have gone extinct