Three quarters of insects are insufficiently covered by protected areas

Abstract Insects dominate the biosphere, driving ecosystem processes and functions that sustain humanity, yet insect populations are plummeting worldwide1. Massive conservation efforts will be needed to halt and reverse these declines2,3. Protected areas (PAs) could play a decisive role in safeguarding insect species from extinction4, but progress so far in achieving coverage of insect distributions by PAs remains undocumented. Here we show that 67,384 of 89,151 insect species assessed globally (76%) do not meet minimum target levels of PA coverage. Nearly 1,900 species from 225 families do not overlap with PAs at all. Species with low PA coverage predominantly occur in North America, Eastern Europe, South and Southeast Asia, and Australasia. The Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework5 provides a unique opportunity for nations to guide new PA designations that specifically take account of the needs of insects. Efforts to map important biodiversity areas now need to be upscaled to ensure nations capture and safeguard insect diversity.