For decades, scientists estimated that Earth was home to around six million insect species. New research, however, suggests that the true number could be closer to 20 million, more than three times higher than previously believed.

The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, rely on an unusual combination of methods borrowed from ecology, genetics, and even epidemiology.

Researchers analyzed decades of data collected in Costa Rican forests, particularly focusing on parasitoid wasps, insects whose larvae develop inside other animals.

The scientists discovered that many species appeared only once in their samples, indicating that countless others remain undetected. To estimate the hidden diversity, they used statistical techniques similar to those employed in tracking disease outbreaks, where experts infer the number of unreported cases from partial observations.

DNA barcoding of more than 1.6 million insects revealed nearly 54,000 distinct species in a single protected area. By combining these findings with global data on tree diversity, an important indicator of biodiversity, they scaled their estimates to the entire planet.

The result is staggering: humans have formally described only about 1.5 million insect species, leaving the vast majority still unknown to science.

Beyond the numbers, the findings are a reminder that our planet remains far more mysterious than we often imagine.

Even in an age of satellites, artificial intelligence, and genetic sequencing, millions of insect species may still await discovery. Rather than closing the book on Earth’s biodiversity, the research suggests we have only begun to turn the pages, leaving plenty of room for future scientists, and curious observers alike, to keep uncovering the remarkable complexity of life around us.

Studies like this make places like Mamoní Valley Preserve even more special. Tropical forests are home to an incredible variety of insects, and every visit offers the chance to find species that science hasn’t documented yet. It reminds us that some of Earth’s greatest discoveries may be much closer than we think.

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