India, July 6 -- A new study reveals that the planet could hold 14.2 million to 20.3 million insect species, far above the long-accepted figure of about 6 million.

The findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists have formally described about 1.2 million insect species so far, leaving the vast majority still unknown. The new study highlights how much remains to be discovered and underscores the urgency of documenting insect biodiversity before more species disappear.

The researchers carried out a large-scale insect survey in the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG), a nature reserve of 169,000 hectares in northwestern Costa Rica in Central America. It includes dry forest, cloud forest, ...