question: Why is the insect population dying a terrible thing for humanity and how immediate is the threat?
comment: They're a major part of every terrestrial food chain. Lake fish eat insect, you can't feed a lake full of fish *a robot* for breakfast Insects are also key decomposers. Fewer insects means less natural decay and less available nutrients in soil and forests, less nutrients means fewer plants .
passages: In 2018 the German government initiated an "Action Programme for Insect Protection", and in 2019 a group of 27 British entomologists and ecologists wrote an open letter calling on the research establishment in the UK "to enable intensive investigation of the real threat of ecological disruption caused by insect declines without delay".
  
  Section::::History.
   In a 2019 paper, scientists Olivier Dangles and Jérôme Casas listed 100 studies and other references suggesting that insects can help meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted in 2015 by the United Nations. They argued that the global policy-making community should continue its transition from seeing insects as enemies, to the current view of insects as "providers of ecosystem services", and should advance to a view of insects as "solutions for SDGs" (such as using them as food and biological pest control).
   A 2017 study published in "PLOS One" found that the biomass of insect life in Germany had declined by three-quarters in the last 25 years. Dave Goulson of Sussex University stated that their study suggested that humans "appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. If we lose the insects then everything is going to collapse."
  
  Section::::Threats.
   Studies finding insect decline have been available for decades—one study tracked a decline from 1840 to 2013—but it was the 2017 re-publication of the German nature reserves study that saw the issue receive widespread attention in the media. The press reported the decline with alarming headlines, including "Insect Apocalypse". Ecologist Dave Goulson told "The Guardian" in 2017: "We appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon." For many studies, factors such as abundance, biomass, and species richness are often found to be declining for some, but not all locations; some species are in decline while others are not. The insects studied have mostly been butterflies and moths, bees, beetles, dragonflies, damselflies and stoneflies. Every species is affected in different ways by changes in the environment, and it cannot be inferred that there is a consistent decrease across different insect groups. When conditions change, some species adapt easily to the change while others struggle to survive.
   Concern about a human-caused Holocene extinction has been growing since the late 20th century, although much of the early concern was not focused on insects. In a report on the world's invertebrates, the Zoological Society of London suggested in 2012 that insect populations were in decline globally, affecting pollination and food supplies for other animals. It estimated that about 20 percent of all invertebrate species were threatened with extinction, and that species with the least mobility and smallest ranges were most at risk.
   Section::::Interactions with humans.:Control.
  
  Pest management of the eastern spruce budworm is required due to the incompatibility of budworm and human use of the same domain. Management occurs through some manipulation of the environment, which is determined through cultural practice, or by the introduction of a regulatory agent such as a predator or an insecticide. In regard to massive outbreaks, the use of insecticide is a primary practical method of crop protection.
  
  Section::::Interactions with humans.:Control.:Pesticide.
   Section::::Reception.
  
  Section::::Reception.:Responses.
  
  Chris D. Thomas and other scientists warned of the need for "joined-up thinking" in responding to the decline, ideally backed up by more robust data than is available so far. In particular, they warned that excessive focus on reducing pesticide use could be counter productive. Pests already cause a 35 percent yield loss for crops, which can rise to 70 percent when pesticides are not used, they wrote. If the crop shortfall is compensated for by expanding agricultural land with deforestation and other habitat destruction, it could exacerbate insect decline.
   Section::::Evidence.:2019 Sánchez-Bayo and Wyckhuys review.
   Section::::Evidence.:Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
   Concerns of declines in insect abundance in the holocene have been attributed to habitat loss from land use changes such as urbanization or agricultural use, pesticide use, invasive species, and artificial lighting. The use of increased quantities of insecticides and herbicides on crops have affected not only non-target insect species, but also the plants on which they feed. Climate change and the introduction of exotic species that compete with the indigenous ones put the native species under stress, and as a result they are more likely to succumb to pathogens and parasites.
   BULLET::::- "Anisopleura comes"
  
  BULLET::::- "Anisopleura furcata"
  
  BULLET::::- "Anisopleura lestoides"
  
  BULLET::::- "Anisopleura qingyuanensis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Anisopleura subplatystyla"
  
  BULLET::::- "Bayadera bidentata"
  
  BULLET::::- "Bayadera continentalis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Bayadera indica"
  
  BULLET::::- "Bayadera melanopteryx"
  
  BULLET::::- "Cryptophaea vietnamensis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Dysphaea basitincta"
  
  BULLET::::- "Dysphaea dimidiata"
  
  BULLET::::- "Dysphaea gloriosa"
  
  BULLET::::- "Dysphaea lugens"
  
  BULLET::::- Odalisque ("Epallage fatime")
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea amphicyana"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea aspasia"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea bocki"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea cardinalis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea decorata"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea dispar"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea formosa"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea fraseri"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea guerini"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea impar"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea masoni"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea ochracea"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea subcostalis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Euphaea superba"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Odonata.:Synthemistids.
  
  BULLET::::- Twinspot tigertail ("Archaeosynthemis leachii")
  
  BULLET::::- Variable tigertail ("Eusynthemis aurolineata")
   Section::::Evidence.
  
  Section::::Evidence.:Rothamsted Insect Survey, UK.
   Section::::Evidence.:Dirzo et al. 2014.
   Section::::Evidence.:Krefeld study, Germany.
   Phone apps such as iNaturalist can be used to photograph and identify specimens; these are used in programs such as the City Nature Challenge. Activities and projects may focus upon a particular type of insect, such as National Moth Week and monarch butterfly conservation in California.
  
  Section::::Decline of insect studies.
   In 2017, various publications describe the dramatic reduction in absolute insect biomass and number of species in Germany and North America over a period of 27 years. As possible reasons for the decline, the authors highlight neonicotinoids and other agrochemicals. Writing in the journal "PLOS One", Hallman et al. (2017) conclude that "the widespread insect biomass decline is alarming."
  
  Section::::Food and agriculture.
   Claims of pending mass insect extinctions or "insect apocalypse" based on a subset of studies have been popularized in news reports, but often make claims extrapolated beyond the study data or hyperbolize study findings. The Entomological Society of America has stated there are not sufficient data to predict an imminent mass extinction of insects. For some insect groups such as some butterflies, bees, and beetles, declines in abundance and diversity have been documented in European studies. Other areas have shown increases in some insect species, although trends in most regions are currently unknown. It is difficult to assess long-term trends in insect abundance or diversity because historical measurements are generally not known for many species. Robust data to assess at-risk areas or species is especially lacking for arctic and tropical regions and a majority of the southern hemisphere.
   There are many insects that bite including Mosquitoes, Biting Midges, Sandflies, Black flies, Horse Flies, Stable flies. Through feeding, insects or other arthropod vectors can transmit diseases to humans. Medical Entomologists and other medical professionals have helped to develop vaccines that can prevent humans from contracting some of those diseases. They have also developed ways to prevent the arthropods from biting humans. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in May 2018, illnesses caused by insect bites have tripled from 2004 to 2016.
  
  Section::::Major insect-borne disease.
   Section::::Causes and consequences.:Effects.
   BULLET::::- "Lepanus bidentatus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Lepanus politus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Lepanus pygmaeus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Lepanus ustulatus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Lepanus villosus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Liatongus arrowi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Malagoniella argentina"
  
  BULLET::::- "Malagoniella chalybaea"
  
  BULLET::::- "Mecynodes leucopterus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Mecynodes striatulus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Melinopterus dellacasai"
  
  BULLET::::- "Melinopterus stolzi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Melinopterus tingens"
  
  BULLET::::- "Melinopterus villarreali"
  
  BULLET::::- "Mendidaphodius paganettii"
  
  BULLET::::- "Metacatharsius inermis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Metacatharsius pumilioniformis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Monoplistes occidentalis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Monoplistes phanophilus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Monoplistes tropicus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Neosisyphus fortuitus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Neosisyphus macrorubrus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Neosisyphus mirabilis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Neosisyphus rubrus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Nimbus franzinii"
  
  BULLET::::- "Nimbus richardi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Odontoloma endroedyi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Odontoloma louwi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Odontoloma pygidiale"
  
  BULLET::::- "Onitis aerarius"
  
  BULLET::::- "Onitis belial"
  
  BULLET::::- "Onitis caffer"
  
  BULLET::::- "Onitis fulgidus"
   Pesticide use is also a major threat to arthropod species survival. Pesticides may have an intended effect of killing specified insects in a farming environment; however, considerable pesticide applications kill unintended species by the lack of specificity of most chemical formulations; moreover, much of the insect mortality arises from pesticide runoff entering surface waters or from transporting toxic chemicals to downgradient environments.
   The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services reported its assessment of global biodiversity in 2019. Its summary for insect life was that "Global trends in insect populations are not known but rapid declines have been well documented in some places. ... Local declines of insect populations such as wild bees and butterflies have often been reported, and insect abundance has declined very rapidly in some places even without large-scale land-use change, but the global extent of such declines is not known. ... The proportion of insect species threatened with extinction is a key uncertainty, but available evidence supports a tentative estimate of 10 per cent."
   BULLET::::- "Typhaeus typhaeoides"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Beetles.:Longhorn beetles.
  
  BULLET::::- "Brachypteroma ottomanum"
  
  BULLET::::- "Callimus abdominalis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Chlorophorus glabromaculatus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Chlorophorus ruficornis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Clytus lama"
  
  BULLET::::- "Clytus tropicus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Monochamus sartor"
  
  BULLET::::- "Ropalopus femoratus"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Beetles.:Click beetles.
  
  BULLET::::- "Ampedus aethiops"
  
  BULLET::::- "Ampedus apicalis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Ampedus auripes"
  
  BULLET::::- "Ampedus ochrinulus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Ampedus triangulum"
  
  BULLET::::- "Stenagostus rufus"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Beetles.:Eucnemids.
  
  BULLET::::- "Hylis cariniceps"
  
  BULLET::::- "Hylis procerulus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Isoriphis marmottani"
  
  BULLET::::- "Microrhagus emyi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Microrhagus lepidus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Microrhagus pygmaeus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Xylophilus corticalis"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Beetles.:Scarabaeids.
  
  BULLET::::- "Accrosus carpetanus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Accrosus siculus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Accrosus tingitanus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Agoliinus ragusae"
  
  BULLET::::- "Agrilinus ibericus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Allogymnopleurus chloris"
  
  BULLET::::- "Allogymnopleurus thalassinus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Amidorus cribricollis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Amidorus moraguesi"
   BULLET::::- Elongate shadowdamsel ("Palaemnema gigantula")
  
  BULLET::::- "Palaemnema joanetta"
  
  BULLET::::- "Palaemnema melanura"
  
  BULLET::::- "Palaemnema nathalia"
  
  BULLET::::- Cordoba shadowdamsel ("Palaemnema paulicoba")
  
  BULLET::::- "Palaemnema paulina"
  
  BULLET::::- "Palaemnema paulitaba"
  
  BULLET::::- "Palaemnema picicaudata"
  
  BULLET::::- Short-winged shadowdamsel ("Protosticta beaumonti")
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta curiosa"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta davenporti"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta geijskesi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta grandis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta gravelyi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta linnaei"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta medusa"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta rufostigma"
  
  BULLET::::- "Protosticta taipokauensis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Sinosticta debra"
  
  BULLET::::- "Sinosticta ogatai"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Odonata.:Chlorogomphids.
  
  BULLET::::- "Chlorogomphus arooni"
  
  BULLET::::- "Chlorogomphus campioni"
  
  BULLET::::- "Chlorogomphus iriomotensis"
  
  BULLET::::- "Chlorogomphus papilio"
  
  BULLET::::- "Watanabeopetalia atkinsoni"
  
  Section::::Insects.:Odonata.:Argiolestids.
  
  BULLET::::- Little flatwing ("Argiolestes pusillus")
  
  BULLET::::- Powdered flatwing ("Austroargiolestes calcaris")
  
  BULLET::::- "Caledopteryx maculata"
  
  BULLET::::- "Caledopteryx sarasini"
   BULLET::::- Scarlet jungleskimmer ("Hadrothemis defecta")
  
  BULLET::::- Slender jungleskimmer ("Hadrothemis infesta")
  
  BULLET::::- Red jungle-skimmer ("Hadrothemis scabrifrons")
  
  BULLET::::- Variable jungleskimmer ("Hadrothemis versuta")
  
  BULLET::::- "Hadrothemis vrijdaghi"
  
  BULLET::::- "Hemistigma affine"
  
  BULLET::::- African pied-spot ("Hemistigma albipunctum")
  
  BULLET::::- "Huonia arborophila"
  
  BULLET::::- "Huonia thais"
  
  BULLET::::- "Hydrobasileus croceus"
  
  BULLET::::- "Hylaeothemis clementia"
  
  BULLET::::- "Indothemis limbata"
  
  BULLET::::- Scarlet grenadier ("Lathrecista asiatica")
  
  BULLET::::- Dark whiteface ("Leucorrhinia albifrons")
  
  BULLET::::- Lilypad whiteface ("Leucorrhinia caudalis")
  
  BULLET::::- White-faced darter ("Leucorrhinia dubia")
  
  BULLET::::- Frosted whiteface ("Leucorrhinia frigida")
  
  BULLET::::- Crimson-ringed whiteface ("Leucorrhinia glacialis")
  
  BULLET::::- Large white-faced darter ("Leucorrhinia pectoralis")
  
  BULLET::::- Comanche skimmer ("Libellula comanche")
  
  BULLET::::- Neon skimmer ("Libellula croceipennis")
  
  BULLET::::- Spangled skimmer ("Libellula cyanea")
  