No abstract

There is little question that conversion of natural lands to agriculture, and other large-scale human disturbances, has dramatically altered insect communities (Dirzo et al., 2014). Nonetheless, recent declines among European honey bees (Apis mellifera) and other pollinators make it clear that subtler, ongoing changes to insect populations can bring additional harm to natural and managed ecosystems (Biesmeijer et al., 2006;Carvalheiro et al., 2010;Potts et al., 2010). Particularly troubling are recent reports that some broad groups of insects, particularly, but not only, in Europe are experiencing sudden, often dramatic, decreases in abundance and biomass