Insect Armageddon?

A 27 year study in Germany has looked, using systematic collection techniques, at the total masses of flying insects (flies, bees, wasps, butterflies and moths etc) to be found in Nature Reserves across the country (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers). It was found that, over this period, insects, in these generally agricultural regions, declined to about a quarter of their initial values. Flying insects include many important pollinators as well as acting as items in diets of dragonflies, fishes, frogs, some birds and important mammals (including bats). The authors conclude that they have been witnessing a profound breakdown of ecological systems that are likely to be mirrored in many other countries. They seem uncertain whether intense agriculture (with its monocultures) and/or the use of insecticides have leading roles in this phenomenon.