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I’m not claiming your conclusion is incorrect, but predator-prey systems (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotka–Volterra_equations) can have long stretches of population decrease. A measured decrease, even a huge one lasting decades, need not be a a long term decline.

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Thank you for this. It is a reminder for me to think more long term than just my short life so far.

Grew up in Southeast Virginia in the 60's. Fireflies galore. June bugs also. Not anymore - haven't seen them in 40 years. Seems to me it coincided with aerial spraying for mosquitos in the area. There are still plenty of mosquitos however:)

The main predator is likely cars in this case. Those numbers won't be decreasing, and bug numbers likely won't be bouncing back

I was under the impression the main predator was insecticides.

This isn’t a simple two-species system. If insect population collapse were to cause a human population collapse, I think the number of cars (and wind turbines, and insecticides) would follow, possibly early enough to prevent full extinction of insects.

The point was that the population is declining, not that it is long term.

The title of this article may make it seem so, but IMHO, it is incorrect, and the main message of the article is

One in three firefly species in North America may be at risk of extinction, according to a study by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

The title of that paper (https://xerces.org/press/firefly-species-at-risk) is “One in Three North American Firefly Species Assessed May Be at Risk of Extinction”, so I think that’s not a misinterpretation from my side.

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