Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38900768›Full record

ArticlePloS one2024

Insecticides, more than herbicides, land use, and climate, are associated with declines in butterfly species richness and abundance in the American Midwest.

Braeden Van Deynze, Scott M Swinton, David A Hennessy, Nick M Haddad, Leslie Ries

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Biases in butterfly survey effort and patterns of protocol used across biogeographic regions.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Why just fly?Fly · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  12. Elevated extinction risk in over one-fifth of native North American pollinators.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  13. The potential health risks of exposure to environmental chemicals - Global implications for future generations.Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and biological sciences · 2025
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Braeden Van DeynzeWashington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA, United States of America.
Scott M SwintonDepartment of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of America.
David A HennessyDepartment of Economics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States of America.
Nick M HaddadKellogg Biological Station and Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, East Lansing, MI, United States of America.
Leslie RiesDepartment of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mounting evidence shows overall insect abundances are in decline globally. Habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides have all been implicated, but their relative effects have never been evaluated in a comprehensive large-scale study. We harmonized 17 years of land use, climate, multiple classes of pesticides, and butterfly survey data across 81 counties in five states in the US Midwest. We find community-wide declines in total butterfly abundance and species richness to be most strongly associated with insecticides in general, and for butterfly species richness the use of neonicotinoid-treated seeds in particular. This included the abundance of the migratory monarch (Danaus plexippus), whose decline is the focus of intensive debate and public concern. Insect declines cannot be understood without comprehensive data on all putative drivers, and the 2015 cessation of neonicotinoid data releases in the US will impede future research.

Indexed as

BiodiversityButterfliesClimate ChangeInsecticidesAnimalsEcosystemHerbicidesMidwestern United StatesPopulation DynamicsHerbicidesInsecticides

Identifiers

PMID38900768
PMCPMC11189219

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.