Comment by ikaro on Global insect declines: Why aren't we all dead yet? · 2018-04-02T11:56:52.362Z · LW · GW

Non-expert, but high confidence:

Almost all claims exaggerate the importance and sensitivity of ecosystems and the biosphere. Professors of entomology have clear incentive to exaggerate the importance of their field. Other people hold nature on a pedestal and will happily believe strong claims uncritically. They'll read how the extinction of cockroaches might mean that red-cockaded woodpeckers lose 50% of their natural diet, and think this is a global catastrophe.

The real worst case scenarios of insect extinction and other ecosystem disturbances, are probably more like scenarios where cucumbers get really expensive, rather than anything close to global catastrophe. This is evidence of that. If a 75% reduction in insects doesn't have almost any effect, I'm not sure what would be needed for catastrophic results.