Together with their colleagues from the Senckenberg Nature Research Society, scientists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) were able to show that widespread insects are threatened with a serious decline in species diversity in the near future. The research team lists the fragmentation of habitats and the intensification of agriculture as reasons for the decline of these insect generalists. According to the study, published today in the scientific journal Biological Conservation, the genetic diversity among the examined butterfly species is also expected to decline sharply in the future—as a result, the insects will become more sensitive to environmental changes.