[H]omer wrote:

So far this year, I've seen:

. 2 House Flies
. 1 Wasp
. 2 Slugs
. 5 Snails
. 0 Butterflies
. 0 Ladybirds
. 0 Bees
. 0 Bluebottles
. 0 Crane Flies
. 2 Earwigs
. 0 Rain Beatles
. 0 Woodlice

And not much of anything else.

Seems that the gloom predicted in Friday's Guardian,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservati...820266,00.html
has already arrived in NE Scotland. Not at the other end of the British
Isles though here in the south west my untidy garden is what I always
wanted it to be alive with an abundance of life particluraly
butterflies and the breeding success of the birds is very high this
year (partly due to an absence of magpies and cats). A neighbour
entomologist informs me that a new black wasp to the country is in the
process of colonising the area - global warming. Of course the mid to
long term prospects are far from encouraging. [H]omer's experiences
will become comon place.