Where have all the insects gone?
 

Am I imagining this, or do we (NE. Scotland) have a severe shortage of
insects this year?

Due to the summer heat, I invariably just leave my bedroom window open
24/7, for weeks on end, and as you can imagine, I usually get all
sorts of "visitors", from moths (at night) to crane flies and even the
odd earwig, but this year ... nothing.

I've noticed this in the garden too. In the course of catching up on a
neglected garden (*lots* of weeds) I've been moving a lot of stuff
around, like boulders and stone planters etc., and usually you see a
lot of beasties living underneath - mostly wood lice, etc., but I've
found none at all this year.

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.

Another obvious symptom is my Hostas, which usually get completely
decimated by Slugs and Snails, are completely untouched this year -
not a single nibble.

I've taken zero steps to control pests this year (I've been
*extremely* busy at work, and have *badly* neglected the garden). I
have used *no* weedkillers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,
fertilisers, or any other control (chemical or otherwise), in fact in
previous year I always used non-chemical (organic) control methods,
such as nematodes, etc., but this year I haven't even done that.

The bird count seems down this year too, esp. the smaller varieties,
such as chaffinches, blue tits, etc.

The balance of ecology seems to have been badly damaged up here ... by
something, and it's very worrying.

The only thing I can think of is that we are in an area of intense
rapeseed farming, which by all accounts is probably genetically
modified, and I deeply suspect this of affecting the food chain
somehow.

Is this the only area suffering, or have others noticed a decline too?

--
K.

Where have all the insects gone?
 

"[H]omer" wrote in message ...
Am I imagining this, or do we (NE. Scotland) have a severe shortage of
insects this year?

Stone me! No midges?

You are blessed.
--
Brian

Where have all the insects gone?
 

[H]omer wrote:
Am I imagining this, or do we (NE. Scotland) have a severe shortage of
insects this year?

Due to the summer heat, I invariably just leave my bedroom window open
24/7, for weeks on end, and as you can imagine, I usually get all
sorts of "visitors", from moths (at night) to crane flies and even the
odd earwig, but this year ... nothing.

I've noticed this in the garden too. In the course of catching up on a
neglected garden (*lots* of weeds) I've been moving a lot of stuff
around, like boulders and stone planters etc., and usually you see a
lot of beasties living underneath - mostly wood lice, etc., but I've
found none at all this year.

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.

Another obvious symptom is my Hostas, which usually get completely
decimated by Slugs and Snails, are completely untouched this year -
not a single nibble.

I've taken zero steps to control pests this year (I've been
*extremely* busy at work, and have *badly* neglected the garden). I
have used *no* weedkillers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,
fertilisers, or any other control (chemical or otherwise), in fact in
previous year I always used non-chemical (organic) control methods,
such as nematodes, etc., but this year I haven't even done that.

The bird count seems down this year too, esp. the smaller varieties,
such as chaffinches, blue tits, etc.

The balance of ecology seems to have been badly damaged up here ... by
something, and it's very worrying.

The only thing I can think of is that we are in an area of intense
rapeseed farming, which by all accounts is probably genetically
modified, and I deeply suspect this of affecting the food chain
somehow.

Is this the only area suffering, or have others noticed a decline too?

I have never noticed such a good year for trees and songbirds. The song
thrush or lark has been particularly pleasant this year and I saw my
forst sparrow family in years a few days ago.

Maybe they have had a bean feast or maybe the weather has been so
pleasant that humidity levels haven't kept me dopey and irritable all
summer?

Some pretty insect landed on my shirt a few weeks back. No idea what it
was but the snail was on the thorn and god in his heaven that day. It's
beena beautiful late spring and this is a very unusually pleasant
summer.

More please god.

Where have all the insects gone?
 

Brian Watson wrote:
"[H]omer" wrote in message
...

Am I imagining this, or do we (NE. Scotland) have a severe shortage
of insects this year?

Stone me! No midges?

I have encountered a single cloud of Midges, down the riverbank about
two weeks ago, but that's all. Normally everywhere is thick with them.

You are blessed.

Well I'm also a camping enthusiast, and from that perspective I
suppose it is a "blessing", but the unselfish side of me says that the
total annihilation of Midges would probably *not* be a good thing,
overall.

--
K.

Where have all the insects gone?
 

"[H]omer" wrote in message ...
Am I imagining this, or do we (NE. Scotland) have a severe shortage of
insects this year?

They have all moved down to Berkshire!

Alan

Where have all the insects gone?
 

[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.

Where have all the insects gone?
 

I totally agree, and it's very worrying. I don't think I've seen a
common house fly this year. No ladybirds.

I'm surprised by this! I've never seen so many, or such a variety, of insects in my garden this summer (glasgow). More ladybirds than for years before, we're hoaching with bees of all sorts, a good few butterflies (normally only the occasional white)and a few other exotic-looking blighters.

Flies too. The only shortage I have noticed is of slugs and I put that down to the dryness and my campaign of slaughter!

Bob