Lack of insects in gardens

[foxfish]

This shocking subject might well be discussed amongst certain groups of people but not often in my circle!
It just seems such a dramatic and obviously critical situation but, the masses are turning a blind eye?

There is a small island close to Guernsey called Sark, the island is largely organic, no cars at all just a few tractors. This amazing little gem was a haven for wildlife in general, the insect life was abundant to the extreme, hence the large population of bats and hedgehogs and even black rats!
However, in the last few years all this had changed, we spent a couple of day in Sark last year and although there are still a goos variety of insects like Humming bird Moths and metallic shiny beetles, we did noticed a big decline in wasps, butterflys and bees.
So basically even these remote, isolated havens, are succumbing to whatever is responsible for the overall decline in insect life.
Why is this not a big deal that should be being addressed by every government world wide?

 

[PARAGUAY]

Well climate change is having a massive effect global warming, caused by clearing the rainforests , fossil fuels and loss of natural habitats not for only the natural world but mankind , well @Onoma1 mentioned lack of Bees well we know in the UK they suffer with relentless rain , well we had that but then Asian Hornets are coming over due to record European temperatures, the damage they can do,a single hornet to Bee populations is immense
The otherside is of this is stupidity by the powers that be, overloading sewage into rivers, do gooders releasing Mink into the countryside, releasing green belt for building and supermarkets squeezing the life out of Farmers with their demands and not paying a fair price for dairy or crops, of course as @foxfish as said nobody listens in authority over what's happening_ a legal to use pesticide were a teaspoon could kill l think 90% of Bees, 90% of wildflower meadows gone , many common birds populations decimated and at risk of extinction,, Not good and not really on Goverments agendas

 

[Onoma1]

Thank you for all the responses. It's dispiriting to realise that this isn't an anomaly.

On a slightly tangential note I have opposed a planning application by a developer who prior to the planning application removed waggon loads of contaminated soil (heavy metals from mining and asbestos) without permission and undertaking engineering works next to a watercourse. He also stripped the site of vegetation (trees etc) presenting the site as a brown field site. It became clear that responsibility for dealing with this was being passed from agency to agency as none had the resources to deal with it. As it stands no-one is following on from this and I understand that dumping soil from building sites on the moors is common practice by developers and not prosecuted. The environment agency doesn't have the resources. It's no wonder we face an environmental crisis.

 

[Onoma1]

On a slightly more positive note does anyone know of any ways in which we can help?

My though was to build a small pond. import rotting logs, build insect 'hotels' provide areas of 'rough ground', no mow May & June. I do some of these but clealy need to do more...

 

[hypnogogia]

Also plant lots of insect attracting plants such as lavender, digitalis etc.

 

[foxfish]

Paraguay, you mention Asia Hornets, I was allocated a hornet trap in March.
A gentleman knocked on my door and asked if I could monitor a hornet trap for 8 weeks
Unfortunately I gave it up after two weeks as the trap was killing to much in the way of bycatch!
The trap works like a crab pot with some small escape holes to allow smaller insects a way to get out.
However, even though I was checking the trap 3-4 times a day it was still killing lots of innocent creatures.
The most vulnerable seemed to be moths trapped over night but it also trapped bumble bees, wasp, big flys and a whole myriad of unidentified flying insects!
I contacted the organisation to ask for advice only to be told I had two choices … one, monitor the trap more regularly or two, give it up.
I figured I was more likely to be checking my trap more regularly than the majority that were in operation and these traps simply catch to many innocent victims!
So I gave it back.
The thing is, the Asian hornet is a menace in all the channel islands, with the right wind they travel from France in large numbers. The traps do work and dozens are caught in them but at what expense to the other insect life?
Hopefully a better design trap can be produced, it seems the trapped insects can only survive an hour or so inside the trap and basically beat themselves to death trying to escape!

 

[PARAGUAY]

What a dilemma and let's hope they come up with something soon, l worry about native Crayfish they are predated by the "introduced" European sp. and l haven't read much about how this is can be reversed

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

People want cheap food and investors want big payouts so I can’t see much changing.

There are companies that have interests in the chemical industry including pesticides, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. If you get cancer or dementia or any other disease from consuming pesticides don’t worry, they’ve got you covered with medication to slow your demise - at a price.

Before you buy any food in the supermarket, check the ingredients on the label. You might be surprised at the number of chemicals and bulking agents that are included.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

A quick example if I may. From a well known supermarket.

Pork Sausages.

“Our sausages are made for us by a family run business who've taken pride in making sausages for more than 200 years. ”

No wonder Pandas are endangered, we’re eating their food!

 

[shangman]

It is the same where I work, which is a Site of Importance for Nature and UNESCO award-winning for its biodiverse gardens and environmental education. We still have a wide range of insects, but like... a much smaller volume compared to usual. I grew up going to the same garden and as a child is was amazing how buzzing it was with life and how full of insects it was, the past few years there has still been some but not the same, and this year very very spare.

There is the June gap for butterflies inbetween generations so hopefully in July we see more, but far less bees, wasps, hoverflies, beetles, etc. We have a big pollinator garden, lots of habitat and water for them but clearly the extreme weather of climate change, pollution of our waters and land and pesticides are having their disasterous effect.

Cilmate change now particularly causes insects to hibernate late and emerge early when there is not enough food around, so if everyone can focus on growing flowering plants in their garden which flower all year round (as in, different flowering plant species for all different times of year), that can really help, along with replacing your lawn with wildflowers. Grow native bushes and trees which insects specifically rely on like disease-resistant elm, holly, etc. See some specific habitats and plants here. Don't cut down your dead plants and stems in autumn, wait until spring and provide piles of logs and twigs for hibernating habitat and food for grubs. Make compost in your back garden from your food and garden waste - wildlife loves compost heaps and it massively improves biodiversity and worms in the soil. Make bug hotels, install a pond/water source with shallow water access, and encourage your neighbours to garden the same to widen the habitat. If you're in an urban area there's less likely to be pesticide floating about, so even more important we give insects high quality habitat as a sanctuary from our dying countryside.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

We get severe inconvenience in my area sometimes when the Highways Agency or local council close lanes to butcher the greenery bordering the roads. Some councils have elected to grow wildflowers on borders. They say it’s for ecological reasons but I think they may require less maintenance, therefore saving money? Either way I’d sooner see wild flowers anyway.

 

[foxfish]

There is a similar situation with sea fish, our surrounding seas around the British isles have been depleted to such an extent it is beyond shocking!
Not only fish but marine worms, shore crabs and rock pool inhabitance are all noticeable by their absence!
My question is … ‘who cares’ certainly in my location, no politicians seem remotely bothered, the local fishing fleet is virtually non existent and fishmongers are a thing of the past!
It seems to me most folk are happy to buy fish fingers or frozen battered fish from a supermarket but buying fresh local fish is not even an option for most people.
I grew up on a diet of fresh fish, not surprising living on a small island but 40 years ago we had 100 boats in our fishing fleet, now we have about 10 big boats and they are all crabbers.
The younger generation simply dont know anything about eating fresh fish, certainly not a staple part of most peoples diet nowadays.
Guernsey was once famous for its fish restaurants but unless you want to spend £30 for a fillet of fresh local fish then you will be offered farmed bass or bream, or even worse salmon or prawns ..
I can remember when fish was half the price of chicken now it is treble the price.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

The problem with the Sea is that we’ve been dumping tons of toxic waste in it for centuries. World War Two was a particularly bad time I suppose with all the shipping sunk. Then after the war some nations dumped unwanted munitions into the sea to get rid of them. I read just recently that a German U Boat carrying Mercury was sunk off the coast of Denmark I believe. There were thoughts of trying to recover the cargo but instead it’s just been covered with sand. Shellfish anyone?

Edit: It’s Norway.

Green Warriors of Norway: “Salvage the 67 tonnes mercury bomb now” | Norges Miljøvernforbund

German WWII sunken submarine U-864 contains 67 tonnes of pure metallic mercury. The load of merury allready has leaked 150-300 kg mercury into the marine environment, and the pollution goes on. Most of the pollution comes from contaminated sea bed from broken mercury canisters that fell out of...

nmf.no

 

[Wookii]

We get severe inconvenience in my area sometimes when the Highways Agency or local council close lanes to butcher the greenery bordering the roads. Some councils have elected to grow wildflowers on borders. They say it’s for ecological reasons but I think they may require less maintenance, therefore saving money? Either way I’d sooner see wild flowers anyway.

They definitely require less maintenance. I got sick of mowing our small front lawn when nobody would ever be using it, so hacked the grass back, scattered some wild flower seeds and a few bags of compost.

From this:

A year later . . .

All I’ll be doing is giving it a good strim at the end of the year, once a year.

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

They definitely require less maintenance. I got sick of mowing our small front lawn when nobody would ever be using it, so hacked the grass back, scattered some wild flower seeds and a few bags of compost.

From this:

View attachment 220701

A year later . . .

View attachment 220702

All I’ll be doing is giving it a good strim at the end of the year, once a year.

Looks beautiful.