Lack of insects in gardens

[Onoma1]

A bit random however, I am used to sitting in the garden sipping a glass of red on the odd evening and listening to the gentle hum of insects with the odd butterfly flapping by on its way to lay eggs which will decimate my lettuce/brassica etc. At this point I also note the rosebay willow herb which has insinuated itself into the garden. The insects are a integral part of this bucolic scene.

This year nothing. The local beekeepers bees descended, other than that nothing no hoverflies, no butterflies, nothing.

My plums and apples have (to be absolutely clear) a pathetic pollination rate and frankly I am generally worried. This isn't normal...(the lack of insects).

BTW my garden is completely organic.

I wondered if anyone else had experienced a similar situation?

This is 'quite worrying' ( for US readers when a brit says 'quite worrying' read 'scarry as fu*k', a large asteroid is about to hit your house, it's a zombie apocalypse or Trump is actually elected).

 

[castle]

Quite worrying to me is “concerning enough to vocalise to my party”

Scary as fock is not a phrase I’d use, I’d probably say “that’s a little worrying”

😅


As for the garden, we’re good. Bumper crops, renfrewshire.

 

[Onoma1]

As for the garden, we’re good. Bumper crops, renfrewshire.

So you have lots if insects? Having lived outside Glasgow for a while could I ask if highland midges pollinate apples?

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

As for the garden, we’re good. Bumper crops, renfrewshire.

Is that the bit of Scotland that has had summer this year? My small bit of Edinburgh has been underwhelming this year, presumably because it’s not stopped raining.

 

[AlecF]

I really notice the drastic loss of insects this year.

 

[castle]

There’s a few beehives nearby, so things just feel more beesy?

Midges are about now. I strimmed the grass last week, so I did a no mow first half of the year. No grasshoppers, or butterflies. I dunno, ground wise plenty of bugs, same with ponds; but less pretty stuff.

Summer skipped us too.

 

[castle]

Honestly, you do need to get out on your hands and knees and list rocks or kick over a bin, still plenty there; but I’m not exactly being very scientific.

I fear a drop; pesticides will have a lot to answer for

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

My plums and apples have (to be absolutely clear) a pathetic pollination rate and frankly I am generally worried. This isn't normal...(the lack of insects).

My fruit trees are very young so I haven’t really seen a reduction in crop. What I did notice though was that flowers lasted only a short while before the rain destroyed it. That may have contributed to reduced pollination?

I dunno, ground wise plenty of bugs, same with ponds; but less pretty stuff.

My pond seems to be the only thing that is doing well. There are plenty of insects on and around the water (particularly midges) but as for bees and butterflies, barely anything.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Well I have plenty of Bees busy ,my next door neighbour says they are scarce in his garden, maybe it's the plants he has ,not attractive to pollinators. All the rain earlier in Spring possible reason a lot of my flowering plants Roses some Salvinas looking good, l expect a swarm of greenfly on the Sweet Peas anytime soon though. Hoverflies Ladybirds not seen many yet

 

[tam]

Our cherry crop was as good as usual... as in there were loads and then the birds ate the lot in 48 hours. All the soft fruit is doing well too.

Maybe a smidge early for butterflies? There's been a lot of rain until recently. Just starting to get the flowers they come for opening, nastursiums are usually a bit bigger before the cabbage whites decend... I don't even try brassicas! Join the Big Butter Fly count if you want keep track in a more scientific way: Big Butterfly Count Haven't seen much in the way yet, but there have been some cinnabar moths around.

 

[Chez_]

I'm starting to regret my addiction to post-apocalyptic SF, it does feel like we're living in a 'choose your own disaster' novel. We have our usual biplane-sized hornets, but we are short butterflies. West Somerset here.

 

[foxfish]

I think this is a big problem in many places, not just this year but over the last twenty years or so there has been a slow but notable decline in insect life!
I could quote many examples but the more obvious ones would be butterflies and grass hoppers.
Wasp are noticeable by their absence, go back 30 years, anyone sitting outside with food or drink would be pestered by wasp.
I can recall watching two or three bubble bees on every flower head in the garden, hustling for position!
A recent local survey concluded that our green lizard population is in massive decline due to lack of insect life!
Even humble creatures like ants and spiders are noticeable by their absence….

 

[hydrophyte]

Beetles, moths, wasps, wild bees and butterflies are all practically all gone here in our area. It is very different from how I remember it twenty or thirty years ago when we would find insects of all kinds everywhere. Aquatic insects seem to be less affected, so we do still see swarms of midges and mayflies. Plenty of mosquitoes as well. It looks as though these are the only insects still sustaining other wild creatures such as bats, frogs and birds.

I attribute most of of this to indiscriminate spraying of broad-spectrum insecticides. Probably 1/3 of our neighbors here in the area have various subscription lawn chemical services applying who-knows-what to their grass. It is true madness...astonishing that this seems to be hardly regulated at all.

 

[Conort2]

I was just mentioning this the other day. The garden seems to be empty this year. Flowers that are normally covered in hover flys and bees only get the odd visitor. Only things that seem to be doing well are snails and slugs, the lawn is absolutely covered with huge black slugs every evening.

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

Our cherry crop was as good as usual... as in there were loads and then the birds ate the lot in 48 hours.

Every year. 😭 I should have bought an ornamental tree to be honest.

Probably 1/3 of our neighbors here in the area have various subscription lawn chemical services applying who-knows-what to their grass.

To what end? I rarely fertilise my lawn and have never considered putting a pesticide on it. I think my dogs peeing on it all winter probably adds enough fertiliser. 😄

snails and slugs, the lawn is absolutely covered with huge black slugs every evening.

I can sympathise with this. Can’t have lupins, marigolds or hostas. Slugs ate one of my young hydrangeas last year. Awful things.

 

[Bradders]

To what end? I rarely fertilise my lawn and have never considered putting a pesticide on it. I think my dogs peeing on it all winter probably adds enough fertiliser. 😄

My dogs peeing on the grass seems to kill it. Its like liquid acid.

 

[G mac]

Hertfordshire's ant population seems to have taken up residence in my block paved driveway

 

[Scaperinc]

I think it's the spiders killing everything.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Probably a combination of things climate change, and human disregard

 

[tigertim]

Probably a combination of things climate change, and human disregard

Nothing to do with climate change and everything to do with chemicals, pesticides etc, its being one steady decline over the last 60 years thanks to the agrochemical industry, the over use by farmers, councils and gardners, add on to this a similiar 30% decline in earthworms and at some stage the point is going to tip.

There needs to be a major re education policy but do any government of any political persuasion have the forsight to do this ? i don't think so !