Where are the bees and insects?

petersmart

petersmart

Messages
5,000
Edit My Images
Yes
I don't know whether anyone else has noticed it but over the last 2-3 years the number of insects and bees seems to be very much on the decine.

4-5 years ago when I bought my Canon 350D, I used to go into some woods near me to do macro shots of bees etc.

At that time there were loads of insects around, but the last 2 years especially there hardly seems to be any bees at all, and other insects also seem to be vanishing.

And the ants also seem to have decreased dramatically.

Is this just a phenomena local to me or has anyone else noticed this?
 
I have noticed that there is an insect downturn even since last year to this, hardly any ladybirds and very few shieldbugs in my garden this year compared to last.
 
Last year the European Parliament made some suggestions to farmers to help bees work less, have some time out and relax.

It seems one of the best ideas (diagnosis’s) is simply that bees are being over worked for too long... Huge fields, no variety, lots of flying, hard work and no time off.


Taken from the Yale 360 Education site.

02 Dec 2008: European Parliament Urges Creation of Bee `Recovery Zones'
With honeybee populations continuing to decline across the continent, the European Parliament has approved a measure calling on member states to establish uncultivated bee “recovery zones” where the insects can feed on flowering plants rich in nectar and pollen. The main proponent of the measure, British parliament member Neil Parish, said he hopes that European nations will set aside at least 1 percent of the continent’s currently cultivated areas as unplanted meadows where bees can browse. Switzerland, which is not a part of the European Union, has passed a law requiring that 1 to 2 percent of cultivated lands be left unplanted as “environmental compensation zones.” In what has come to be known as “colony collapse disorder,” bee populations have plummeted recently in Europe and the U.S. One cause of the decline may be pesticide use, but scientists also suspect the conversion of meadows to monoculture crops, such as corn and soybeans, may be depriving honeybees of essential habitat.
 
We have had a huge ammount of ladybugs this year in our area but I have been horrified to see the ammount of dead bee's just laying on the turf fields this year, and in general there are less bugs about.
Controversial or not I blame the allowing of GM modified crop trails and cross contamination, but thats another story.
 
I often go out into the woods looking for bugs,butterflies,bees etc and have noticed this year thats there's hardly any going about compared to last year .
 
Call me cynical and call it ironic, but I can imagine a future when we talk of the blindingly obvious out-come: of using much of our land growing rape seed for fuel, whilst at the same time the food runs out because we haven't got enough land to grow it on ...in conjunction to not having enough bees to pollinate the lot anyway.
Caused ironically (in one possibility) by the ever increasing demand for fuel. :lol:

Okay thats badly written but you get my gist. :gag:
 
scraggs said:
We have had a huge ammount of ladybugs this year in our area
Click to expand...

You're not kidding!! LB's, earwigs, shield bugs, spiders - I've never seen so many!!!

I was cleaning out the garage yesterday, and in the corner found the biggest wild spider I have ever seen - must have been 3, maybe 4" leg tip to leg tip when walking.
 
Here in S.W. France it's down to these

http://www.planetepassion.eu/WILDLIFE-IN-FRANCE/Asian-Hornet_Vespa-velutina-nigrithorax_Frelon%20asiatique_France.html

I've got a small nest like the one in the link which I'm going to shoot.

A worker and me where attacked by a nest while stripping a roof, it did hurt a little :whistling: and we couldn't work for 3 or 4 days.

Here's one of the nests

3889590770_2934fdd9a7.jpg
 
If it helps, we have swarms of flies at work. All down to a depot next door which stores big containers full of rubbish.
 
Seen a lot of ladybirds and bees this year to be honest, but I hardly saw any last year :(
 
dltracy said:
Me too was saying to my kids that this year seems to more butterflies than ive seen for many years :thumbs:
Click to expand...
there are the odd species that have increased but typically butterfly nos are down on average ~75% over the last 30 years ... :'(
Largely due to habitat loss due to changes in agriculture.
 
Supposedly (according to a docco on German Discovery Channel) it's because most of them are stuck to the fronts of our cars...
Bug-deaths by car-splatter accounts for over 80% of bug-death in Europe apparently and it's causing a worry amongst scientists for the reasons opined above...

I thought 80% was a bit OTT, but judging by the amount I collect on a 1-hr drive, maybe they're not far off...
 
Arkady said:
Supposedly (according to a docco on German Discovery Channel) it's because most of them are stuck to the fronts of our cars...
Bug-deaths by car-splatter accounts for over 80% of bug-death in Europe apparently and it's causing a worry amongst scientists for the reasons opined above...

I thought 80% was a bit OTT, but judging by the amount I collect on a 1-hr drive, maybe they're not far off...
Click to expand...

I saw something similar a while back - they basically said that the more cars become aerodynamic, bug deaths will get worse - less aerodynamic cars push a "wall" of air in front of them, and the bugs (or bugettes) get pushed aside...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top