in which I experience anxiety over the insect apocalypse
#InsectApocalypse #Gardening #LongCovid #DeathCleaning

https://madpiratemayday.substack.com/p/somewhere-under-the-hell-dome?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

Birds are disappearing at an alarming rate due to insect decline. Insects are essential for birds as food, pollination and decomposition. Without insects, we could lose up to 60% of all bird species within a decade.

#SaveTheInsects #BirdsNeedBugs #InsectApocalypse

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/28/conserve-insects-or-birds-will-vanish-with-them?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=CCaaat%2Fmagazine%2FAWARENESS+%F0%9F%92%A5%F0%9F%8C%8F%F0%9F%92%A5

‘Take a step back from the lawnmower. Keep your green-fingered hands where I can see them. And don’t even think about going for the strimmer…’

It’s June.
You’ve done the #NoMowMay thing.
But the little creatures need more from you.
Think before you mow!

#bees #nature #wild #insects
#insectapocalypse #garden

(via @thejournal_ie) https://jrnl.ie/6084217

I lived in UCLA married student housing on sawtelle until around 1969. These were old garden style apartments, now torn down and replaced, and had a ton of lantana hedges.

When the lantana was in bloom it was continually surrounded by clouds of one particular kind of moth. I still live in Los Angeles and there's still lantana everywhere but I can't remember the last time I saw one of those moths.

From wiki I think they were
Lantanophaga pusillidactyla, which is a southern California native. The wiki page doesn't say if it's endangered or not, but it's certainly gone from Los Angeles in historic quantities.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantanophaga_pusillidactyla

#LosAngeles #LA #Lantana #SouthernCalifornia #Insects #InsectApocalypse #Extinction #LantanophagaPusillidactyla #Moths #Mothtodon #UCLA #MarriedStudentHousing
#Flowers #FloweringPlants #MassExtinction #SawtelleBlvd

@wintersparv The paper:

"Farmland practices are driving bird population decline across Europe", by Rigal et al. 2023
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2216573120

"we uncover direct relationships between population time-series of 170 common bird species, monitored at more than 20,000 sites in 28 European countries, over 37 years, and four widespread anthropogenic pressures: agricultural intensification, change in forest cover, urbanisation and temperature change over the last decades."

"We find that agricultural intensification, in particular pesticides and fertiliser use, is the main pressure for most bird population declines, especially for invertebrate feeders."

#birds #EcosystemCollapse #Europe #Agriculture #insects #InsectApocalypse

“Insects are the food that make all the birds and make all the fish,” said Wagner, who works at the University of Connecticut. “They’re the fabric tethering together every freshwater and terrestrial ecosystem across the planet.”

Why insects are the backbone of our environment and why they are being threatened in a wonderful illustrated article.
#insect #biodiversity #insectapocalypse
:blobcateyes:
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/index.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=twitter

On my recent trip to the Keys, I drove over a couple of thousand miles total and never had to clean my windshield. I had like three small splats on the whole 10-day trip. When we'd take road trips in the 60s/70s, every stop required a windshield cleaning. #InsectApocalypse

https://freethoughtblogs.com/oceanoxia/2023/01/23/diversity-is-our-strength-planting-a-mixture-of-crops-can-benefit-the-surrounding-ecosystem/

#biodiversity #diversity #agriculture #farming #monoculture #insects #InsectApocalypse

RT @Marianne_Denton
A gorgeous synthesis of the insect apocalypse. Insects are sentinels of humanity’s future.

Beyond the intrinsic joy of insect biodiversity, their ecosystem services are invaluable & irreplaceable.

Here’s proof of insect joy~

#InsectApocalypse https://graphics.reuters.com/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/

Would any of the entomologists out there venture a recommendation of a book about the decline of insects that is more suitable for scientists? I found several popular accounts, but I would like something well referenced to use as a guide for delving deeper into the parts of the scientific literature that particularly catch my interest.

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/

#Insects #Entomology #InsectApocalypse #DeclineOfInsects #InsectDecline #Butterflies #Ants #CommunityEcology

Insect populations are declining due to human activity, around 2% annually. By comparison, that is roughly double what the human population is growing. The insect decline will have a tremendous impact on the environment, agriculture, and economy.

#insects #insectapocalypse #nature #environment

https://graphics.reuters.com/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/

The collapse of insects

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/
#insects #insectapocalypse #life #Lightpollution

The collapse of insects

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/
#insects #insectapocalypse #life #Lightpollution

Exquisitely designed coverage from Reuters about the outsized role our tiny insect friends play in maintaining the delicate balance of life on Earth... and the decimation of insect species.

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/?utm_id=79833&sfmc_id=1849582

#MassExtinction #Biodiversity #InsectApocalypse #Entomology #Insects

These kind of studies never get as much attention as the flawed 'global linear decline' narrative. But they are a good reminder that there's a lot of ecological complexity involved in measuring insect trends & results of single studies don't apply globally #InsectConservation #InsectApocalypse #InsectDeclines https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10841-022-00445-9

Some excellent graphics in this Reuters piece exploring the state of #InsectDecline & the extent of our knowledge.

"[Insects are] the fabric tethering together every freshwater & terrestrial ecosystem across the planet.”

"The world has lost 5%-10% of all insect species in the last 150 years... 250,000 and 500,000 species"

#SciComm #Insects #Entomology #biodiversity #InsectApocalypse #insectageddon

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/INSECT-APOCALYPSE/egpbykdxjvq/

@Sheril This perspective is needed now more than ever, with at least 40% of the world’s insects dying at a rapid rate and 90% of certain species already wiped out #boycottbayer #boycottmonsanto #insectapocalypse

@Bombus we leave the gardens alone till Spring. No digging or leaf removal. Helping hibernating queens. #savethebees #bumblebees #insectapocalypse i#insectsarecool #SlilentSpring

I wrote a little bit about bees for Sentient Media!

#bumblebees #insectapocalypse #insects #play #sciencewriting

https://sentientmedia.org/science-how-bees-play

RT @saltwatersteve
In 2 weeks haven’t washed car, have driven >1000 miles through Wales & England passing fields full of crops.
So where are all the #bugsplats? There are some, c/w 30 years ago not many, & few big ones. Washer bottle hardly used.
Something’s wrong..
#insectapocalypse?