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Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’

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posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 09:54 PM
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“We knew that something was amiss in the first couple days,” said Brad Lister. “We were driving into the forest and at the same time both Andres and I said: ‘Where are all the birds?’ There was nothing.”

His return to the Luquillo rainforest in Puerto Rico after 35 years was to reveal an appalling discovery. The insect population that once provided plentiful food for birds throughout the mountainous national park had collapsed. On the ground, 98% had gone. Up in the leafy canopy, 80% had vanished. The most likely culprit by far is global warming.

“It was just astonishing,” Lister said. “Before, both the sticky ground plates and canopy plates would be covered with insects. You’d be there for hours picking them off the plates at night. But now the plates would come down after 12 hours in the tropical forest with a couple of lonely insects trapped or none at all.” “It was a true collapse of the insect populations in that rainforest,” he said. “We began to realise this is terrible – a very, very disturbing result.”


Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’

I would like to think this is fake news or just an isolated case. There are still plenty of bugs around here. There could be less bugs, it is hard to tell. I think I would notice If there was even a 50% drop though.


The Puerto Rico work is one of just a handful of studies assessing this vital issue, but those that do exist are deeply worrying. Flying insect numbers in Germany’s natural reserves have plunged 75% in just 25 years.

The virtual disappearance of birds in an Australian eucalyptus forest was blamed on a lack of insects caused by drought and heat. Lister and his colleague Andrés García also found that insect numbers in a dry forest in Mexico had fallen 80% since the 1980s.


No worries we can just replace them with tiny robots, what could go wrong



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:11 PM
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a reply to: LookingAtMars

Einstein said that if the bees disappear, humans have 4 years till extinction.




posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:13 PM
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What can we do? I feed the wildlife where I am. But what more can be done?



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:25 PM
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a reply to: LookingAtMars

Insects are cold-blooded, warmer weather means insects will thrive.



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:27 PM
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I hat bugs! Ticks, fleas, yellow jackets, ants, spiders I like, they eat bugs!



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:27 PM
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I hat bugs! Ticks, fleas, yellow jackets, ants, spiders I like, they eat bugs!



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:30 PM
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Insects are high in nitrogen compounds, the birds eat them and poop out nitrogen rich fertilizer which can supply the trees with nitrogen in a form they can use. The thing is, if a tree has proper nitrogen, it has greener leaves that do not burn as easily, they can keep a forest fire from getting out of hand. I got a bag of urea one day and it was only a buck and full of chunks. So I threw it by the pine trees. I pruned one of the branches off and was going to make a torch out of the needles when we were by the campfire. I was surprised to find it would not burn easily, which is something I never anticipated.

So, less bugs equals less bird poop which means trees burn easier. I would expect the same nitrogen compounds would be higher on the ground too. But I cannot verify that, I could not find any research that verified that conclusion other than they do make a chemical that is nitrogen based and could be sprayed to help prevent future fires. That chemical was kind of bad for people with certain respiratory problems though, just like the nitrogen based chemicals they spray on forest fires is.



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:43 PM
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This is more about Magnetic field issues we are discussing in other threads. The insects will hibernate like a bear in winter when conditions are not perfect for them to awaken from their hiding places and egg stashes. Pesticides are singling out certain ones but "Class: Insecta" thrives and will adapt better than we could ever do.

study.com...
edit on 16-1-2019 by Justoneman because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:49 PM
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I'm in NZ,and this year we have had bugger all flies and bees,and I'm in a rural area,so there should be a whole lot more than what I've seen this year. I've seen maybe 6 bees in the last few months,a little worrying really.



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:52 PM
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originally posted by: hiddenNZ
I'm in NZ,and this year we have had bugger all flies and bees,and I'm in a rural area,so there should be a whole lot more than what I've seen this year. I've seen maybe 6 bees in the last few months,a little worrying really.


Same here, I live in a rural area, and mostly flies and wasps (a few bees) and some straggler insects of other species, very worrying, really really.
edit on 01CST10America/Chicago053101031 by InTheLight because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 10:56 PM
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a reply to: LookingAtMars

STOP CONTINENTAL DRIFT, NOW!



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 11:00 PM
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a reply to: InTheLight

I will have to keep an eye out this spring. I haven't seen many bugs lately, but it is winter time.



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 11:47 PM
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Flying insects are alive and well in Manitoba I assure you. Yes it’s anecdotal I know, but in the summer if your out in the bush at dusk you can hear a audible hum it’s unssettling almost. The hum is from the sheer volume of bugs flying around(99.9998% of the bugs are mosquitoes) On sunny days the dragon flys swarm around in the thousands around lakes.

Aphids form these weird undulating transparent walls of green as they fly around.
Fish Flies for a few weeks of the year will literally coat every surface around a lake until they all die and form beaches of their coarpses.

June bugs come out in such numbers that they litter the ground like little black jewels.
The June bugs when they come out are often followed by these creatures from hell, they fly and are massive
en.m.wikipedia.org...
(The giant water beatle)

We have a insane amount of butterflies and moths to the point that every light in the summer has about a thousand of them flying towards the glorious incandescence.

We have the very rare Luna moth here it’s massive and incredibly beautiful, magestic even I’ve seen them only twice in my life.
en.m.wikipedia.org...

We have this creature the humming bird hawk moth, possibly the coolest critter on the block.
www.insectidentification.org...
(I thought these were some kind of mythical creature when I’d see them as a child)

Bees of all kinds on every dandelion. Giant furry bumblebee and massive amounts of carpenter bees.

All kinds of Satan flies too aka wasps. Prick yellow jackets all the way to lucifers second in command the white jacket(bald face hornet) they eat every other mean bug because they are the meanest baddest bug around, they can and will F you up and they know it.


Come to Manitoba come for the bugs! Stay because they took all your blood.


a reply to: LookingAtMars

edit on 17-1-2019 by Athetos because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 11:56 PM
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Puerto Rico is aligned with US. Nothing to see here. Military/deep state testing weapons on population. I'm not warning you again. Anyone trusting US right now = death sentence. Stay neutral or switchs sides.
edit on 16-1-2019 by makemap because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 16 2019 @ 11:58 PM
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a reply to: Athetos

Canada is not fully aligned with the US. Hence its still protected country. Keep watching US military movement.



posted on Jan, 17 2019 @ 12:00 AM
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originally posted by: makemap
Puerto Rico is aligned with US. Nothing to see here. Military/deep state testing weapons on population. I'm not warning you again. Anyone trusting US right now = death sentence. Stay neutral or switchs sides.


What type of weapons?



posted on Jan, 17 2019 @ 12:01 AM
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I dunno what you are on about I am talking about bugs.
a reply to: makemap


edit on 17-1-2019 by Athetos because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 17 2019 @ 12:02 AM
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originally posted by: Athetos
I dunno what you are on about I am talking about bugs.
a reply to: makemap



I am wondering if weapons testing is affecting ecosystems, that's why I'm asking.



posted on Jan, 17 2019 @ 12:04 AM
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Monoculture farming and Monsanto. Polluted lakes and deforestation. All of which I don’t have where i live.
a reply to: InTheLight



posted on Jan, 17 2019 @ 12:06 AM
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originally posted by: Athetos
Monoculture farming and Monsanto. Polluted lakes and deforestation. All of which I don’t have where i live.
a reply to: InTheLight



What's your point?



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