Risk of 'ecological Armageddon' as number of flying insects plunges

a reply to: TruthxIsxInxThexMist

The day will come when Mother Nature will punish us by bombing us back to stone age.

It could be either natural or she'll use a human agent to launch an EMP strike.

originally posted by: nOraKat
Well here in the New York City area, they are spraying 'mosquito pesticide' to kill mosquitoes allegedly for the reason of fighting West Nile (the old reason) and now the Zika virus.

They spray it from the air and on land from trucks. They spray wide areas.

This is also occurring in the Boston area and surrounding suburbs, and has for a long time.
There used to be so many flies, mosquito's, hornets, bees, beetles and dragonflies around... now I hardly see any except for the odd mosquito around my house.

It has to be the massive use of pesticides that are the number 1 cause.

a reply to: charlyv

Odd mosquito? Like, really big? Or purple?

a reply to: Painterz


I read something that suggested it was something to do with the solar cycle. Insects use certain light to signal breeding and feeding; At the present state of the cycle the UV is more intense which shuts then down.

Wow such a decline and we still exist as if nothing happened. Did someone double check the methods used.
If true, we will just have more insect farms in the future. Most species do not breed like pandas. We could even take on the functions of insects ourselves, would mean less time for fun but good for the economy/jobs.

a reply to: spliffster



We could make good drones, worker bee types.

W e exist for the greater good of the colony...where do I sign up....

Oh wait a minute...that is my life.....crap//...

originally posted by: TruthxIsxInxThexMist

originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck
Here's something to consider, conservation efforts could be part of the blame. An old growth ecosystem, esp. in a fire suppressed area, would have far less diversity then a regularly burned over or clear cut area.

You'd find a lower volume of specialized insects in a balanced food web with a just sustainable population in an old growth area. Open that up and the volume of insects increases greatly with the new plant growth. If left undisturbed by natural or man made forces, a stable ecosystem will develop where the insect variety and population will drop off.

Just a thought I had, nothing to back up the idea with.

You mean 'where the insect variety and population will RISE.'

No, that's not what I mean. It's probably what you think, can you elaborate on that please?

Why do these Scientists never say what the real problem is which is over-population

Because if they do all the conservatives will say they 're anti-people, anti-business, communists that hate America.

You can't talk about population problems in this country because the right wing is so indoctrinated to worship growth because it enriches the wealthy.

a reply to: CB328

There is only ever a population problem in a nation, when all land which could be used to either grow food or house humans, is being used to do those things. But not all the land which could be used to do those things, is being used in that way. Golf courses, status ranches, huge plots of unused land, kept against a rainy day and owned by the frivolous...

There are square miles after square miles of unused or improperly used land in the United States, and it has to be said that the American tendency to build bigger (as a result of the fact that there is so much space) is part of the problem. The traditional concept of space in America is so much bigger than it is in the UK, for example (a much smaller space), and even WE mess it up here. There is enough space to accommodate more people, but the land which exists is being misused, which is why there are problems.

Geriatric billionaires who have no farming experience, do not need to possess and misuse thousands of square acres of private land, on which they grow virtually no crops, graze no animals for later slaughter... They LIKE to, but they do this at the expense of space and proper use of it, from a social responsibility standpoint.

a reply to: TruthxIsxInxThexMist

What percentage of Europes land area, is urbanised, do you think?

I am willing to bet that it is less than you think. The vast, overwhelming majority of European land, is green, either with trees, shrub land, crop producing land, grasslands or wetlands, with only one or two countries having more artificial surface area than woodland, and even those nations still have natural grassland aplenty. One of the nations with the lowest amount of natural or at least green land, relative to its urban spread, is Malta, an island. Even Malta has more land given over to either crops or natural growth, than it does urban spread, by a significant amount.

The United Kingdom, for example, is only 6.8% urban, including road networks. Of course, up to half of many large towns and cities, is given over to green spaces, like parks, sports pitches and allotments, and those areas are considered urban, despite the colour of them. So, out of 6.8% of our nation being considered urban, as much as half of that is greened, not tarmac covered, or built on.

People tend to have a very unrealistic view of the scale of urban spread, and a failed and flawed understanding of things like how much land is covered by trees. We have more land in the UK given over to forest renewal and woodlands generally now, than at any time since 1924, when records of these things began here. Yet, to hear some talk, you would think that they were fighting for the very last square foot of green space in the nation, such is their terror over the matter of urban spread.

It just is not reasonable at this stage, to react in such a fashion. There is land well within existing city limits which could be built on, without increasing the spread of the urban footprint, and there is land being used for things like golf and other similarly stupid pursuits, which could and perhaps should be re-purposed for housing, all without causing any significant damage to wildlands. However, city folk will not like it, because removing the odd golf course will spoil their view, especially if the property constructed thereon is likely to be "affordable" because that would bring down the price of pre-existing property, as would any change to local land use.

However, that is really not a concern that anyone whose life means anything, has about the matter. Decent folk do not concern themselves with that sort of selfish, classist nonsense.

motherboard.vice.com... disease

//motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gy5z39/bugs-worst-part-of-going-outside-climate-change-making-worse-insects-mosquito-pine-beetle-zika-lyme-diseas e

"It is clear that from a certain vantage point, the future will be buggy. Thanks to climate change, insect populations are on the move. Some are being lured to new habitats, while others are coaxed to emerge earlier in the year, and their numbers are growing..."

Evidently they all moved to Michigan and took up residence in my back yard. Butterflies, moths, sweat bees, bumblebees, hornets, aphids, ants, millipedes, centipedes, spiders out the ass, weird s# I haven't even identified yet that the neighbors tell me is common & normal, we got 'em. A LOT of them. You can try to convince the more than ample Stink Bugs that are still hanging around despite the downward turn in temps that they're dying out. I'm in the middle of a town, I should see nearly nothing by this borked logic, but I see the exact opposite.

And then I can take you down to where I grew up in Florida so I can acquaint you with the abundant fire ants, everything that flies and stings painfully, giant flying roaches & mosquitoes that people have been in a losing battle with for decades.

It's only partially due to humans. Change the crops from native-only to transplanted and you draw different bugs, ones that drive out or kill the previous native ones. Draw in animals/birds to eat the newer ones eating the different crops, and they feast on whatever's around, including the dwindling originals.

The wise thing to do would be to look for where the pendulum has swung. Who's seen an uptick in quantity and new species?
Nature has a keen way of balancing itself out well before saying "F# it" and completely wiping all things out.

a reply to: TruthxIsxInxThexMist

Really not a good sign when we start seeing ecosystems collapse..

Create Habitats...!!!