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Lou Jost
Joined: 04 Sep 2015 Posts: 2089 Location: Ecuador
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microman
Joined: 14 Jan 2017 Posts: 122
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:29 am Post subject: |
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Its very scary.
I pray this year was a fluke and it will get better next summer.
Very few insects compared to a couple of years ago.
Forest full of dying or dead beetles becouse it was too dry. It was not a varm summer but it didnt rain much at all.
Basicly no mosquitos and not many other flying bugs. Did not have to kill more than mayby two flys inside the house this year and i live near the forest.
Ants also low in number, many years ago they came into the house so we had to use traps.
I live in Sweden.
I hope it will get better..  |
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rjlittlefield Site Admin

Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 18694 Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
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Lou Jost
Joined: 04 Sep 2015 Posts: 2089 Location: Ecuador
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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I wish they had estimated change in abundances as well as change in richness. Also, their paper's p-value-based statistical methodology obscures the really important information, which is the size of the effect being measured. The decline in richness is actually somewhat less than what I would have expected; in low and middle elevation sites, between 5% and 25% of the species have been lost. This is still very bad, of course. But I was expecting worse. _________________ Lou Jost
www.ecomingafoundation.wordpress.com
www.loujost.com |
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Ken Ramos

Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Posts: 7058 Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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Well butterflies I have seen scant few of and ants, a number of fire ant mounds but that don't mean much for the moment. Dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, none what so ever and I live in a rural area beside a small creek. June bugs or scarabs, maybe one but that is all. Grasshoppers, one maybe but can't be sure. Now I know I have mentioned all of this before but I first noticed a decline of insect activity in my area of southwestern North Carolina a few years ago. Now I should be seeing a lot of stink bugs, Shield bugs but I am not. Asheville is reporting quite a few but here in Rutherford county, 50 miles south, I have not noticed but only one and at the onset of cold weather they are beating down your door and walls trying to get in where it is warm. Same with the lady beetles too and speaking of lady beetles, I have only seen one. One lady beetle all year. I would say that the aphids must be elated but they have been scarce also. Mosquito's, I had one bite, that's it and not even a fly by the rest of the year. The book I just finished reading that addresses the End Permian stated that here in the Holocene we are losing approx. 70 species a day. That is quite a very large number when multiplied over the course of a year and I am assuming that, assuming mind you, that the author was referring primarily to insects, I don't know. If it were larger animals most everything we are used to seeing would be treading lightly. That book by the way is “When Life Nearly Died,” Michael J. Benton ©2003 Thames & Hudson Ltd. London LCCN 2002109744 IBSN 13: 978-0-500-28573-2 A good read but I'm still out to lunch on exactly what caused the End Permian. I suspect a great many things however, beginning with the Siberian Traps. As for our six legged friends, I'm rooting for the pollinators. Spiders seem to be treading lightly too, usually I see at least one or two Argiope hanging about but none this year here. Over in East Tennessee at my sisters, she has enough to claim as dependents on her taxes this year. Good for her . . . ! |
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Olympusman
Joined: 15 Jan 2012 Posts: 3572
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:24 pm Post subject: Insect decline |
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Today my wife, who is an ardent gardener, commented about there are almost no insects on our property. We live on a hardwood forest mountain in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA and I have also noticed a significant drop in insect species. No Lacewings for over four years when they were ubiquitous, fewer beetles, fewer jumping spiders and (thankfully) fewer Shtink Bugs.
Mike _________________ Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA |
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