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A lot of it is global warming. Nature preserves, untouched by civilization are also experiencing the same declines.

by mempko 3y ago

reverius42 3y ago
Nature preserves are not untouched by civilization. CO2 levels could have direct effects (we are nearly at ambient levels shown to have cognitive effects on humans), and there are microplastics now found everywhere on earth, throughout the air and water.
- mempko 3y ago
  Yes, by untouched I mean people aren't living there. So you can't blame build out and direct pollution. But yes those places haven't escaped pollution like CO2 and microplastics. Extreme heat is now happening for longer periods. That kill the bugs. My bet is global warming is the primary culprit.
pvaldes 3y ago
Global warming is a problem, but ecosystems falling down by missing pieces or because we keep throwing wrenches to the gear is another big culprit. Plastics are everywhere also
adrian_b 3y ago
Like others have said, nature preserves are far from untouched. I am pretty sure that small quantities of insecticides and pollutants reach even those places. I live in an European city, where the decline of the insect population is extremely visible. The most salient is not the reduction in their number, but the reduction in their diversity. There are a few species that are still somewhat abundant, mainly some true bugs (Hemiptera) and even mosquitoes can still be seen from time to time. Nevertheless, in the same place a few decades ago hundreds of species were abundant, butterflies, beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets, lacewings (Neuroptera), wild bees, wasps and many others that I have no longer seen for more than a decade. Also the centipedes, the pill bugs, the snails and the earthworms have disappeared. The vegetation that attracted all those insects is still around, so I assume that they have disappeared because of insecticides and that the few remaining, i.e. the true bugs (Hemiptera), might be more resistant to them.
- whythre 3y ago
  Yes. I am in my mid thirties, and live in Texas. In my youth I used to see fireflies, damselflies, bright red and black flightless wasps colloquially called ‘cow killers.’ All vanishingly rare now- I think I saw a single lonely firefly this year. There used to be so many in my neighborhood.

A lot of it is global warming. Nature preserves, untouched by civilization are also experiencing the same declines.

by mempko 3y ago

A lot of it is global warming. Nature preserves, untouched by civilization are also experiencing the same declines.

Nature preserves are not untouched by civilization. CO2 levels could have direct effects (we are nearly at ambient levels shown to have cognitive effects on humans), and there are microplastics now found everywhere on earth, throughout the air and water.

mempko 3y ago
Yes, by untouched I mean people aren't living there. So you can't blame build out and direct pollution. But yes those places haven't escaped pollution like CO2 and microplastics. Extreme heat is now happening for longer periods. That kill the bugs. My bet is global warming is the primary culprit.

pvaldes 3y ago

Global warming is a problem, but ecosystems falling down by missing pieces or because we keep throwing wrenches to the gear is another big culprit. Plastics are everywhere also

adrian_b 3y ago

Like others have said, nature preserves are far from untouched. I am pretty sure that small quantities of insecticides and pollutants reach even those places. I live in an European city, where the decline of the insect population is extremely visible. The most salient is not the reduction in their number, but the reduction in their diversity. There are a few species that are still somewhat abundant, mainly some true bugs (Hemiptera) and even mosquitoes can still be seen from time to time. Nevertheless, in the same place a few decades ago hundreds of species were abundant, butterflies, beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets, lacewings (Neuroptera), wild bees, wasps and many others that I have no longer seen for more than a decade. Also the centipedes, the pill bugs, the snails and the earthworms have disappeared. The vegetation that attracted all those insects is still around, so I assume that they have disappeared because of insecticides and that the few remaining, i.e. the true bugs (Hemiptera), might be more resistant to them.

whythre 3y ago
Yes. I am in my mid thirties, and live in Texas. In my youth I used to see fireflies, damselflies, bright red and black flightless wasps colloquially called ‘cow killers.’ All vanishingly rare now- I think I saw a single lonely firefly this year. There used to be so many in my neighborhood.