#ecosystems #agriculture #insectapocalypse
Even in "remote" areas
"They found that 79% of Fiji’s endemic ant species were in decline, with impacts beginning at the time of humans’ arrival on the islands about 3,000 years ago and speeding up in the past 300 years – coinciding with European contact, global trade and the arrival of modern agriculture."
Insect boom for UK after warmest, sunniest spring on record
Certain #insects - including ladybirds, butterflies and wasps - are thriving after the warmest and sunniest spring on record across the UK.
Bee-harming pesticides found in majority of English waterways
Pesticides that harm bees were found in the "majority" of English waterways tested in the last year, according to data analysis by two environmental charities.
The Rivers Trust and Wildlife and Countryside Link found #neonicotinoids #pesticides were present in 85% of English rivers tested by the #Environment Agency between 2023 and 2024.
I finally got round to clearing the huge bramble/ stinging nettle mess at the end of the garden after putting it off and putting it off.
I expected to be covered in insects and spiders but it was almost sterile... That's pretty horrifying considering it should have been teeming with life...
I saw one ladybird, a couple spiders and a grasshopper #insects #insectapocalypse #climate
Experiment: "Some patches of mustard plants were surrounded by pipes that released ozone and nitrogen oxides — polluting gases produced around power plants and conventional cars. Other plots had pipes releasing normal air."
Result: "Plants smothered by pollutants were visited by up to 70 percent fewer insects overall, and their flowers received 90 percent fewer visits compared with those in unpolluted plots. The concentrations of pollutants were well below what US regulators consider safe."
Holy mackerel!
And the results are from 2 years ago:
"Anthropogenic air pollutants reduce insect-mediated pollination services", Ryalls et al. 2022
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122000616
Where have all the wasps gone?
Despite their bad reputation and tendency to disrupt picnics, wasps are an important part of our #ecosystem.
During this time of year, it can seem like most outdoor activities are plagued by the flying insects... but they appear to have lacked their usual numbers in 2024.
Colder and wetter weather and climate change have had a global impact on the invertebrates.
Without wasps, the world could be overrun with spiders and #insects, according to the Natural History Museum. Each summer, #wasps in the UK capture about 14 million kilogrammes of insects such as caterpillars and greenfly, making them important friends to gardeners.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c134621devzo
#InsectApocalypse #Climate #ClimateChange #Collapse #Collapse2040
It's midnight, and there are no cars or pedestrians outside of my house at the moment. But there are about half a dozen large insects (probably moths) trapped in the beam from the streetlight nearest to us, and I would expect the same at every streetlight on our street.
Given that it's a residential street where nothing is going on, why not consider just turning it off at this time of night?
Why #LightPollution is a solvable #environmental crisis
Excessive #OutdoorLighting is deadly to #animals and takes a toll on #HumanHealth and wellbeing, too. But when it comes to large-scale environmental problems, this one may be a relatively easy fix.
By Alissa Greenberg
Friday, April 1, 2022
"In recent decades, lightbulbs made with #LEDs arrived, a revolution in energy efficiency with seemingly little downside. After all, an #LED bulb converts some 90% of the electricity it uses into light, whereas a conventional incandescent bulb only converts about 10%. And LED bulbs are touted as lasting up to 25 times longer.
"But the physics of LEDs make them fundamentally different from incandescents. While those traditional bulbs put out warm white light made of all colors mixed together, LEDs filter blue-rich light through a specialized phosphor material, producing light that appears white to the human eye but is still more blue-intense than incandescents’ light.
"But #BlueLight is also the most disruptive to our #nighttime environment because it mimics daylight, disrupting the hormone production and sleep cycles of both animals and humans.
"#Melatonin, one of those hormones, helps the immune system destroy renegade cells dividing out of control. That can lead to other health issues, including heightened rates of #cancer. And, 'we’re not the only ones who produce melatonin,' says Mario Motta, a cardiologist and trustee of the American Medical Association. Even amoebae produce melatonin'—meaning even amoebae might be vulnerable to light at night.
"The impacts of light pollution are evident everywhere from human health to astronomy research, but they come into particular focus in the recent phenomenon of global species #dieoffs. Between 100 million and a billion birds die every year due to light pollution, according to Massachusetts IDA chapter president James Lowenthal. New York City recently dealt with a huge die-off, 'with flocks of #MigratoryBirds slamming into buildings,' says Sarah Bois, an ecologist at the island’s Linda Loring Nature Foundation and a member of Nantucket Lights. 'They’re attracted to light.' A 2015 study at New York’s 9/11 'Tribute in Light'' installation showed an increase from 500 birds within half a kilometer of the light beams before they were turned on to 15,700 just minutes after.
"The issue is a double whammy for birds because they rely on #insects for food—and those populations are plummeting, with light pollution contributing significantly to the so-called "#InsectApocalypse.” By some estimates, one third of insects attracted to light sources at night die before morning, either due to exhaustion or because they get eaten. And according to a study in Germany, the number of insects in that country alone that die after being attracted to lights can number 100 billion or more in a single summer.
"Some starve to death searching for food that should appear bluer at twilight but is lit up amber under streetlights, says insect conservationist Avalon Owens, a doctoral candidate at Tufts University. Some are thrown off by light just the way we are, because of their #CircadianRhythms. #Pollinators whose schedules are altered by artificial light miss the #flowers they’re evolutionarily paired with, if the flowers naturally close and open with the warmth of the sun. And insects that rely on circadian rhythms for their yearly development don’t hibernate in time for winter and freeze to death.
"On #Nantucket, these phenomena are of particular concern because the island is home to a remarkably healthy population of northern long-eared #bats, which are endangered. Like many birds, the bats rely on insects for food and are easily dazzled by light, putting them in increasing jeopardy. Jack Dubinsky, director of the Maria Mitchell Aquarium on Nantucket, says he’s concerned that adding increasingly lit-up nights to the challenges of #ClimateChange, water quality, and #ecosystem collapse could put huge pressure on some already struggling species. 'The more curveballs we throw, the less likely they’ll be able to find their way,' he says.
Read more:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/light-pollution-led-nantucket-solutions/
Today in a workshop I played an interesting "educational game" that's designed to get policymakers to think about tradeoffs and decision making regarding light.
I enjoyed the experience and the perspectives of my co-players. But at one point when I suggested giving priority to turning off lights in a park for ecological reasons, a lighting designer said "what do you mean? It's an urban park, there isn't anything living there!"
😱 😭
#LightPollution
#InsectApocalypse
#Ecology
#Urbanism
(3/)
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