Where I lived previously, 5 years ago, in Franklinton, Louisiana, the insect population was vigorous in my meadow yard. LOTS of butterflies & bees. A sweep net through the high grass would bring moths, bees, dragonflies, little predatory flying bugs, leaf-hoppers (being eaten by the little predatory flying bugs, even in the sweep net), tiny catepilars, preying mantis, ladybugs, grasshoppers, spiders, katydids, tons of bugs. After they started aerial spraying, the bottom dropped out of the population. It seemed ... balanced ... before. Not after. And it was BORING after. Before, I would sit in the grass and watch the bugs before ... the munching ... the hunting ... the variety - it was fascinating. Not afterwards, though. Oh, there were still insects. But not as many. And drastic drops in the butterflies & bees.

I realize we have to combat West Nile and malaria, but I have problems turning our world into a Silent Spring.

Am I worrying over nothing? Is the decrease all in my imagination? Are there other people who worry about this? Am I the only one who's noticed a drastic plummet in insect populations? The only one who's frightened by that plummet? The only one who's noticed that although many insect populations have been threatened by their despicable spraying, the mosquitoes are still plentiful?

Leslie
Mandeville, Louisiana

Beyond that, insect populations vary from year to year, and within an individual year.

So, unless you've kept good records of actual numbers, it's really difficult to say if what you think you've seen is true or not.

I do understand that insect populations vary from year to year, and within an individual year. But I'm not the only person who has noticed the dramatic decrease. I'm not referring to the average person on the street, who might not notice a butterfly until it smacks into his windshield. I'm referring to butterfly gardeners, amateur naturalists. People who watch. People who pay attention, week by week, season by season.

I'm not a scientist. And I didn't count the butterflies. But I noticed them. I fed them. I gardened for them. And for many bugs. I spent time almost every day observing. Sitting. Watching. Noticing. In several locations. I have observed the decline for several years now. Not for just one species, but for many. Not for a day, or a week. But over months. Years. And they're real.

Sure, you can tell me that the Gulf Fritillary butterflies just aren't here yet this year. But when the normal numbers never turn up? The next year, either? This is the 4th year - where are they?

"Insect populations vary from year to year" is an excuse used by people who promote pesticides. Don't let them fool you. Oh, it's true - the populations DO vary from week to month to year to year. But they're using it as a temporary cover-up for something that they don't want us to see. It silences us. It makes us feel like novices. Like our observations aren't worth anything, because we're not scientists. And maybe it stops us from worrying. Makes us think, okay, if something was really wrong, SOMEBODY would notice and do something.

Until we see the same problem repeating itself. We see the population continue to decline, despite their glib assurances that everything is alright.

We need to quit listening to the pesticide promoters, and start believing our own eyes. Our own instincts. This really is a problem. And it's not just toxic to bugs. I've done some reading since I posted the first email - many of our mosquito control persons are over-spraying toxic chemicals. And It's not working - we still have mosquitoes. There are alternatives, but they're not being used.

And the really sad thing is ... these pesticides ARE working. Just not on the mosquitoes.

Leslie