Insect Watch

The decline in insect populations is a concerning trend for ecologists.  It has reached the notice of the Financial Times Weekend edition (24/25th August 2024) where I read a long article entitled Where have all the insects gone?

I notice the insects in our garden. The fruitfulness of our crops depends on them.  They generally bring me delight and are greeted with enthusiasm and endearments.  So I wondered if I could informally record any changes to insect populations this year.  Our garden is pesticide-free and backs on to a wooded park perimeter, where as I have previously posted, my husband has constructed a 'bug area' from the fallen logs of the Leylandii hedge felled during the Pandemic.

My first observation is that there have not been as many pests.  I loathe Gooseberry Sawfly and there were fewer of these larvae on my gooseberry bushes this year.  As usual I picked them off by hand.  Our moth trap did not trap any Codling Moths around our apple trees, although these are a rarity, for which I am thankful.  My Rainbow Chard seems to have largely escaped leaf mining grubs and has been magnificent.  Cabbage White butterflies are still in evidence and are in courting flight over my Kale.  Again, their eggs and caterpillars are picked off by hand.  The snail and slug populations seem down but not out.  (I continue to re-home them in the park.)

We did not get any wasps nesting close to the house this year and the bumblebees have not returned to their place in the kitchen extractor fan vent for some years.  However there were sufficient bees to pollinate both our apple trees (which are having a good season), our runner beans, blackcurrants and raspberries.  The pair of House Martins that nest around the corner returned to capture aerial insects and feed their brood.  

Butterflies have been rare (apart from the pesky Cabbage White).  There seem to be fewer flies stuck in our kitchen, but plenty of spiders which are trapping small moths.   I am hoping that when our Michaelmas Daisy clump comes into flower that we will see the Red Admirals, Fritillaries and various kinds of woodland butterflies returning.  In the meantime the bees and bumble bees are enjoying the nectar from the Lavender and the Golden Oregano which we always allow to flower.

We do what we can.  Can I encourage other readers of this post to do so too.