Terrible news. Just one of the reasons why these days I live a life devoted in equal parts to permaculture and creativity: the permaculture setup here is specifically for insect/bird/reptile populations as much as its a functional setup for human food production. It requires no pesticides or herbicides, and crops grown here are selected in part for their bee and pollinator appeal [rosemary, sage, borage, oregano, big variety of vegies, have water gardens to hydrate insects that have avenues for escape if insects fall in the water, 5 bays housing homemade compost helps, a crazy number of fruit trees, flowers etc]. And although I do live rurally, I'm also 2 blocks away from the main street of town, so it's doable anywhere.
If anyone on this list wants advice, tips, or any other help or info related to getting started developing an insect-friendly garden [can be as small as a balcony garden], let me know. I'm more than happy to help on topics ranging from soil health and maintenance [where it all starts] to plant selection/water use/conservation etc. With Warmth, Mez On Mon, Feb 11, 2019 at 10:44 AM Paul Hertz via NetBehaviour < [email protected]> wrote: > In Chicago, we've been wondering where the lightning bugs have gone. When > I was a child in Ohio in the 1950s we used to drive out into the country to > see clouds of them lifting off the fields as the last glimmers of the > summer sun faded. When we moved to Chicago 30 years ago our son caught them > in the backyard, in the middle of the city. I don't know if my > granddaughters will grow up chasing after them, there seem to be so few > that come out now. > > -- Paul > > > On Sun, Feb 10, 2019 at 5:27 PM Alan Sondheim <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> >> There have been a number of studies on this. And in the U.S. - when we >> drive across country - the same. No insects. The last 'grouping' I saw >> was >> maybe ten years ago - grasshoppers escaping a wildfire near Copperton, >> Utah... >> >> On Sun, 10 Feb 2019, Edward Picot via NetBehaviour wrote: >> >> > Scary stuff from today's Guardian, for those of you who haven't seen >> it: >> > >> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature >> > . >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > NetBehaviour mailing list >> > [email protected] >> > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > >> > >> >> web http://www.alansondheim.org / cell 347-383-8552 >> current text http://www.alansondheim.org/vx.txt >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > > > -- > ----- |(*,+,#,=)(#,=,*,+)(=,#,+,*)(+,*,=,#)| --- > http://paulhertz.net/ > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > -- | mezbreezedesign.com
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