Maybe more helpful to the mass of insects if we join the Extinction
rebellion and blockade pesticide distributors?
On 18/02/2019 11:00, [email protected] wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Fwd: Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of
nature' (Mez Breeze)
2. Tibetan Trumpet rag-dung (Alan Sondheim)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2019 06:57:51 +1100
From: Mez Breeze <[email protected]>
To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity
<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] Fwd: Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten
collapse of nature'
Message-ID:
<CAG9+UiH0NQ6_hHhzhFF5G=fzr0dqndcwrowwncha9w3zzaq...@mail.gmail.com>
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[A quick follow-up: one of the best twitter threads I've read so far on
this topic is here:
https://twitter.com/MezBreezeDesign/status/1097211711717658624]
On Thu, Feb 14, 2019 at 6:32 AM Helen Varley Jamieson <
[email protected]> wrote:
On 12.02.19 02:22, Mez Breeze via NetBehaviour wrote:
but in germany i'm limited to the balcony. i've had an "insect hotel" on
it for a couple of years but no insects have shown any interest in it yet.
...where is the insect hotel placed? Sometimes too much or little sun can
effect them depending on season?
if anything it gets too little sun; our balcony is east-facing, & the
insect house is on the wall that doesn't get any direct sunlight. i'll try
moving it to the other end of the balcony where it gets sun up to early
afternoon in the summer.
You could go for an actual home-made bee attractant like is shown here
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl0o2aytaFE>, though I've never tried
it. I'd also be careful where you source your plants/seeds too - heritage
and local varieties suited [native] to your region/season could help, and
make sure to always go true organic [as opposed to greenwashed
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing> organic] that haven't been
artificially boosted with all types of chemical crud. And never use
pesticides/herbicides - use companion planting methods
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companion_planting> + seaweed/kelp
solution as tonic + good compost [do you have an in-home composting setup
<https://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/i-just-started-composting-my-apartment-and-you-can-too.html>
for your apartment? Homemade is the best, and it stops vegie/fruit scraps
going to landfill.]
great, i'll try the insect attractant. all seeds are proper organic ones,
into organic potting soil, & definitely no pesticides or herbicides going
into the balcony garden, only additives are organic fertilisers & composts.
the city does composting here, so we add our compost into that (get a
voucher for free compost in return).
And it does sound like you're doing all the right things - I'd suggest
keeping up planting anything with a blue/purple flowers:
*"According to Bee Culture <http://www.beeculture.com/bees-see-matters/>,
the most likely colors to attract bees are purple, violet and blue.*
*A study of nine bumblebee colonies in Germany found that those who
favored purple blooms were greatly rewarded for their preference.*
*?In the area we studied, violet flowers produced the most nectar ? far
more than the next most rewarding flower color (blue),? Dr. Nigel Raine
from Queen Mary?s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences told
ScienceDaily
<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070624141133.htm>.
?Inexperienced bees are known to have strong color preferences, so we
investigated whether the bumblebee colonies with a stronger preference for
violet flowers foraged more successfully in their local flora.?*
*Raine found that the bumblebees developed their favorite color over time,
corresponding with the most nectar-rich flowers."* [From:
https://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping-blog/bee-vision-and-the-color-purple/
]
great - we always have lots of cornflowers, & some other purple ones that
i don't know the name of, plus lavendar. the bees also seem to like
nasturtiums, which we always have plenty of too. i'll look into more purple
flowers.
thanks,
h : )
--
helen varley jamieson
[email protected]
http://www.creative-catalyst.com
http://www.upstage.org.nz
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