Flying Insects Have Been Disappearing Over the Past Few Decades, Study Shows (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study that has shocked scientists. Insects are an integral part of life on Earth as both pollinators and prey for other wildlife and it was known that some species such as butterflies were declining. But the newly revealed scale of the losses to all insects has prompted warnings that the world is "on course for ecological Armageddon," with profound impacts on human society. The new data was gathered in nature reserves across Germany but has implications for all landscapes dominated by agriculture, the researchers said. The cause of the huge decline is as yet unclear, although the destruction of wild areas and widespread use of pesticides are the most likely factors and climate change may play a role. The scientists were able to rule out weather and changes to landscape in the reserves as causes, but data on pesticide levels has not been collected. The research, published in the journal Plos One, is based on the work of dozens of amateur entomologists across Germany who began using strictly standardized ways of collecting insects in 1989.

Comments

Re:So which is it?

[hyades1]

As anybody knows who isn't so stupid they'd drown from looking up if they went out in the rain, climate and weather are not the same thing.

Re:Not Mosquitos

[Anonymous Coward]

BS. The only mosquitoes that don't bother humans are the ones that are so remote they can't reach us to do so.

This is absolutely the case. I visited Alaska a couple of years ago and out in the middle of nowhere we stopped along the side of the road because we all had to pee.

Holy crap the mosquitoes where everywhere. Believe me, it makes taking a piss extremely difficult when there are literally a hundred fucking mosquitoes trying to get to any available patch of skin.

Re:Not Mosquitos

[Ol Olsoc]

I would gladly destroy every bee on earth if I could sit outside without spraying a ton of chemicals on myself to prevent mosquito bites carrying disease.

I agree that mosquitoes are despicable vermin. Most bugs have some purpose in the grand cycle, and I leave them alone so long as they stay outside where they belong. But I have to ask, just what the hell is the place of mosquitoes in the scheme?! Yes, if the price was agreeable, I would support the 100% elimination of this bug forever.

Or ticks! Little cocksucers latch onto you and can even screw you up big time, via lyme disease and one even carries some disease that makes a person allergic to meat.

Tip - I don't know if you know about Picardin, but its a tick and mosquito repellent that is as effective as DEET. And it doesn't melt plastic or make you feel like a greaser - like DEET - either. I use Picardin all the time.

Re:Not Mosquitos

[thomst]

glitch! wondered:

I agree that mosquitoes are despicable vermin. Most bugs have some purpose in the grand cycle, and I leave them alone so long as they stay outside where they belong. But I have to ask, just what the hell is the place of mosquitoes in the scheme?! Yes, if the price was agreeable, I would support the 100% elimination of this bug forever.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that mosquitoes are an important food source for insectivorous birds. Hummingbirds, in particular. And Gnatcatchers. Bats are also major predators of adult mosquitoes. Their larvae are an important food source for fish, dragonflies, crawdads, and smaller water-loving birds, as well.

Insectivorous birds are also eager predators of ticks, which are particularly important to them in winter, when many other insect adults are absent from temperate ecosystems.

Note that, having said all that, I myself hate both of them, along with every other kind of parasite you might care to name.

Fleas, for instance ...