Mixed. There are conflicting views on Neonicotinoids. Varoa mite is a huge problem, we're going to euthenase millions of bees in NSW because of an outbreak and the almond harvest in particular is now at risk.
The anecdotes about "bugs on the windscreen and the bonnet" driving around really resonate to me. There are far, far less casual bug splatters per car these days, and I cannot but think this ties back to a reduction in small insectivore populations too: we killed the bugs, the birds and lizards which depend on them are dying too.
Cycling in scotland in the 70s I could come home covered in black dots. I don't know if the midge problem is as big or not these days. I know out beyond the ranges in Australia, in the bush, its still hand flapping to keep the buggers out of your face but closer to the towns, the immediate rural areas around cities, I sense less insects overall.
I don't think the view on neonicotinoids is mixed in any useful sense. They are definitely harming bees (and many other insects almost certainly), it's a small question on whether they are doing so in a sustainable way, but the complex landscape in which this additional pesticide operates (amongst herbicides/air pollution/lack of habitat) means that it's almost impossible to quantify the exact impact neonic use has at large.
I highly recommend The Silent Earth by Dave Goulson for more. It's not a strident eco piece, I'd call it more of a lamentation, but it's also very clear headed and fairly detailed on the evidence and the issues around good science in this space.
Anecdote from Wisconsin. 30 years ago when driving across the state in summer I remember my father having to stop at gas stations to scrape bugs off the windshield. As a 40 year old, I have never had to do this. There also used to be so many fireflies I'd have jars full in a matter of minutes. I could count on my hands how many I've seen this year.
I concur with this. I drove an RV for a period - possibly the least aerodynamic vehicle around. It was a losing battle to keep it remotely clean of bugs. Now driving in the same areas in a normal vehicle, it is a practically non existent problem.
I think it does. I don't remember the bugs being nearly so bad back in the 1960s and 1970s as they are now where I live, but I never have to clean off the windshield of my car. When I was a youth we would fight for the privilege of squeegeeing the windshield at every gas fill-up. Now, it's hard to go out without drawing a cloud and even the dog wants to stay inside in the summer.
I suspect automobile aerodynamics play a bigger role in the windscreen index reduction than ecological destruction does.
I'm sure aerodynamics play a part, but insect population decline is a very real issue. You (and your dog) may think you have a "bug problem" where you live, but the wider picture is grim.
Consumer vehicles have benefitted from improvements in the process to make safety glass, and are substantially more aerodynamic than they were.
In the 41 years since our VW Vanagon was made, the aerodynamic profile has not changed. And yet, while not measured with accuracy suitable for a lab report, we clean far fewer bugs of thing than years prior. As in, previously one might have to stop at a gas station just to clean the bugs off the windshield. Whereas these days, I'm actually surprised when a bug splats on the windshield.
That, and your premise is flawed to begin with:
...data showing that modern cars hit more bugs, perhaps because older models push a bigger layer of air – and insects – over the vehicle.
A comment here. It seems to me insects are all over the place in abandoned land. But here we have most of the land alongside the road planted (and sprayed I guess). Which is to say, farmers are killing bugs near their plantation. So, no surprise there.
With respect to neonics this article by the intercept [1] gives a pretty good overview on the tactics some other of the larger pesticide makers have used. It’s incredibly long but worth the read. Plus they provide links to a lot of primary sources throughout. It’s certainly strongly opinioned but I think mostly with reason.
I’d be curious about your opinion since it sounds like you may have some first or second hand experience with pesticides and varroa mites.
There is another article here [2] which talks about the tactics used with atrazine (not a neonic).
Anecdotes: When I was young, we would have to pull over to wash the bugs off the window at times during long trips. In my adult life that had never been an issue, except during lockdown when it seemed all wildlife had a resurgence.
I have to wonder if the lack of car travel just allowed the already existing animals to wander further into town, but birds made a big recovery. There are types of birds I jad never seen before now in flocks around the city. I hope they can survive now that it is busy again.
Of three hives, one of mine survived winter (expected one, not two collapses).
But the third hive is THRIVING — I even fortuitously got to watch a full swarm, from start to finish (unable to capture in time), about a month ago.
Already have two full supers; about to add a third (for, in total, five I.mediums tall).
I started my MAQS (formic acid) treatment 60 days ago, and will do again when the dearth sets in (another few weeks where I live -- the "hot season").
They're flying strong and flying hard. In addition to varroa destructor, et. al; while watching the hive recently, I noticed my first "murder hornet" -- HUGE -- and laughed that my mother purchased me a Bug-A-Salt™ for just such a purpose/defense.
Locked-and-loaded, ready for the next day/adventure. Buzz buzz.
Are you in Whatcom county, WA? and/or somewhere in BC? I ask only because those are the most prominent places in North America that I'm aware of having "murder hornets"
re: varroa treatment: What are your thoughts on claims (research out of Czechia and Florida) about using essential oils, especially thyme oil and peppermint, as a deterrent? Do you find you've had to change up your treatments to keep under control? Do you have a preferred way to measure varroa? IE: sugar vs alcohol test? We don't have a local beekeeper association and our extension office doesn't have the expertise, so I'm always looking to connect with other beekeepers, especially that might be in roughly the same area or state.
Last year was my first year and I ended up with two deadouts - about what I expected; it was a learning experience. Started this spring with four package. Have lost one hive for reasons unclear. First queen went missing after about a month. Had a laying worker situation, tried to requeen and wasn't successful. Meanwhile, just added a second super to my best hive and the other two are doing alright getting ready for winter too.
A number of people in this thread are responding regarding their honey bee population, which I think is very important for agriculture. However, I think the more insidious issue is the decline of native bee populations. From the article:
> Nor are the 4,000 native bee species in North America doing any better: Nearly 1 in 4 of them is at increasing risk of extinction.3
I think a driving factor of this is paving over large swaths of land, farming, and individuals planting non-native plants. The native habitats for these native bees is disappearing and thus it shouldn't be a surprise that the bees are disappearing as well.
My wife and I have been planting hundreds of native plants in our garden over the last few years and there is an incredible difference in the number of native bees that visit our yard now, sometimes it's dozens at a time. We definitely never saw such activity with a standard lawn and non-native shrubs.
This is anecdotal, but this year in our garden (eastern France) there have been lots and lots of bumblebees and other insects, but very few honey bees. I've heard other people around here talking about a very rough years for apiculture.
Bumble bees are ground nesters and will over winter. Honey bees swarm in spring and colony collapse(likely varroa mites) have been killing the bees.
One issue we have been having in California is the planting of natives. Honey bees are Italian bees..not native CA bees. At least where I am, there has been so many California Buckeye planted and they are the first to bloom in spring. Their pollen is also toxic to honey bees.
When they swarm in spring, they’d go to the first nectar source after they emerge. Sadly, it would be the Buckeye. I always tell people to plant bramble(these days there are thornless varieties)..and bramble blossoms come before or around the time of the buckeye bloom..and much earlier than the rest of the spring bloom.
Of course, each region has a different story. In the south…iirc..yellow jessamine pollen is bad for honeybees. Honeybees are just one of the species..native bee varieties are numerous and often honeybees chosen for beehives and honey extraction from them are not native bees.
Where I lease land for my lavender fields, they won’t let me set up beehives because they don’t want Italian honeybees to compete with native bees and other native pollinators. Lavender honey is a very lovely product and bees forage for upto 5 mile radius ..but infused lavender honey works too.
Native pollinators and bees need protection too. But most people don’t know about their importance. That’s changing (here in California, at least!)
Native pollinators have a lot of trouble with the non-native lavender because they're not adapted to its flowers. Same way honeybees have problems with squash and sunflowers. There isn't a conflict there other than your lavender fields encroaching on native pollinator habitat. Setting up a couple of honeybee colonies won't upset the local balance as long as they're permanent.
Btw, there are still plenty of bees in the lavender field. We get both bumble bees and honey bees. But here is the interesting bit..I have many kinds of lavender..in one section, I planted a block of purple lavender next to white lavender..and bumble bees and honey bees picked the white and purple sections respectively and never mixed!! It was the weirdest thing!!
I wonder if it’s a strategy for them to watch out for predators that are different coloured than them. I have seen bumblebees in purple lavender and honeybees in the white section and on white flowers..but when they swarm in large numbers, they keep separate.
And I know they are not colour blind. I have also heard that humming bird prefer red flowers..that’s not true. Thor is the resident humming bird of the oldest elderberry tree(all farm hummingbirds are called ‘Thor’) and I have seen the same Anna and Rufus hummingbirds at the passionflowers too. So..don’t know..they must have some territorial divide and dine strategy. The hummingbirds at least get super territorial and can be mean with each other…they just look cute. Humming birds are lean mean flying fighting machines with a sword attached to their face.
Hedgerows of natives as well as salvias must be encouraged. I have a very small farm(for California/America). I am trying to convert it to a fully no-till or a semi-till set up. I know food growing commercial farms would find it unprofitable/difficult to be ecologically friendly but it’s not impossible to incorporate a few hedgerows in the middle of 100 acre fields. It’s stark now. We even truck in bees to pollinate our almond orchards, but that’s another story for another post.
Right now, I have hedgerows every half acre. The diversity of pollinators is pretty impressive. I use fennel, sage/salvias, yarrow to attract them. I also have elderberry and coyote bush for wintering birds. Grass..native grass is important too and when they drop seed. There are many bird species that are seed eating. Finches especially love them. Most seeds are high in oil. The insects are tasty too. For whatever reason, this year we got tree swallows nesting in the bluebird nesting boxes and it was a sight to behold to watch them swoop and swoon for their supper.
At home, there are passifloras for hummingbirds and other proboscis pollinators. Orchards also need a variety of pollinators. Figs for example need wasps because the fruit is an inverted flower. But everyone is afraid of wasps. So there’s that. Butterflies need both nectar plants as well as host plants for larve. Usually they aren’t the same ones.
Pollinator hedgerows should never be harvested and should be more or less left alone. I have mulberries and rugosa hedgerows for birds and deer. The deer love the rosehips(that’s why the roses shouldn’t be picked) and is a good food source for them in winter. Bunnies like to burrow under it. We even found some fox kits one winter. The benefit of wild hedgerows as perimeter planting is that it keeps the critters and birds full and busy at the edges of the farm. They won’t come in and devastate the orchard fruit. Sterilized and clean stripped farms are aesthetically pleasing to the eye but they are inefficient and require so much fossil fuel to maintain the illusion of order that farms are like literal open factories without the smoke stacks.
Honeybees are domestic livestock subject to husbandry. If there was a bad winter, we breed more until there are enough to fill our economic demands. It takes 21 days to breed a new queen, and each queen can form a colony.
Honeybees, whether native (in Europe) or non-native (everywhere else) are not in any way an indicator of the health of native insect species.
In general, the things that are good for honey bees are food for regular bees. So it probably helps of the public has honeybees in their mind. Stuff like pollinator gardens, avoiding pesticides, etc.
Meanwhile in New York, I have experienced a crazy season for carpenter bees. My neighbor insists they just have "lucky years" and won't do any permanent damage. I'm conflicted; using pesticides on a pollinator feels like a mortal sin, but I have no clue if my silly home remedies (lemongrass and almond oil) actually accomplished anything. I guess I'll see next year...
I've had the same problem. I tried the traps that look like a block of wood with a hole and a jar underneath, but I don't know if it's going to be effective enough.
My bees are doing OK. It was a terrible winter for them, but my new bees are doing well so far this year. I just harvest 50 lbs of honey.
We also have a large variety of other stinging insects in our yard. Although we did work to control the carpenter bees and yellow jackets this year via traps.
It doesn't mean much, but my raspberries are covered by more bees than I've seen in recent years and the number of different types is crazy. Everything from the little tiny native bees to the classic honey be and the bubble bees.
Regarding the number of insects around I've heard British farmers saying that neonicotinoids targeted certain insect species and since the ban they have switched back to using a broad ranging insecticide which kills everything. Whilst the insect population decline is certainly a phenomena which pre-dates the ban this change is hardly going to help, although maybe it is the lesser of two evils.
Neonicotinoids don't target certain insect species. They kill them all. The seeds are coated and then the whole plant is toxic to insects.
I like it how they say that neonicotinoids are active substances used in plant protection products to control harmful insects. Didn't know bees are harmful insects.
in Stockholm, Sweden (at least in Järfälla) they have stopped cutting the sides of the roads and they are cutting much less frequently their fields of grass. I think this started 2 years ago. now instead of lawn strips we're seeing huge weeds flowering, all the time.
they also routinely kind of "clean up" forest patches by cutting young trees that are about 2 m long. usually it's going to the refuse or is otherwise recycled. this year they have started grouping them together in piles and also adding any logs that were available from fallen trees, leaving them to be taken over by foliage.
this year has SUBSTANTIALLY more insects, and bees, and also many more spiders and obviously also webs.
The anecdotes about "bugs on the windscreen and the bonnet" driving around really resonate to me. There are far, far less casual bug splatters per car these days, and I cannot but think this ties back to a reduction in small insectivore populations too: we killed the bugs, the birds and lizards which depend on them are dying too.
Cycling in scotland in the 70s I could come home covered in black dots. I don't know if the midge problem is as big or not these days. I know out beyond the ranges in Australia, in the bush, its still hand flapping to keep the buggers out of your face but closer to the towns, the immediate rural areas around cities, I sense less insects overall.