Where Have All The Insects Gone?

[Baddad (Marty)]

Something I find of concern is that as a child (and that was not in the Jurrasic era) There were a great many more insects and frogs about, including spiders. We have almost no spiders around the house. That is due to the geckos and Green Frogs.

However, when driving on the highways back in 1974 and prior to that, there were hundreds of insect collisions against the windscreen. It was necessary to clean the windscreen after a few hours of driving. Often when pulling into a service station a bird or two would pick off the insects from the front of the car.
Driving in rain was good. No insects to clean off.

These days I hardly have any insect strikes. I'm discounting the occasional locust plague or whatever.


Flying insect invasions into the house was common in the 50's & 60's. Now there may only be a few ants or a few Christmas beatles. The numbers are nothing like what it used to be.


Could it mean a situation like the proverbial canary in the mine?


Anyone else notice these changes?

Cheers

[cfranks (Charles)]

I think I have most of the missing spiders at my place. During an Imaging night I get dozens of wind-bourne webs across my face as the spiders migrate. I now know how Gulliver felt when he was tied down!

Charles

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Dennis has been shooting all of them, then feeding them to his pet lizard.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Cicadas come to mind too. When I was growing up on Sydney's north shore in the 60's they covered the tree trunks everywhere and were deafening - every year. I haven't heard a single one in years.

[astronut (John)]

All the mozzies were out at our observing site last weekend!!

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Baddad

Something I find of concern is that as a child (and that was not in the Jurrasic era) There were a great many more insects and frogs about, including spiders. We have almost no spiders around the house. That is due to the geckos and Green Frogs.

However, when driving on the highways back in 1974 and prior to that, there were hundreds of insect collisions against the windscreen. It was necessary to clean the windscreen after a few hours of driving. Often when pulling into a service station a bird or two would pick off the insects from the front of the car.
Driving in rain was good. No insects to clean off.

These days I hardly have any insect strikes. I'm discounting the occasional locust plague or whatever.


Flying insect invasions into the house was common in the 50's & 60's. Now there may only be a few ants or a few Christmas beatles. The numbers are nothing like what it used to be.


Could it mean a situation like the proverbial canary in the mine?


Anyone else notice these changes?

Cheers

I have bucket loads of bugs around here if you need any. I think as kids we used to go around more than kids now who are mostly indoors but I don't think there is any less wildlife out there.

[GrampianStars (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

Cicadas come to mind too. When I was growing up on Sydney's north shore in the 60's they covered the tree trunks everywhere and were deafening - every year. I haven't heard a single one in years.

They're all here at "Halls Gap" around the "elephant Hide" valley
The noise F A N T A S T I C day and night

[Poita (Peter)]

Yeah, flies used to be the bane of my childhood summers, now we only get a few. Haven't heard the deafening roar of Cicadas for a long time either.
Still have plenty of spiders here, and lots of frogs, but nothing like the insect population of my 70s childhood, that is for sure.
Also find it nearly impossible to find Pippies at the beach, which were plentiful and great fun when I was a kid, the rock pools are relatively empty too.
The soldier crabs still seem to be on the march, much to my kid's delight when we visit Urunga, but the other small creatures and bugs seem to have dwindled considerably.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by GrampianStars

They're all here at "Halls Gap" around the "elephant Hide" valley
The noise F A N T A S T I C day and night

Glad to see that they haven't disappeared altogether Rob. We were completely evil with these as kids. There was nothing better than tying a loosely knotted length of string around a cicada and letting it go. Instant control-line aviation!

[Ric]

I've noticed that out my way it seems to be a two year cycle for Cicadas and Christmas Beetles, last year there were thousands of them but this year there has only been a handful here and there.

The Huntsmen have been quiet as well but there is a big mum with an egg sac in the garage so I expect there will be an abundance next summer.

As for the general population of flying bugs, there is still a healthy crowd around here. Just wear a half face helmet on a motorbike and they all home in on me.

[scagman (John)]

Still pleany around here.

Originally Posted by Ric

As for the general population of flying bugs, there is still a healthy crowd around here. Just wear a half face helmet on a motorbike and they all home in on me.

I'll stick to a full face thank you. I'd rather spend 5-10mins cleaning them off the visor and not my teeth. I suppose if you get hungry on a ride you dont need to stop for a munch

[Baddad (Marty)]

Some of the country areas seem to have plenty of bugs.
Around the cities it seems to have been affected somehow.
Maybe the bug sprays? Pollution. Bugs do not tolerate fine dust at all. It cuts off their air supply.

[TrevorW]

Spiders, crickets, dragon flies, butterflies, grasshoppers

they've all moved to WA

[OzRob (Rob)]

They have come on holiday to Thailand!!!

[Irish stargazer (John)]

Originally Posted by astronut

All the mozzies were out at our observing site last weekend!!

They moved there after feasting at my place

[tomtom]

I also noticed a lack of "bugs" on my ride up to South Gippsland.
Still had bugs all over my visor and light, but nothing compared to the almost rain sound of previous years on the windscreen.
I only have a car trip to compare it to, but I'm sure there were less than there used to be.

[hotspur (Chris)]

Yes,Marty-seems a lot less over the last few years.

Of particular concern this season,is the lack of honey bees,our vegie garden
is not producing any zuchennies this year at all,we tried hand pollinating them,but no luck

[gary]

Hi Marty,

I see you are in Brisbane, but this Dec 20th 2011 Sydney Morning Herald article
by Deborah Smith which discusses the anecdotal decline in the numbers of Christmas
beetles in Sydney may be of interest.

See
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/an...219-1p2k6.html

Originally Posted by Deborah Smith, Sydney Morning Herald

The quintessential summer experience of Christmas beetles crashing into screen doors, swarming around street lights, or getting caught in children's hair, has become just a memory for many Sydneysiders, due to urban sprawl.

But in the bush as well this year, numbers of Christmas beetles are down, because of the heavy rain.

Dr Reid said there were no detailed records tracking the drop-off in Christmas beetles in the city, but in recent years he has regularly had to field queries from people puzzled about their disappearance. ''The evidence suggesting the decline is anecdotal,'' he said, ''yet compelling''.

[Kevnool (Kev)]

There is a lot of bushmans floating around in the atmosphere .
Yep its doing its job.

Cheers Kev.

[midnight (Darrin)]

Larger than normal amount of spiders around our place at the moment and the flies are in large numbers this year.

It's been a little wetter than previous years and the buggers are getting into everything.

Darrin...