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>>> Plenty of Goldenrod, knapweed, Hi Mary: You might have some new information on the the bee issue, but suggesting 'Do a google' isn't specific/helpful (probably a million hits) and citing Twitter for support earlier undermines the credibility of any serious claim. I haven't read anything recently that suggested that pesticides were actually directly responsible for 'CAUSING colony collapse disorder' (emphasis added), but that they likely were a contributing factor. An experimental study I read somewhere suggested that 'clean' bees became disoriented and could not find their food sources when dosed up to levels of insecticides recovered from some bees from hives that were judged to have be contaminated, which is ominous. In July, many EU countries banned use of the insecticide fipronil. The EU Food Safety Authority report (was not cited as an on-line source in the brief report I saw, but you could google it) concluded that maize seeds treated with fipronil present a 'high acute risk to honeybees'. Hopefully the report summarizes some real evidence for this claim. While this is an important topic on a global scale, it was not at all the focus of Blake M's thread originally, which was on the question of whether insect activity was unusually low this particular year. I've also seen extremely low insect activity at an insect trap I run in the garden that collects mainly flies and 'bees' (ichneumons mostly). There's no pesticide use in neighboring gardens, and I'd assumed that the downturn was was due simply to the earlier prolonged stretches of really wet weather. As well as the adults, terrestrial insect larvae and pupae breath air that enters through ports on the body surface (spiracles), and many species live underground in soil. It seems possible many simply drowned and or succumbed to fungal infection when inundated in saturated soil, before they could emerge. This idea at least makes an interesting prediction, that insect groups with exclusively aquatic juvenile stages with gills (e.g. mayflies, dragonflies) should have remained unaffected by the wet spring and early summer, unless they drowned while emerging into air. On a return trip to Mount Uniacke last week I encountered very few insects on the grassy drumlin, apart from Common Wood Nymphs (everywhere) and small worker bumblebees (lots on goldenrod flowers, but no honeybees), but there were quite a few dragonflies cruising around; there's a lake and stream nearby. There are a couple of dragonfly enthusiasts in NS (though Derek B recently unsubscribed from NatureNS): it would be interesting to know if they or others also have had a lean year collecting/observing this group, or if the year has been relatively normal. There have been a couple of reports of mayflies: has the emergence of that group, or of caddisflies looked normal? Steve (Halifax) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quoting Mary Macaulay <marymacaulay@hotmail.com>: > The declines are due to the herbicide killing host plants David. For > example the corn belt is now 90% round up ready and so milkweed has > been practically extirpated there. A cocktail of pesticides and > fungicides has been found to concentrate in the pollens collected by > bees which is suppressing their ability to fight off disease and > causing colony collapse disorder. These studies have just come out > in the past month. Do a google. > > Mary Macaulay, P.Eng. > Executive Director > Atlantic Concrete Association > www.atlanticconcrete.ca > Office: 902-443-4456 > Cell: 902-489-2000 > Fax: 902-404-8074 > > On 2013-08-12, at 9:30 PM, "David & Alison Webster" > <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > >> Hi Mary & All, Aug 12, 2013 >> More on this later but I can't let this pass without taking a >> swipe at it because, in my view, it is dangerously simplistic to >> attribute such declines to pesticide dependent monocultures and >> especially roundup ready crops which is after all an herbicide. >> >> This decline has been underway here for 70 years or more and >> for a host of reasons that all fall through one funnel; >> environmental destruction, fragmentation and degradation. It is not >> realistic to beat the crap out of something delicate, using the >> power of steam or the internal combustion engine, for 7 decades and >> expect no effect. >> >> The one essential ingredient has been the explosive growth in >> private automobile usage since WW2; here and in the USA. This runs >> the gamut from bugs, amphibia, reptiles, mammals & birds becoming >> road kill to the cancerous, destructive growth of surburbia and the >> associated obliteration of habitat, air quality & water quality. >> Where, a mere 40 years ago, narrow roads with tadpole-friendly >> roadside puddles ran through woodland we now have >> residential-friendly wider roads with deep ditches that run red in >> the spring directly into streams. >> >> Certainly pesticides were involved but one should not place all >> of the blame on 10% of the cause. >> >> But as Fred observed this has been a strange year. In addition, >> fewer birds in the woods may reflect more birds at feeders. There >> has been no shortage of Deer Flies in the woods recently. But I was >> astonished recently to see no Andrenid activity on a large sand >> bank that is normally peppered with about 3 holes per dm^2. >> >> One other thing Mary, the statement that " These pesticides are >> 1000 times as strong as DDT and bio magnify." conveys nearly zero >> meaning. Many early pesticides were soluble in lipids and >> consequently became concentrated up the food chain. Surely the >> industry has not repeated that mistake. >> >> Or are the fund-raisers drawing on outdated information ? >> >> And lastly, undisturbed woodland in general is not a good >> habitat for insects that feed on flowers, especially flowers of >> disturbed habitats. There will be lots of insects that feed on wood >> in various ways but they tend not to move much in the daytime. In >> season, and in somewhat open woodland, there will be insects that >> feed on flowers of plants such as Cornus alternifolia, Prunus >> serotina, Prunus virginiana, Amelanchier, Diervilla lonicera, >> Hieracium. ..., but insects associated with Solidago and other >> plants that need more sunlight are more likely to be seen in >> woodland that has been selectively cut or clearcut in small patches >> recently. I am no birder but have many times noticed bird activity >> to increase from near zero in undisturbed forest to high in nearby >> disturbed areas. >> >> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Mary Macaulay >> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >> Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 5:34 PM >> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] comment re Empty Forests >> >> This is a global phenomenon and is largely due to roundup ready >> crops and other pesticide dependent monocultures. There is a lot of >> comment about this on the twittersphere from all over the world >> right now. Neonicotinoid use has brought it to the forefront now >> because of their effects in honeybees and other pollinators. These >> pesticides are 1000 times as strong as DDT and bio magnify. >> >> Mary Macaulay, P.Eng. >> Executive Director >> Atlantic Concrete Association >> www.atlanticconcrete.ca >> Office: 902-443-4456 >> Cell: 902-489-2000 >> Fax: 902-404-8074 >> >> On 2013-08-12, at 5:12 PM, "James W. Wolford" >> <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> wrote: >> >>> Here is a relevant note I wrote myself on Aug. 7: >>> >>> AUG. 7, 2013 - I walked along the Wolfville Rail Trail this >>> afternoon, as I often do, and noted just a few butterflies (mostly >>> whites) flitting among the huge array of plants in flower, >>> especially Queen Anne's lace, common tansy, knapweed, etc., from >>> Wolfville Harbour but especially from Elm Street out to the Acadia >>> Arena. BUT what really struck me was how very few other insects I >>> am noticing on the flowers as I walk. Thinking back a couple of >>> decades (or more?), I used to see a wide variety of insects and >>> spiders on the flowers, and now I am seeing few to none, plus the >>> few butterflies. Has anyone noticed the same thing? And does >>> anyone know of a database somewhere out there in our world of >>> information that has decades of data like we have for breeding >>> birds? >>> >>> Begin forwarded message: >>> >>>> From: Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com> >>>> Date: August 12, 2013 2:52:49 PM ADT >>>> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >>>> Subject: [NatureNS] Empty Forests >>>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >>>> >>>> 11 August 2013 >>>> >>>> I was part of a group that hiked a trail near Moses Mountain in >>>> the beautiful Avon Valley in Western Hants County yesterday. >>>> Despite walking more than 12 km through beautiful deciduous and >>>> mixed wood forests, we encountered very few birds. While I >>>> suspect that most of the migrant breeding birds had departed, why >>>> were we unable to detect a single chickadee, nuthatch, or Blue >>>> Jay? We heard a couple of vireos and a pewee, and one flicker. >>>> The one highlight was a soaring Turkey Vulture, a new species for >>>> my Hants County list. >>>> >>>> Plenty of Goldenrod, knapweed, and other often flowers lined the >>>> trail along most of our hike, but we did not encounter a single >>>> butterfly. And there were very few bees in evidence as well, >>>> which was also discouraging. >>>> >>>> On such a beautiful day it is hard to account for the paucity of >>>> birds and butterflies and other wildlife. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Blake Maybank >>>> 144 Bayview Drive, >>>> White's Lake, Nova Scotia >>>> B3T 1Z1 CANADA >>>> (902) 852-2077 >>>> >>>> My Blog: CSI: Life >>>> >>>> Organiser, Maritimes Nature Travel Club >>>> >>>> Author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia >> No virus found in this message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >> Version: 2013.0.3392 / Virus Database: 3211/6563 - Release Date: 08/09/13
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