I'm sat outside in a beautifully lush English garden. The temperature isn't stifling uncomfortable like it is in Southern France right now but it is warm. I stare up to the sky and reflect on past summers. I go back a year, then a few years and then decades. I'm suddenly transported to my youth. I have my bike and Skateboard near me and the garden is just as lush - the trees are a little smaller and a few things look different but not much has changed. I'm in the same garden I grew up in. I then notice there are thunder-flies, butterflies, bees, wasps and all sorts of creatures buzzing around the flowers, my head and in the sky.
In a way all of these creatures were a little annoying to me during my youth - some of them I found fascinating while others simply got in my eyes and mouth from time to time. Flypaper would hang up in the kitchen and there would be a need for an electric UV device that would crackle when a fly would meet its demise (inspired by a trip to Greece in the 80s I seem to recall). And yet fast forward to 2019 - there is no Electrocuting UV device and there is no need for flypaper. Where have all the insects gone?
We have all heard of the demise of the common bee. And you would have to be living under a rock to not know the theory that if all Bees are gone then life as we know it will likely come to a drastic end. And yet the considerations aren't there for all the other insects. Have these beings that used to splat all over the windscreen on every drive back in the day really vanished? Of course, there are still insects out there - I'm sure you have seen 1 or 2 already today, but I'm 100% convinced there are far fewer insects by a worrying amount. If insects vanish entire ecosystems will vanish. Already I've noticed the Swallows who used to nest ritually every year have gone. Where they have gone - I would love to know - but they are no longer here! I'm not a twitcher (someone who likes to go bird watching) so maybe there are other bird populations who are struggling because of the lack of insects. Maybe, but I'm not a scientist so I can't back this up - it's simply an observation of paying attention to the fragile world I live in.
This planet is clearly more and more polluted with each year it rotates around our sun. With each year there are more and more humans taking and taking while they go about their living. And yet if the insects vanish - how quickly will each eco-system come crashing down with us likely being knocked down very soon after. Will anything be done about this? Probably not - when is anything going to get done to save the Bio-Diversity of this planet! However, while contemplating this subject today - I did stumble across this National Geographic Article on the subject (they agree with my thoughts). If you would like to read it - click on this Link. We need to stop the destruction of this planet today - stop building on green land and curb human population growth - this planet is finite and clearly space is running out. But who am I kidding.... No one is listening!
Written by Alex van Terheyden AKA "The Wondering Englishman"
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