Earth’s vital insects in decline
Entomologist David Goulson has appealed for British gardeners to stop using insecticides to help halt the decline of flying insects. The Sussex University professor is involved in a German study that has recorded a 75 per cent drop in the number of flying insects over the past 25 years. “We do not know if the UK has suffered the same declines but the German landscape is similar, with the same crops and the same pesticides, so my guess is that it would be similar here,” he told BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine. “There’s evidence suggesting that bees and butterflies are affected, but any flying insect is likely to be a pollinator and so important. Insects are at the heart of everything, and aren’t appreciated for what they do. It sounds dramatic, but life on Earth would collapse without them.” The German study, printed in PLOS ONE journal, is based on research by dozens of entomologists from Krefeld Entomological Society, who have used traps to count flying insect numbers since 1989. Numbers had fluctuated annually but in 2013 they began to plummet, with contributors to the study saying insecticides are most likely to blame. Professor Goulson urged British gardeners to help out, saying: “Gardeners can do a lot. Growing pollinatorfriendly flowers is a good start. Avoid most bedding plants and double varieties. Put up a bee hotel. Don’t use any insecticides. If everyone did these things we could make urban areas into giant insect nature reserves!”