Here in Michigan I have not seen any butterflies this year.In the garden usually over the brassicas there is a swarm of cabbage moths,not this year. This morning I walked through the back garden and did not see one bee. Something is up and I think it is not good. It has been a wet year,28 inches of precipitation this year so far,yearly average is 31-35 inches. I did catch one vine borer moth in a trap and usually I catch too many to count. Very strange around here concerning the pollinator bugs.
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Seen any butterflies or bees?
- Thread starter hydrodog
- Start date
That is weird hydro, something is up.
We have had many butterflies and the big ones. Honey bees seem to be on the upswing (not as many as there use to be). I do see many more of those big black and yellow bumble bees pollinating the flowers verses the honey's.
We have hundreds of Hosta's with the tall violet flowers. When you walk near them, there is a low hum of bumble bees.....pretty neat...
We have had many butterflies and the big ones. Honey bees seem to be on the upswing (not as many as there use to be). I do see many more of those big black and yellow bumble bees pollinating the flowers verses the honey's.
We have hundreds of Hosta's with the tall violet flowers. When you walk near them, there is a low hum of bumble bees.....pretty neat...
West Michigan bug report...not good...I have seen 0 honey bees working the clover or any other plant for that matter this year so far. I was detecting a huge sports field that was full of white clover and reminisced about how a kid could fill up a jar full of honey bees in a half hour back 30 years ago on a field like this. I have seen a few bumblebees and butterflies, swallowtail, and probably so few its a treat to see one so I notice them. I talked to a friend whos bro in law keeps bees in Holland Mi and he lost 50% of his colonys this spring. The last wild swarm I saw was 3 years ago down on the MKG river flats. My vehicle windshield is clean with hardly any bugs on it, and the ones that are are smallish and unrecognizable as is the radiator on the car, another bad sign.
You remember when your car radiator or windshield held all sorts of cool bugs? Big dragonflies, butterflies, bees and whatnot? The wife keeps a big flower garden and feeders out for the hummingbirds etc., but man, the bee count is as low as I've ever seen it.
Mud
You remember when your car radiator or windshield held all sorts of cool bugs? Big dragonflies, butterflies, bees and whatnot? The wife keeps a big flower garden and feeders out for the hummingbirds etc., but man, the bee count is as low as I've ever seen it.
Mud
I'll tell you what mud, good thinking on the bugs stuck in the radiator, I hardly see any cool ones.....very good observation. We were big into bugs as kids, it was half our child hood. We had what we called bee bushes. While the bees were doing their thing, we'd clap them, if you got stung, you lost. Bunch of knuckleheads we were.
For making bug collections I would put them in a jar with cotton in the lid. I would get my moms nail polish remover and drip some into the cotton. The bugs died perfectly for collections. The butterflies would open their wings for the full beauty. Funny how one changes....hard for me to kill things today.
For making bug collections I would put them in a jar with cotton in the lid. I would get my moms nail polish remover and drip some into the cotton. The bugs died perfectly for collections. The butterflies would open their wings for the full beauty. Funny how one changes....hard for me to kill things today.
SteveO, That's funny to think about how we entertained ourselves as kids! We did the same thing with bees, catching them between cupped hands and seeing how brave we were! Made me think about how as a young kid you could guarantee that you will accidentally step on and get stung on the bare foot by at least one bee per summer, how bad that hurt! Hurt all the way up to the knee! I remember taking slingshots and loading them up with a pouch full of sand or gravel and shooting at those big dragon flies under the street lights in the evening as they would be darting in and out like helicopters. Also all the bats that would be flying around, come to think of it, I havnt seen a bat in several years also..we would throw things up in the air to see them lock in with their radar and swoop over to investigate..I did that bug collection trick with the jar and nail polish remover too, turned it in as a science project in school. Yes, young men are explorers and killers of all sorts of things, but like you, I dont have the interest in much of that anymore. I love hunting metal or killing a pile of clad though!
Mud
Mud
Ha! Great minds think alike Mud, about the np remover. My teacher in 6th grade was a science guy. He asked me how I killed the bugs to maintain there shape, when I told him, a big smile crossed his face while nodding his head saying "amazing, well done". A requirement was to have glass on the display. I didn't want to ask my dad to put money out for the piece of glass so I stretched saran wrap over the display instead. The teacher said " Steve, this is A work, but because glass wasn't used, I have to give you a B..... Man, that hurt. I usually didn't get many A's in school, only in science and gym.
As one that has been into Bee Keeping as a hobby for the last ten years I have seen the ups and downs of the bee populations. Most of the time it is mites that have kept bees down. I dust my hives at the recommended times for mites. Just read the directions on the package. Other than that the other problem has been Yellow Jackets. They are some of the most aggressive predators too bees.
im in Minnesota not real big in to bugs but iv seen alot of bees this year im pretty sure there not honey bees not sure what kind they are but i think honey bees are the fury looking ones? and there not wasps but theres been a ton of them this year like to get in my messy car lol
pulltabMiner
New member
A few years ago most all pollinators disappeared from my neck of the woods (south central Kansas) but they came back albeit in smaller numbers. Were it not for the 'sweat' bees, my veggies and fruit trees would have never bore fruit. Spring 2014, I may just grow a bunch of flowers just to give them a place to hang out.
There's good news... Bee's are surviving more and more... It was a real cliff hanger there for a while but Bee Keepers have managed to move colonies around and a rebound is occuring... When bee's disappear so will people as our food supllies will not be pollinated and grow.
Bat's are also challenged and can use our help as well. They eat a lot of the pest out of the skies by the ton. Without them well, it would be bad..
Bat's are also challenged and can use our help as well. They eat a lot of the pest out of the skies by the ton. Without them well, it would be bad..
Just got back from a week's fishing in Canada.
Been noticing this for years. Driving through agricultural land now days will get you only a random insect now and then.
Seven or eight years ago we would have to stop about once an hour to clean the bugs off the windshield. Well not any more until you get higher up north away from the corn fields and into the more forested areas, then you get some bugs. Before you say I'm nuts l will let you know I have been making this same annual trip for 40 years and I am not a zombie, I notice things.
Monsanto will tell you that there is nothing to see here accept our great biodegradable products being used not to feed you but to help grow more corn for ethanol. The same ethanol that when blended with your real gas at a 10% rate will get your vehicle 15% less mpg. And as a bonus it ruins all your boat moters and garden equipment. But burning 15 % more fuel to get the job done "Makes us all breath a little easier" It's just like magic!
Before you say I'm nuts and must be exadurading do your own test, and keep your pie hole shut until you know what your talking about.
One more observations that has been developing over the last few years, as I drive through Iowa and Wisconsin on a regular bases, I have noticed more and more tree cutting along farm fields to make room for a few more rows of corn. Also in Wisconsin whole blocks of timber are now being clear cut because corn farming is now more profitable than lumber. These areas are marginal farming areas at best but they are doing it anyway.
One more ironic observation, our government spends millions of dollars on there propaganda / brainwashing radio ads each year probably more like billions now days. One of those ads tells us that " The ground beneath each cigarette is a toxic waste area that poisons our soil" yet nicotine is the very substance used to kill the bugs in the farm fields. Hmmmm!
Move along Zombies nothing to see here.
Been noticing this for years. Driving through agricultural land now days will get you only a random insect now and then.
Seven or eight years ago we would have to stop about once an hour to clean the bugs off the windshield. Well not any more until you get higher up north away from the corn fields and into the more forested areas, then you get some bugs. Before you say I'm nuts l will let you know I have been making this same annual trip for 40 years and I am not a zombie, I notice things.
Monsanto will tell you that there is nothing to see here accept our great biodegradable products being used not to feed you but to help grow more corn for ethanol. The same ethanol that when blended with your real gas at a 10% rate will get your vehicle 15% less mpg. And as a bonus it ruins all your boat moters and garden equipment. But burning 15 % more fuel to get the job done "Makes us all breath a little easier" It's just like magic!
Before you say I'm nuts and must be exadurading do your own test, and keep your pie hole shut until you know what your talking about.
One more observations that has been developing over the last few years, as I drive through Iowa and Wisconsin on a regular bases, I have noticed more and more tree cutting along farm fields to make room for a few more rows of corn. Also in Wisconsin whole blocks of timber are now being clear cut because corn farming is now more profitable than lumber. These areas are marginal farming areas at best but they are doing it anyway.
One more ironic observation, our government spends millions of dollars on there propaganda / brainwashing radio ads each year probably more like billions now days. One of those ads tells us that " The ground beneath each cigarette is a toxic waste area that poisons our soil" yet nicotine is the very substance used to kill the bugs in the farm fields. Hmmmm!
Move along Zombies nothing to see here.
I know this is an old topic, but in the last 5 years, since this was posted, I haven't seen things getting any better. I've passed a lot of clover fields
and detected in quite a few since this thread was posted and I'm still seeing a serious lack of bees. In fact, we used to have periods where we had
a lot of bugs around the house and it's dropped off in the last few years as well. This can't be good.
and detected in quite a few since this thread was posted and I'm still seeing a serious lack of bees. In fact, we used to have periods where we had
a lot of bugs around the house and it's dropped off in the last few years as well. This can't be good.
Stoof-tabsallday
Well-known member
No lack of bees here in Michigan. They nest right outside my sliding door. I can't kill enough of them. Lol
Danbythecreek
Well-known member
Monarchs are going extinct.
Draco
Well-known member
I know it is an old topic, but very interesting.
I work as a researcher for Lepidoptera (butterflies) in a national park. The decrease in butterflies and bees are due to several factors. Intensive agriculture, insecticides and most likely climate change, among other things.
Butterflies and bees consume a large amount of energy when they fly, which is why they need to suck every little time to move. If there are no wildflowers to feed, they just die.
It would be very important that every few meters there is a "free" space for intensive crops and dedicated only to wild flowers. So they can stop, feed and go on their way.
I cannot explain the whole process in words, as my level of English is very basic, but there is a very good report from the BBC, which explains it clearly.
The large grassy parks are very nice, but are usually cleared of weeds. These weeds and their flowers are what feed both bees and butterflies, which are great pollinators..
As you can see, there are many factors that contribute to their disappearance from our environment. If each of us leaves a small space in our orchards or gardens, so that "weeds" come out and that is also free, we would contribute to create that corridor, so that they feed, pollinate our gardens and continue on their way.
I work as a researcher for Lepidoptera (butterflies) in a national park. The decrease in butterflies and bees are due to several factors. Intensive agriculture, insecticides and most likely climate change, among other things.
Butterflies and bees consume a large amount of energy when they fly, which is why they need to suck every little time to move. If there are no wildflowers to feed, they just die.
It would be very important that every few meters there is a "free" space for intensive crops and dedicated only to wild flowers. So they can stop, feed and go on their way.
I cannot explain the whole process in words, as my level of English is very basic, but there is a very good report from the BBC, which explains it clearly.
The large grassy parks are very nice, but are usually cleared of weeds. These weeds and their flowers are what feed both bees and butterflies, which are great pollinators..
As you can see, there are many factors that contribute to their disappearance from our environment. If each of us leaves a small space in our orchards or gardens, so that "weeds" come out and that is also free, we would contribute to create that corridor, so that they feed, pollinate our gardens and continue on their way.