‘Insect Apocalypse’

As I write here in the shade of my back garden there are weather warnings of a risk of death and severe damage to infrastructure. A notification has come through on my phone displaying a picture of the front page of the Guardian for July 16th, it reads: “Thousands may die as record highs expected”.

I decide to walk to the grounds of my local hospital where there are a couple of large ponds, some shade and benches you can sit on and observe some wildlife. On my way I pass through a park where there is a good turn out for the local outdoor bowls match. I guess most of the players are in their 60s and 70s, some wearing shorts, some wearing trousers and nearly all of them donning white hats. On reaching the hospital I notice the car park almost empty, as it had been in the early lockdown phase of Covid. But by the ponds there are so few swallows, swifts and martins (house- and sand-) this summer. As each summer passes I notice there are fewer and fewer of them and I wonder why. This is happening worldwide and the barn swallow has seen a 95% drop in numbers across North America in the last 40 years.

These birds feed on insects and insects come out in warm and hot weather. Insects are crucial for pollinating plants, a process which is essential for reproducing a range of flowers and vegetables. Around 80% of U.K. plants are pollinated by insects, including a large number of our food crops. The U.K.’s flying insect population has declined by a staggering 60% in 20 years according to some reports. An insect Armageddon is underway, say many entomologists.

Why it can be such a joy to lack some knowledge, as I do in so many fields, is that it provides an incentive to think critically and do my own research. I want to look at both sides of the argument, resist any temptation to be swayed to one side or the other and increase my knowledge rather than just reach a conclusion. I want to know what is really going on. Those who have read Chris Morrison’s articles in the Daily Sceptic will be well informed that the argument for global warming, so relentlessly pushed by the BBC, doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. The articles cite convincing data provided by many climate experts who have been largely silenced by the mainstream media. The data categorically refute the BBC’s line.