Where have all the insects gone?

Cool Tips for a Hot Planet series

Sometimes you’re the windshield. Sometimes, you’re the bug, sang Dire Straits.

I can relate. My daughter, not so much. There aren’t that many bug splatters on windshields these days. That makes car washing easier, but it doesn’t bode well for us.

Studies tell us we’ve lost 45 per cent of our insects in four decades. And that’s a problem. Bugs pollinate one third of the food we eat, and about three quarters of our flowering plants. They’re also decomposers. It literally would be a rotten world without them. Many creatures survive on a diet of bugs. More than 90 per cent of land birds rear their young on caterpillars, so it’s no surprise that our bird population in North America has declined by almost three billion since 1970.

Insect Armageddon is happening for many reasons, including habitat loss to development, climate change, industrial agriculture, pesticide use, invasive species, our obsession with large lawns, and the popularity of imported plants.

When we built our house 30-odd years ago, we kept some natural treed areas on the property, but we also did the large lawn thing. And we planted gardens full of beautiful daffodils, tulips, hostas, Lily of the Valley, tiger lilies, lilacs, periwinkle and butterfly bush – exotic imports our insects don’t fancy. Things changed when I learned that many native plants help the climate because their deeper roots store more carbon in the soil.  Another big benefit: native plants feed our native insects, which feed our birds. We now have added hundreds of natives like pale purple coneflower, wild blue indigo, bee balm, hairy beardtongue, butterfly weed (a type of milkweed) and black-eyed Susans. And surprise surprise, the insects love them.

University of Delaware bug expert Douglas Tallamy recommends that anyone with a yard can help by ensuring that 70 per cent of their woody plants and 50 per cent of flowers be native. He points out a native oak tree feeds over 500 insect species. In contrast, a Norway maple supports fewer than 10. They are also invasive, choking out our native maples in many of our forests and ravines.

Planting natives is one thing. Pulling invasives is something else we can do. At home, we’re in a pitched battle with garlic mustard, common buckthorn, and that periwinkle we planted.  We’re seeing fewer and fewer trilliums as a result.

What else can we do?

1. Create a pollinator garden, heavy on the native plants, or open up your existing gardens or balcony pots to natives. They have evolved with our insects. Even if non-native flowers lure butterflies and bees, studies are beginning to show they may not provide the nutritional value our insects need. That’s also the case for cultivars of native plants.
2. Reduce light pollution with motion activated outdoor lights or yellow LEDs. A study published in 2020 concluded that light pollution is contributing to insect decline.
3. Leave the leaves and stems in the fall and well into the spring. Many of our native insects over-winter there.

Kawartha Lakes is a designated Bee City. To put your garden on the pollinator pathway map, go to the Bee City Kawartha Lakes web page.

By going native, you can rest assured you’re helping feed the birds and frogs, while keeping car washes in business. Bring on those bug splatters!