No butterflies.... NO honey bees...

[3cylbill]

Haven't seen one all summer.......

 

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[pepperj]

Haven't seen one all summer.......

We have lots of Bumble bees, Mason bees, not as many butterflies though it seems.

 

[robertk]

Hopefully it's a local and temporary issue. We've got tons of butterflies and honey bees here -- have had all summer.

 

[releventchair]

Left area outside a flower bed to grow volunteer milkweed (year 3?).
Did see caterpillar last year but nothing beyond.
A caterpillar this year, and told a visitor I have not seen a monarch ,when she pointed one out flying by.
Oh well..

Bees. Yes. They're around.
I haven't been on on the other property lately to see how busy the golden rod is yet. Maybe later today.

 

[ticndig]

bees ,butterflies and other insects are plentiful in the countryside of central Va .

 

[robertk]

Here's one of many who visited one of the apple trees this spring. They've been all over the garden all summer too.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Here in corn country there is a huge lack of insects. Butterflies, bees, mosquitoes are few to non-existent. This was the first yr in 30 yrs here that we didn’t have many deer flies. When driving down the highway your windshield used to get covered in bugs. Not anymore. I think all the aerial spraying of the crops may be wiping out a lot of insects. They are now using neonicotinoid poisons.

 

[robertk]

I think all the aerial spraying of the crops may be wiping out a lot of insects.

That's probably a lot of it, IMO. I don't even use any insecticide on my garden for exactly that reason -- don't want to kill off the "good" bugs along with the "bad". They all have their role to play, and we need those pollinators!

 

[Blackfoot58]

Here in corn country there is a huge lack of insects. Butterflies, bees, mosquitoes are few to non-existent. This was the first yr in 30 yrs here that we didn’t have many deer flies. When driving down the highway your windshield used to get covered in bugs. Not anymore. I think all the aerial spraying of the crops may be wiping out a lot of insects. They are now using neonicotinoid poisons.

I agree completely. We see one or two lightning bugs at night. There used to be hundreds. The only plentiful insects I see are squash vine borers. They are prolific and ruin my pumpkins and squashes.

 

[releventchair]

No blooms on goldenrod yet out on the property..
Plenty of mosquitos though.
From the looks of things a stray cow or two also.

 

[southfork]

Lots of bees of all kinds and now the meat bees / ground wasps are coming in to drink from the cow tanks. A lot of wasps landing on the mud around the water troughs. Our vegetable garden is loaded with Bees.

 

[Gene Mean]

The locals here in my neighborhood are saying the same, no bees, no butterflies, no hummingbirds, no fireflies. We have tons of clover and honeybees, flowers, weeds, butterflies, zinnias, trumpet flowers and hummingbirds, fireflies too. I think it's the mosquito yard spraying that is killing beneficial insects too. I see the company yard spraying signs on 75% of lawns around here. Maybe more.

 

[Blackfoot58]

The locals here in my neighborhood are saying the same, no bees, no butterflies, no hummingbirds, no fireflies. We have tons of clover and honeybees, flowers, weeds, butterflies, zinnias, trumpet flowers and hummingbirds, fireflies too. I think it's the mosquito yard spraying that is killing beneficial insects too. I see the company yard spraying signs on 75% of lawns around here. Maybe more.

Great to have the honeybees!

 

[scruggs]

They are sparse in the residential areas where people use pesticides and chemicals on the lawns. You see more out in the country where they don't put the chemicals out as much. I see very few in my subdivision and i'm one who puts materials out on the lawn. I try to apply mine late in the day giving it a chance to dry and not kill all the ones that may contact the plants.

 

[Almy]

It hard on the insect-eating birds like swallows and flycatchers, and their numbers have been decreasing dramatically. Not good.

 

[DownEast_Detecting]

It’s crazy how they travel 1200-2800 miles every year when adult butterflies only live 4-6 weeks. Seems like a good portion of their short life is spent traveling. It can take up to 2 moths. The farthest recorded travel of a monarch is 265 miles through in one day, that’s pretty nuts.
“Monarchs require a vast, healthy migratory path and large, robust forests for survival through the winter. Today, the butterflies face a reduction of breeding habitat in the US due to herbicide application and land use changes as well as forest degradation in wintering sites in Mexico.”
Milkweed is the only plant on which monarchs will lay their eggs and the only source of food for baby caterpillars. But urban planning and agricultural expansion have paved and plowed over millions of acres of milkweed

I definitely don’t see as much of them today as in the past. But today I saw one sun bathing by the river. Let’s play who can spot the monarch. (It’s not very hard) lol… he wouldn’t let me get very close and I only had my old iPhone so pics could better. But I like the composition of the second shot.

 

[newnan man]

We as humans are destroying the environment at an alarming rate. The use of toxic chemicals on crops, lawns, etc, will/is having a serious impact on earth. Eliminating beneficial insects will have far reaching consequences. Global warming is a joke compared to the earhwide environmental destruction going on right now, including pollution of the oceans.

 

[pepperj]

Living on the edge of a nice green belt helps and staying organic also helps.
40acres between a land trust and a Federal Park
I will use a wasp spray in isolated incenses, maybe once every few years if there happens to be a nest where I need to go.
Walking around right now it's nice to see the fire flies, more this year than last year, lots of dragons flies this year.
Japanese beetles are less this year, the squash borer did in the pumpkins I see.
Frogs are hopping happy it seems. jumping everywhere I am on the property, so that is a healthy sign.

 

[scruggs]

We as humans are destroying the environment at an alarming rate. The use of toxic chemicals on crops, lawns, etc, will/is having a serious impact on earth. Eliminating beneficial insects will have far reaching consequences. Global warming is a joke compared to the earhwide environmental destruction going on right now, including pollution of the oceans.

WELL SAID! THANK YOU!

 

[magua]

I have an apiary. I have one swarm that I caught this year...they're doing poorly regardless of how kind I have treated them. I have another strong hive and I'm hoping they make it through winter. I'll blend them before winter. Last winter was hard in north central Pa. I also have a huge bumblebee nest near my apiary with about 7 entrances over a 15 foot area of soil. They've had a wonderful year. My masonry bees are doing great as well. They've all helped my garden.

I despise japanese beetles and they've destroyed my grapevines. Carpenter bees continue to attack my wood carvings each year...gotta love it. Abundant fireflies...very few butterflies BUT I have just expanded my entire front landscaping to a butterfly garden and look for it to do well next year.

My usual area to spot butterflies did a controlled burn this year to all the fields...so it's been a bust this year for spying butterflies.