To be worried that I haven’t seen any insects.

[Viscoelasticity]

I live in the Welsh countryside. It’s 11pm and I’ve been sitting in my living room with two windows wide open and the lamps on for the past 4 hours. There are no insects in my house. No moths or daddy long legs fluttering around my lampshades. Where are they?

I have seen no butterflies this year. No ladybirds. No wasps. No ants. About 3 bumble bees, and one earwig. Very few spiders.

I never thought I’d miss insects, but I do, and I am worried. What will the birds and the frogs eat? Nature is dying 😢

That’s because they’re all in my garden!

We have had loads of bees for the last 3 weeks- bumble and honey. Today I have been out gardening all day and we've had lots of butterflies. Lots of spiders in the garden now, some very large ones. We had an enormous moth in the kitchen last night and I saw a good few moths today. Lots of flies around too out there.

I am glad that a couple of you are seeing minibeasts out in force.
I’m wondering if agricultural pesticides are to blame, where I am, as there is a lot of farmland.

I am not imagining this though, google has brought up a lot:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c87zp05rz84o.amp

What does your garden look like? Is it inviting to insects?

It’s nothing special, just a few rose bushes, but I haven’t mown my grass for weeks and the grass is halfway up my calves and full of buttercups and dandelions. I am not a very conscientious gardener, but I don’t feel so guilty about that now.

Read Silent Earth - averting the insect apocalypse by Dave Coulson and you’ll
see why there are no insects.
Insect number are down up to 90 pct in some species. I’m very worried as I’ve seen very few insects this year.

8 billion humans building all over the world.

Yes everyone is talking about this on all the butterfly, insect and wildflower groups on FB.

I can certainly understand you concern, OP!
Sounds like you are doing your part to help. Can you have some more flowers in your garden, perhaps?

We have made part of our garden into a meadow with lots of flowers, and we have plenty of bees and bumblebees. It's a delight!

I second this book. Dave (Goulson BTW not Coulson just so you can find it) also does some great videos on his YouTube channel wandering around his garden.

It's refreshing to hear people worrying about the lack of insects. Most people don't care!

We also have lots of insects here at the moment (north west). Lots of bumblebees as they seem to love a particular bush in our front garden. Butterflies too. Lots of spiders and daddy long legs.

I am, too.

I purposely plant insect-attracting flowers etc, but the difference last year and this year to 5yrs ago is shocking. I used to have a faint cloud of bees everyday at one border, and spot several types of butterfly often. 2023 (and now) saw "a bee" here and there, but maybe one type of butterfly a few times the entire summer. I also went to a RHS garden a few days ago, while it was hot and dry, and there was a distinct lack of insects hovering about. I keep mentioning this to friends (coincidentally not often in their gardens) but they don't seem to get it, or aren't that bothered.

I’ve only seen three butterflies this summer, and I go looking for them regularly in an ancient woodland that is usually home to several species. It’s worrying.

Reading the replies above I'm now wondering what's changed in my local area, to experience such a decrease when other areas are doing well.

They are all on my allotment. I live by a forest and there's no shortage.

They're here in Cumbria 😂

They're all up here, trying to get into my house. Moths, mozzies, ladybirds, damsel flies, shield bugs....

Well I have had several red lily beetles on my oriental lilies that I definitely don't want to see! Plenty of bees, butterflies and ladybirds in my garden, but I do have lots of pollinating plants.
I also place several 'bee baths' around the garden, small terracotta saucers with pebbles in the water so the bees can stand on the pebbles when they have a drink!

Do you think it could be down to pesticides? It’s all I can think of. There are farms all around me, but as they farm sheep and cattle rather than crops I’m not completely convinced it’s pesticides that are to blame either.

There certainly seems to be a lot more bees here this year than I can remember last year. It’s rare that we don’t have 5 or 6 at a time on a small plant next to the front door plus more flying around.

No it isn't. Maybe your neighbours use too many chemicals.

Here in the Home Counties we're overrun by the buggers.

That and f'ing fruit flies.

Honestly, this silly catastrophizing all over the site is dead wearying.

We've got a large cottage garden absolutely packed with flowers. Normally see lots of bees but I've been noticing their absence.

I know a beekeeper in Wales through another forum, mind, and she's worried that her hives aren't going to survive after the cold, damp, spring because there hasn't been enough nectar for them.

You can have some of mine if you like... Not that I don't appreciate them, but i could definitely re home a few... 🐞

Is it just weather based? Sorry I don’t know anything about it all, but I live in Portugal and the last few months I noticed more insects, not less 🤷🏻‍♀️