A Bit of a Corollary to Previous Post

What might be viewed as a plus by many is that there appear to be way fewer wasps this summer, I've seen maybe two so far. Wasps have always come to drink from the buckets of water I put out, and no doubt consume any mosquito larvae they find...  Well, I have seen one mosquito so far this summer.  And Lancaster in the summer, particularly in yards like mine full of vegetation and many sources of still water is a paradise for mosquitoes.  None this year, no mosquitoes and no larvae in any of the six containers of water outside, three in front, three in back for any creature who needs a drink. I do not use pesticides of any kind, never have, never will. Where are the wasps, where are the spiders?

No spiders, not one this year, though there must be some as I have walked through a long strand of web on more than one occasion. But no spun webs. Not one spider, indoors or out.

What I do have in abundance, far greater abundance than any other year, are flies and ants. Both are a natural prey of both wasps and spiders.

There is only my own front and back yards to measure by, both of which are full of vegetation tall and short, vegetables, flowers, small trees so I don't know what others may be observing.  This lack of insect life is alarming to me, almost scary.

Nature has the ability to keep itself in balance. Man has the ability to upset that balance, even destroy it.  I wonder why he is allowed to do so.

"Pull one thing in Nature..."

Every day in summer I search my garden looking for signs of caterpillars, bees, butterflies, Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, Lacewings, any small creature put on earth to do a job, a job for which they are eminently qualified. This year there are none, not one.

In massive fields growing our food they spray millions of tons of insecticides and herbicides every single year, and the dust continues on to cities, towns, rivers, lakes. That poison kills not only "bad" bugs, it kills the good ones. It kills not only bugs, it kills birds, bats, and every beneficial insect and animal life that depends on them for food - all vital, all necessary, all magical parts of an ecosystem designed by Nature to be perfect.

And to add to that insult,  Roundup and other poisons are sold for home owners who are too lazy or too stupid to pull weeds or encourage natural predators - aka birds, snakes, lizards, bats to their yards, instead preferring to kill those small beasts lest they be drawn for a moment away from their cell phones, video games, "reality" TV, game shows, sporting events.  Science has taken a back seat, and believe me, it is intentional by our government and major corporations... keep the people entertained and anything can be done to them with little opposition. And those who do protest will be labeled as "radicals,"  "enemies of the people," "crackpots."

""When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe."  ~John Muir