Turns out ecologists and entomologists around the world have been warning about declining insect numbers for years. The culprits are climate change, habitat loss, light pollution, intensive farming, pesticide and fertiliser use. But it’s a struggle to get people to act.

It’s not just about bees and butterflies, the poster children of the pollinator world. Other, less photogenic pollinators such as hoverflies, moths, wasps, soldier beetles and earwigs are also showing declines. Several of these species don’t just pollinate. They also eat the pest insects that ruin crops.

Already, in the apple and pear orchards of south-west China, depleted populations of pollinators have forced farmers to hand-pollinate their trees, carrying pots of pollen and paintbrushes with which to individually pollinate every flower. If it sounds labour-intensive and time-consuming, that’s because it is.

#green #ukpolitics #uspol #ukpol #climate #environment #insects #agriculture #farming

https://archive.ph/tvnld#selection-1659.0-1668.2

Latest comic on microplastics and PFAS getting into food. Yum!

#food #cartoon #environment #pollution #pfas #farming #gardening

My new #podcast episode is out: When #Gardeners Run Wild! SEVEN hours of work only in the studio. Many more for researching and scripting. #Podcasting is HARD work.

I have to hurry for an appointment, and hopefully get to a supermarket this evening: the fridge is almost empty. Sleep!!! (Tomorrow I submit the time markers.)

You can listen to #NatureMatchCuts for free but also support my work/my fridge.😋 Find every info, platform and support button on https://naturematchcuts.net #gardening #farming