When I was very young, on a still day, if I looked into the distance, the air was filled with a hazy shimmer. This wasn’t the heat. It was insects. If I listened carefully, I could hear a continuous clicking, buzzing sound. All my life, I have watched humanity wage war on insects. We needed to do something of course against things like mosquitoes and locusts, but now, we have the attitude “there’s an insect….kill it”!
Have you seen the recent television ad, where an insect is discovered in the house. The cry goes up, “Insect”! The man of the house immediately grabs a broom, jumps on furniture and knocks it over as he leaps about bashing holes in the plaster walls. The woman of the house calmly enters with a spray-can of insecticide and with unerring accuracy sprays the insect into oblivion. We also see that the insect is not one that would cause any problems. However, it is an insect, so it must die.
Without insects, the symbiotic relationships between living systems, at best, will be greatly disturbed and at worst, will fail. Without insects, all life on earth is severely threatened. What can we do? Share with members what you think. I am trying to plant flowering plants for the bees and I have put up one insect house. Perhaps I’ll put up more. - Fred Weight
