/Life without bugs

Life without bugs

From Shaman’s Rock

By Jim Poling Sr.

This won’t come as a surprise: After a mild winter and wet spring it’s going to be a banner year for bugs.

Experts say the mild winter allowed more adult bugs to survive and lay eggs early.

Moisture-loving insects need water to survive and reproduce. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water and April rainfalls have created and abundance of breeding pools. Black flies also need water to reproduce but when they lay eggs on water, they like it to be moving.

Whatever their numbers, bugs and the irritations they bring are with us every summer. Forecasts are for more of them in summers to come.

Climate change is creating more warm weather that will increase bug populations in areas where they have not been common. It also brings out bugs earlier, giving them more time to reproduce.

For example, the Southwestern Public Health unit in the London region reports eight ticks were brought to it for examination during the first two weeks of March this year. Last year only one tick was brought to the unit in all of March.

Changes in climate and bug populations are raising concern about diseases spread by insects. Mosquitoes in more southern areas carry malaria, while Lyme disease spread by ticks has been increasing in parts of Canada.

Canadian public health units reported 144 human cases of Lyme disease in 2009 and a whopping increase to 2,544 in 2023. Just short of 20,000 cases of Lyme disease in humans were reported across the country between 2009 and 2023.

Not all ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. In Ontario only blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) are a danger.

These ticks are mostly found in southern Ontario but travel on birds and deer who spread them to other parts of the province. Lyme disease cases now have been found in Orillia and just north of there. 

The mild winter has helped increase the numbers of other insects as well. People are reporting seeing more ladybugs, cluster flies, stink bugs and boxelder bugs in and around their homes.

While some of us are annoyed by increasing numbers of biting insects, etymologists are concerned about decreasing numbers of bugs in some parts of the world.

Scientists estimate 40 per cent of insect species are in decline and one-third are endangered. They say that pesticides, habitat loss and climate change are causing the population declines.

An analysis of some insect studies has concluded that global insect populations have declined by 45 per cent in the past 40 years. Analysis of other studies conclude that more insect population declines may lead to extinction of 40 per cent of the world’s bugs over the next few decades.

There is disagreement among scientists about the accuracy of these various studies and analyses. Numbers vary widely with some reports showing dramatic decreases in bug populations in some areas, but increases in others.

Whatever is happening with insect populations, it is time for all of us to start paying more attention to them and the things that could cause their populations to decrease.

Insects are the largest part of the world’s animal kingdom, accounting for up to 90 per cent of all animal species. They pollinate many of our vegetables, fruits and flowers and provide many useful products such as beeswax, silk and honey.

Without insects much of the food feeding fish, birds and humans would disappear.

E. O Wilson the famous American biologist who died in 2021 summed it up best when he wrote:

“If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”

Koala bear cubs and deer fawns are cute and cuddly so we view them with awe and give them much kindly attention. Insects are much more important to life on earth but we view them as useless, irritating pests.

The mosquitoes and blackflies will be out any time now – buzzing about our ears and stinging and biting. Unpleasant, certainly, but life without them would be very different – if there was life at all.