What a week……………..sudden storms on two afternoons which gave 130 mls of rain within 30 minutes. Humidity follows with sleep difficult. my modem blew despite having a zap trap plugged in.
The gardens have seen flocks of king parrots coming in and devouring tree tomatoes, taking one bite before they drop them to the ground. I countered 22 one day, stripping the fruit as I have never seen before.
Without insects, local ecologies and our food supply would collapse. But the global insect population is in decline.
The intensity of the Australian bushfires has highlighted how quickly and comprehensively damage can occur.
Coincidentally, a group of 70 scientists from 21 countries has just published what they called a ‘roadmap’ for insect preservation.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/insect-crisis/11890858
Pesticide/herbicide/insecticide use, habitat loss and climate change are the major contributors to insect decline. Here too where we see hectares of poisoned camphor and coral trees, both habitat for 100s of insects and butterflies as well as bird nectar sources during winter.
In my cabin.