Decline of Bees and Butterflies?

[FrenchieBoy]

My wife has a lot of pride in our garden and likes to fill it with colourful flowers each year to attract plenty of bees and butterflies. Most years we get a really good show of different types of bees and plenty of butterflies (Mainly Cabbage Whites, Tortoise Shells, Red Admirals and Peacocks) especially on our Buddleia bushes. However this year we have had very few visiting us. Has anyone else noticed this "trend" and if so what might be the cause of this decline in Bees and Butterflies, and is it localised or nation wide?
Any thoughts guys?

 

[LuckyEddie]

Have noticed less of the flying pollinators this year.
Not sure what the exact cause can be but a definite dip in numbers.
Both sad and worrying

 

[FrenchieBoy]

Yes Eddie, quite worrying, especially as most of our agricultural and horticultural crops rely on the small flying pollinators (Especially Bees) for a good harvest.
Very much the same has been noticed and commented on at our local nature reserve!
Let's hope it is just this year and the decline is not an ongoing or growing trend!

 

[NoIDeer]

I wonder if the "emergency" re-introduction of neonics has any bearing on your observations. Is there a lot of sugar beet grown near to you?

 

[shakey jake]

I doubt there is a shortage of honey bees, just going by the number of bee keepers. First year for probably 10 i havent had a call about white tailed tree bees in bird box.
Very few butterflies in the garden we need more catterpiller feed

 

[Disco Stu]

We have a large hedge around two thirds of the garden border, Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Firethorn that blossom at different times and perhaps 100 different flowers / plants including various wild / meadow flowers and white clover in the lawn. The number of bees in the garden is perhaps slightly down, but the number of butterflies must have declined by 60% over the past 5 years.

One thing I have noticed has been the removal of the hedges that once marked each properties border to be replaced with a wooden fence. Grass being replaced with plastic grass, decking and paving replacing lawns, flower beds and real plants being replaced with plastic ones.

 

[John Wild]

Habitat loss and monoculture having a massive impact as well as spraying crops. It’s a very sad situation. I’ve hardly seen any this year.

 

[old keeper]

A local farmer has moved into regenerative farming and a couple of fields were planted with a wild flower mixture including Phacelia, wild radish and clovers. When it was in flower it was alive with both bumble and honey bees and a fair number of butterflies, much more like the old days. This was in stark contrast to nearby fields that were either cereals or monoculture grass. I could walk around them and count the insects I saw on the finger of one hand

 

[Norfolk Horn]

May be that as its been so hot and dry your wife's plants haven't produced much nectar.
In my area the bramble has produced a lot of flower being deep rooted and on heavy fen soil but some of my garden plants hardly get a visit.
My bees have done exceptionally well with lots of flying time available along with feed as I am surrounded by commercial soft fruit which is irrigated.

 

[jall55]

We have been planting hedges and wild bird plots all over the farm - together with our meadows we have had a bumper year !
Hopefully once the grass is off and the neighbours have done the harvesting we sill see the results in our wild game too
The one thing that has really boosted things for us is water in the forms of ponds or scrapes or splashes

 

[bogtrotter]

There has been a reduction in Bee and Butterfly numbers in recent years seemed to.make a bit of a comeback during lockdown but again seem to be fewer in number this year.

 

[VSS]

One thing I have noticed has been the removal of the hedges that once marked each properties border to be replaced with a wooden fence. Grass being replaced with plastic grass, decking and paving replacing lawns, flower beds and real plants being replaced with plastic ones.

Sickening, isn't it?
There's a small cottage near here that had the most amazing garden, bordered on one side by an old stone wall, and on the other sides by traditional unkempt hedges. An old man lived there. He was already old when we first moved here, 23 years ago. The garden was scruffy, but he grew all his own veg, and some to spare, and loads of flowers, had a little greenhouse and some cold frames, and the place was teeming with life. There was no lawn as such - why would he want such thing, with grass fields all around? I'm sure it was the garden that kept him going, as you'd see him pottering about out there in all weathers.
He died a couple of years ago, just before his 104th birthday, and the house was sold. The first thing to move in was a JCB. Levelled the whole garden. Wall and hedges gone, replaced by a panel fence. Decking and lawn installed (whether real or fake I know not), and a full compliment of plastic furniture. I bet there's not many bees and butterflies there now. So sad.

 

[Freeforester]

A local farmer has moved into regenerative farming and a couple of fields were planted with a wild flower mixture including Phacelia, wild radish and clovers. When it was in flower it was alive with both bumble and honey bees and a fair number of butterflies, much more like the old days. This was in stark contrast to nearby fields that were either cereals or monoculture grass. I could walk around them and count the insects I saw on the finger of one hand

Where we Have no spraying we have lots of frogs and toads, but come down to the areas where spraying is carried out, they ain’t there.
organic areas don’t tend to produce kids with asthma or allergies quite so much either. For such a clever species, we seem to be a little care free about the air we breathe and water we drink…

 

[John Wild]

Where we Have no spraying we have lots of frogs and toads, but come down to the areas where spraying is carried out, they ain’t there.
organic areas don’t tend to produce kids with asthma or allergies quite so much either. For such a clever species, we seem to be a little care free about the air we breathe and water we drink…

Well said that man

 

[FrenchieBoy]

I wonder if the "emergency" re-introduction of neonics has any bearing on your observations. Is there a lot of sugar beet grown near to you?

Certainly no sugar beet grown in our area that I know of.

 

[jimo]

This was mentioned on Radio 4 the other day, can’t remover which program. One of the folk on there said that flowers for the pollinators are considered important and getting a lot of attention but what was missing was suitable plants for the caterpillars .

 

[VSS]

This was mentioned on Radio 4 the other day, can’t remover which program. One of the folk on there said that flowers for the pollinators are considered important and getting a lot of attention but what was missing was suitable plants for the caterpillars .

That's a very interesting point.

 

[RescueMe0007]

I have quite a big garden with lots of flowering plants, I remarked to my daughter only yesterday on the drop off in bee's and butterflies. I live in a rural area with quite a bit of cereals, rape and beets grown. A very noticeable dearth of pollinators currently, I'm sorry to say.

 

[tozzybum]

We have bleeding harts,red hot lips and crocosmia bees love them to the moon and back .
Cabbage whites and red admirals love the hostas, maybe selective planting will help you garden Pete ?

 

[Basil H]

A lot of understandable fuss here about very local things, which are symptomatic of huge changes. The reality is that we are losing wildlife rapidly. For example in my (very) little patch of Norfolk we have lost so many breeding species from Mistle Thrush to Tree Sparrow. I sat outside with a glass after dinner and could not see a swallow or martin in the sky. It is not good.