>
> >We  would go to a nearby park, turn on the tennis court lights and
> collect.  The lights were swarming with insects.  That is not the case
> today.
>

Bob, I've observed the same in my area.  I was speaking with a senior
entomologist from UC Davis about the neonic link to butterfly and moth
disappearance.  He told me that the large moths had already begun to
disappear in the Sacramento Valley before the neonics came onto the market.

We also discussed how the introduction of the European Paper Wasp has
affected lepidopterans--in my county (as in most), butterflies and moths at
least temporarily disappear when the EPW invades.  This year is the first
year that I've seen butterflies here to any extent for nearly a decade, so
I'm crossing my fingers that they may be recovering.

But there are clearly other things causing the diminution of insect
populations.  I've been wondering about the effects of artificial lighting
at night.  Before artificial lighting, night-flying insects used the light
of the moon in order to fly in straight paths (relative to the angle of the
light from the moon).  Artificial lighting changed all that, since an
insect would now spiral straight into the light.

It's easy to observe the exhausted insects under the lights in the
morning.  I'm wondering to what extent our artificial lighting at night is
having on night-flying insects?  (I wouldn't expect lighting to have an
effect upon day-flying insects).

--
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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