> >if birds are disappearing because insects are fewer, what has been
> reduced in the environment to reduce insects. If not pesticides...what?
>

We've reduced natural habitat in many areas, winters and springs have been
reduced, CO2 has been increased, temperatures have increased, human biomass
has increased greatly, large wild mammal biomass has greatly decreased.
Any number of things correlate with insect decline, but the question is
causality.

Re pesticides, we've phased out the Persistent Organic Pollutants that had
long half lives.  Insect decline started long before the first application
of neonics.  And if pesticides were killing all the insects, we wouldn't
need to use pesticides any more, would we?.  My point: the targeted insect
populations continue to thrive--why would we suspect that pesticides are
killing off the nontargeted insects?

As far as habitat, many species of insects are quite habitat specific. We
apply pesticides to only about 1/8 of the habitable land on the planet.
The other 7/8ths of the habitable land supported many insect species that
do not depend upon cropland--so why are they disappearing?

I'm not defending pesticides--I'm just saying that the "pesticides are the
cause of insect decline" hypothesis is not supported by simple observations.


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

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