Remember when you were little how many fucking moths there were? Couldn’t keep the porch light on at night or they’d get in the house and you’d be finding moth carcasses all summer.
Now there’s just a few. Hardly see any anymore.
Same for house flies, and bees. I used to have to go and spray for wasps every spring, I don’t remember the last one I saw.
Yes and yes (to the person you replied to). All I’m saying is that that narrative seems to be coalescing around “it’s because people raked leaves.” Does that play a part? Probably. But there’s no way it’s just that. It’s far too pervasive to be “personal actions.” The root cause has to be systemic.
It’s also humans continually expanding and building in previously undeveloped areas. It crowds out other species.
30 years ago it didnt matter if you raked your leaves because there were still plenty of areas for lightning bugs to migrate in from. But when everyone’s surrounded by miles of suburbs the lightning bugs have further to go for you to see them
Saw this just the other day here…
I saw that the other day too. It’s just that 35 years ago, everyone still raked their lawns. Same as 35 years before that.
We are in the middle of an insect apocalypse.
Remember when you were little how many fucking moths there were? Couldn’t keep the porch light on at night or they’d get in the house and you’d be finding moth carcasses all summer.
Now there’s just a few. Hardly see any anymore.
Same for house flies, and bees. I used to have to go and spray for wasps every spring, I don’t remember the last one I saw.
Grasshoppers too. I used to fill buckets with them as a kid. I haven’t seen more than a few in the last decade.
i tell this to people all the time and they do not believe me
Remember when you needed a bug shield to drive on the highway?
Yes and yes (to the person you replied to). All I’m saying is that that narrative seems to be coalescing around “it’s because people raked leaves.” Does that play a part? Probably. But there’s no way it’s just that. It’s far too pervasive to be “personal actions.” The root cause has to be systemic.
It’s not just the leaves, it’s humans fucking with the environment, on a macro and micro scale. But that’s harder to convey in a single panel
It’s also humans continually expanding and building in previously undeveloped areas. It crowds out other species.
30 years ago it didnt matter if you raked your leaves because there were still plenty of areas for lightning bugs to migrate in from. But when everyone’s surrounded by miles of suburbs the lightning bugs have further to go for you to see them
The less I maintain my yard the more lightning bugs we get.
We do not maintain our back yard very well. I refuse to let these amazing insects disappear. We also seed for pollinators as well.