I’m a PhD student and my colleague, when out on his fieldwork, has noticed a worrying lack of pollinators on the wing for this time of year, as have several other members of staff when conducting research in the field. The primary cause most of us think is the harsh spring we had last year, which alters emergence times this year.
Contributing factors such as habitat fragmentation, lack of wild flower strips or margins and an increase in chemical sprays on crops (although in many cases this is unavoidable, due to a lack of government funding into research on organic control) will combine into a deadly mix for many pollinator species and other beneficial invertebrates. Don’t mow your lawns.
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I’m a PhD student and my colleague, when out on his fieldwork, has noticed a worrying lack of pollinators on the wing for this time of year, as have several other members of staff when conducting research in the field. The primary cause most of us think is the harsh spring we had last year, which alters emergence times this year.
Contributing factors such as habitat fragmentation, lack of wild flower strips or margins and an increase in chemical sprays on crops (although in many cases this is unavoidable, due to a lack of government funding into research on organic control) will combine into a deadly mix for many pollinator species and other beneficial invertebrates. Don’t mow your lawns.