Insect
Friends
“If
all of mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to
the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If
insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”
E. O. Wilson
Sitting
on my porch this morning, the only sound rising above the distant
ones of planes overhead, and trains passing through downtown, is the
rising and falling of the ground crickets' call. Now and then, I hear
crows chattering in the trees of the park three blocks away, and the occasional trill of katydids. Summer's end.
I
worry about the natural world, especially in cities. Yes, we have
introduced falcons to keep down the pigeon populations, and hawks
have adapted to life in urban environments, but everything depends
upon insect populations for support. I now see signs in my
neighborhood for mosquito and flea control companies—they will
spray your yard every month for a small fee. Between the insect
control that goes into lawn fertilizer and this new assault, we have
declared war on the insects of the world, and we've almost wiped out
our good insect population at the same time. As much as you and I
hate roaches, these broad spectrum poisons are a disaster for all
insects, good and bad.
We
tend to think that if we put out bird feeders our song birds are
content and well fed, but the majority of land birds rely on insects
for the bulk of their nourishment. And animals that we might not
consider important, like shrews, moles, even raccoon have insect
heavy diets. We won't even get into pollinators, but when our food
supply dwindles because we don't have their help, we will begin to
take notice.
Humankind
are the appointed stewards of the natural world. That includes the
animal populations and the insects, as well as the land. When we
detach ourselves from them, and disregard their needs, we imperil
ourselves as well. Today let's pay attention to the sounds of life around us. Let's be conscious of how our actions affect our fellow earth
dwellers, and understand that their right to exist is equal to our
own.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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