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Why The Summer Sound Of Noisy Crickets Is Growing Fainter
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If little else, the brain is an educational toy.
-- Tom Robbins
(Score: 5, Insightful) by ikanreed on Friday August 10 2018, @02:07PM (18 children)
The following insects(and arachnids) are doing fine and expanding territory:
Mosquitoes
Ticks
Cockroaches
Africanized Honeybees (i.e. "killer bees")
Bedbugs
Who cares if we lose "primary pollinators" and "bases of the food chain", we can still get all the zika and malaria we want.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @03:00PM (6 children)
The problem is that most crickets are omnivores and shouldn't be this sensitive so whatever killing them can't be good.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by ikanreed on Friday August 10 2018, @03:03PM (5 children)
It'll start a flame war to say it's climate change, but given the Europe has had the most dramatic climate changes, it's totally 100% climate change.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @03:33PM
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @05:53PM (3 children)
I doubt climate change is to blame, insects thrive in all sorts of weather and droughts haven't been that widespread.
25 years ago eh? My guess is on the agricultural pesticides being so over used they have spread into all sorts of ecological food chains.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by HiThere on Friday August 10 2018, @10:14PM (1 child)
Pesticide use is important. Large monoculture fields are also important. Many insects can only eat a certain range of foods, or only live in a certain range of habitats. And if it's habitat that's most important, that explains why cockroaches are doing well.
P.S.: Mosquitoes could be a crucial genera to check this on. Only some mosquitoes dine on people. How are the other species of mosquito doing?
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday August 11 2018, @11:00AM
Doubt it. Humans have been working hard to kill off disease-causing mosquitoes for decades. Anything with a similar life cycle is going to be severely impacted.
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday August 11 2018, @04:39AM
Where I am (not Europe), the springs have been weird, hot, cold and then hot lately. There seems to be a lot less bees and stuff, this year I counted one bumble bee when there used to be 3 or 4 per huckleberry bush. The wild berries haven't been getting pollinated, the bears have been hungry and like many rural dwellers, end up moving into town and get shot. There's no agriculture close by so I doubt that its pesticides.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Weasley on Friday August 10 2018, @03:02PM (10 children)
Honey bees? Wasn't it just a few years ago we were all shitting our pants because of Colony Collapse Disorder
(Score: 5, Informative) by ikanreed on Friday August 10 2018, @03:06PM (1 child)
CCD continues only slightly abated, and honey bee populations have not recovered, but "africanized honeybees" do not do the useful things honeybees do. Nor have they been affected by CCD.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @03:41PM
Mostly this is because africanized honeybees haven't been bred to be dirty, lazy, honey-producers. Africanized bees have strong grooming and cleanliness, which prevents mites from affecting the health of the hive. They are also not shipped all around to agricultural hotspots that are covered in pesticides, or kept in hives that are constantly disrupted due to inspections (and most commercial hives are not designed to help the bees keep a clean hive or stable internal temperature). They are still useful as pollinators, but not as much for european-style beekeeping.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Friday August 10 2018, @03:07PM (7 children)
did you read the killer part?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @05:45PM
They are innocent until they sting someone (and the person dies). Of course, they die after they sting someone so there's not much more we can do to them.
(Score: 2) by Weasley on Friday August 10 2018, @08:53PM (5 children)
I did. You are aware that killer bees still pollinate right? They're not supernatural killer insects that don't eat anything but humans.
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Friday August 10 2018, @10:08PM
Still a better movie than The Meg
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday August 11 2018, @04:41AM
I'd guess they only pollinate when its warm. Whats missing where I am are the bumble bees, which do pollinate when its cold.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Saturday August 11 2018, @11:45AM (2 children)
GP:
Then you said:
Two different bees.
(Score: 2) by Weasley on Saturday August 11 2018, @02:32PM (1 child)
Africanized honeybees are still honeybees. The missing piece of information was the AC explaining that Africanized hybrids possess a stronger grooming instinct which makes them largely unaffected by CCD.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Saturday August 11 2018, @02:42PM
That appears to be the case:
https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/05/africa/african-honey-bees-conversation/index.html [cnn.com]
https://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/killer-bees-could-help-solve-honeybee-colony-collapse [hcn.org]
https://www.rootsimple.com/2013/10/africanized-bees/ [rootsimple.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @02:28PM (13 children)
it's doing it's job.
if a lack of insects is a problem, then the solution is simple.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @04:59PM (10 children)
Insecticides have been around far longer than 25 years. If it's insecticides, did they recently become less specific, more lethal, or more heavily used?
(Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @05:47PM (2 children)
We asked a representative from Monsanto about your questions, and they responded "We're Bayer now. Wholesome, respected Bayer."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @05:37AM (1 child)
You're alluding to neonicotinoids. However, the study was done in Europe. Haven't neonics been banned in Europe since 2013?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @07:59AM
Correcting myself, they haven't been banned but they've been restricted.
(Score: 4, Informative) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday August 10 2018, @05:48PM (6 children)
I expect you'll be unsurprised to learn that Cheeto is loosening up regulations on the insecticides that cause Colony Collapse Disorder.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @05:59PM (5 children)
It really does seem like he is the Devil, if you go in for that sort of woo woo.
But seriously, how fucked can he make this country before we put the brakes on him?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @07:17PM
Just like St. Reagan before him, Trump! Trump! Trump! will be here for 6 more years.
:-(
(Score: 3, Informative) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday August 10 2018, @07:24PM (3 children)
Funny you should say that.
BEHOLD:
While a work in progress it's far enough along that you should be able to see where I'm going with it.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @10:43PM
Already read it, sorry to ruin your showmanship flair :P
I guess it just pairs well with the uneducated troglodytes who value money and profit over everything and have zero clue how fragile the ecosystem really is. Like the one old fart I talked to who likened CO2 emissions to dog poop on the lawn. "The grass dies just right around the poop, but everywhere else it is green!" Really? REALLY? and he dared call himself a scientist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @04:00AM (1 child)
Schizo here. My scariest encounter with another mentally ill person was in a clinic, where I met that Arab guy (same diagnosis as me), who at first seemed totally tranquil and chill. Until he started talking about the clinic he was in before. He was convinced one of the other patients, who'd apparently been nice to him in gifting him a watch and other stuff, was in fact out to get him... somehow sedude him into a numb acquiescence to then destroy his soul (or something along these lines, I forgot).
What I will never forget: When the Arab looked at me with dead eyes and told me he wants to go back to the other clinic and kill the guy. It ran shivers down my spine from just the tone of voice. I tried pointing out that by what he told me, the guy had been nothing but nice to him, so even if he did have ulterior motives, he never realized them and should not be judged by what he didn't do. Took me about 10 minutes to talk him down. But when the crazy faded from the Arab's eyes I seriously felt relieved. I think had he met the poor guy in a state like earlier, he'd actually have done it. Without even thinking twice. Not sure if I've saved someone's life, but I definitely saved my soul then for all the bad shit I've done in altered states.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday August 11 2018, @04:13AM
-u.
I do that too - it's something I do as a public service: wander around the worst parts of Portland around three in the morning, looking for all the crazies then bringing a little sunshine into their lives.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by acid andy on Friday August 10 2018, @06:50PM (1 child)
Let me help you out here. It is a problem. I think you're right about the insecticides. Neonicotinoids have been found to cause problems for bee populations.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @04:44AM
The paper lists a multiplicity of possible causes.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Weasley on Friday August 10 2018, @02:53PM
I've noticed a sharp decline in the number of moths I see around my house lights at night nowadays. Wasn't sure if was something like this or maybe the light frequency of the LED and CFC bulbs don't attract as many. Or maybe both. This is Europe and I'm in the US, but if it's due to human activity it's probably happening here too.
(Score: 4, Informative) by DavePolaschek on Friday August 10 2018, @03:02PM (1 child)
as it smacks into your windshield? Its asshole.
Could it be that's it's the windshields? https://www.inverse.com/article/46133-slooshing-and-splatting-of-bugs-on-winshields-nontrivial-scientists-say [inverse.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @01:49AM
Well shit, how old is Amanda? This is kind of an important point of reference and it's never mentioned in the article.
TBH, I remember there being more bug splats on my parents' cars in my childhood. But can I be sure? I was a child after all and the whole world seemed a lot more grandiose. I'm in late 30s now. I can believe that Amanda witnessed the same, but then - how old is she? Does she have data to back up her claims?
Your article is shit.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday August 10 2018, @05:07PM (3 children)
Can't you just get an app that plays cricket sounds? Problem solved!
Create a wavetable sound font that plays a cricket at any midi pitch.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @07:24PM
Why not one of these? [amazon.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @08:37PM
Or make your own crickets. https://www.jameco.com/z/MK104-Velleman-Light-Sensitive-Electronic-Cricket_2136956.html [jameco.com]
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday August 12 2018, @11:01PM
Look up "Wayward Pines".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @09:35PM (5 children)
I was just noticing how there seemed to be more crickets and insects in general around.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday August 10 2018, @10:13PM (1 child)
Same here. Wrong week for that news, as we're essentially cheering for the birds, lizards and black widows to do their job and eat faster.
Darn crickets everywhere for the last few days (here and now, average people's own mileage will unquestionably be more typical)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @10:47PM
I grill those hoppers up in a a veggie/insect hybrid burger. Such mileage, much flavor.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @10:38PM
Same here. Difference between here and Europe is muslim immigrants. Probably the muzzies are eating crickets to build up strength for the jihad.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @04:47AM (1 child)
Do you happen to live above the Arctic Circle?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @01:34PM
Nope, I do know basic math though. If insect levels in total were steady over an interval, on average wed expect 50% of species to have a positive and 50% to have a negative trend. Here we only see 30% decreasing, which indicates the total insect population is growing.
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Saturday August 11 2018, @03:05AM (1 child)
I spent last summer in Houston (for my sins) and I can tell you, them fuckers is loud. I was right in the city, near downtown and Rice University, and even with all the windows shut tight and the air conditioner on blast (you have to, because Houston is hell) I could still hear those noisy bastard. There are bugs down there that I've never seen anywhere else, and one day I was waking up to a taco truck and a friggin' cloud of bees rolled through the parking lot and everyone had to go running. All the water in Houston is surface water, with all the bayous and such, so it's basically like the Amazon except with MAGA hats and firearms.
Fuck crickets anyway.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 11 2018, @03:48AM
Your description of Houston sounds like a great place to live. Much better than where I'm at now. I think I'll move there!!
Resident of New Orleans, LA