A couple of weeks ago on a balmy evening just after sunset a solitary pipistrelle bat flew over our garden. Forty years we would have seen a flock of a dozen or or perhaps even more. Ours was the first bat that I had seen over the garden all summer. The bat population in the UK has been devastated. What has happened to them? Apart from their general environment being destroyed they are suffering from a marked fall in their insect prey.
Likewise, I am seeing a marked decrease in the number of Swifts flying over our house each summer. They feed on insects.
All over Europe, we are seeing an accelerating decline in insect populations. Insects are a vital part of our ecology, they help maintain the fertility of the soil and it is not just bees that pollinate plants but wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies and moths too. Without insects it is not just Swifts and Bats which will die out, but we are at risk too. Climate change contributes to the demise of insects, but it quite possible that the demise of insects will affect human populations before global warming kicks in to finish us off. We would do well to protect our environment before it is too late.