Dave Goulson is an advocate for insects. Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse is his new book addressing the alarming decline in the populations of these animals who are critical to all other life on Earth.
After a brief history of how insects evolved, he joyfully gives examples of the almost infinite variety of these creatures and how they live, feed, reproduce, and protect themselves. The wonder of metamorphosis is just one example, an amazing life cycle process used by approximately 65% of insect species.
In later chapters, he describes the devastation that is impacting most insects and helps the reader to a different perspective. “On our own planet we are the bad guys, thoughtlessly annihilating life of all kinds for our own convenience.” He blames his own profession as part of the problem: “Ecologists and entomologists should be deeply concerned that we have done such a poor job of explaining the vital importance of insects to the general public.”
Goulson does offer hope and practical solutions. He recommends teaching young children the importance of insects, because most are naturally interested in “bugs” and this may lead to a lifetime of conservation minded decisions. He regrets that teenage and university students are more difficult to reach. He has found that many, even those who choose to study ecology, have little knowledge of the natural world.
He ends the books with specific and doable actions that can be taken by local governments, national governments, farmers, gardeners — and everyone. He encourages all ages to spend more time outside, learning about the variety of life forms, starting with the easiest such as common birds or trees. If people can even name a few animals and plants in nature, they are more likely to be interested in learning about less well-known creatures, and act in ways to protect and promote their well-being.
Published in the Leaflet for Scholars, June 2022, Volume 9, Issue 6.
The site includes guide to identifying insects, discussion forums, and a vast collection of images. “We are an online community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.”
I have what I believe to be Cinnabar moth larvae eating my Virginia creeper. How do I get rid of them? Everything I’ve seen on the web is how beneficial they are in controlling a weed, but nothing on how to the kill the pest.
It’s interesting that there are often unintended consequences when we import insects to control noxious weeds. The cinnabar moth was brought in to control tansy ragwort, Senecio jacobaea, now renamed Jacobaea vulgaris. See the following information from Oregon’s agricultural experiment station:
“‘The cinnabar moth arrived when threats to native plants did not receive much public or scientific scrutiny,’ McEvoy said. Now a three-year survey conducted across 25 sites in western Oregon determined that cinnabar moths have been munching on arrow leaf groundsel, a native wildflower found principally in the mountains and occasionally on the coast. Scientists had thought that the places where arrow leaf groundsel grew were too cold for the cinnabar moth. But incremental climate change may raise temperatures enough to allow the cinnabar moth to thrive at higher elevations. Although the state hasn’t reclassified the cinnabar moth as a pest, the story serves as a cautionary footnote in the tansy ragwort success story.”
I don’t believe much thought has yet gone into methods for controlling the moths when they devour non-target plants. I would guess that you could attempt to look for eggs and remove them manually, or attempt to control the larvae of the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae). We can’t recommend pesticides as we are librarians and not licensed pesticide handlers, but you might investigate whether something like Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) is registered for controlling moths in their larval stage. Oregon Health Authority has information about Btk’s use on gypsy moth. This should give you an idea of how Btk works.
This identification resource shows images of the moth at various stages, including the eggs of the moth, so you will know what to look for.
The British web page BugLife has information on the life cycle of the cinnabar moth:
“Females can lay up to 300 eggs, usually in batches of 30 or 60 on the underside of ragwort leaves. When the caterpillars (larvae) hatch they feed on the around the area of the hatched eggs but as they get bigger and moult (instars) they mainly feed on the leaves and flowers of the plant, and can be seen out in the open during the day.
Caterpillars are feeding from July to early September and are initially pale yellow but soon develop bright yellow and black stripes to deter predators.
The caterpillars feed on poisonous ragwort leaves. The poison from the leaves is stored in the caterpillar’s body (and even remains when they are an adult moth). Any birds or other predators that ignore the caterpillars’ bright warning sign will be repulsed by how foul they taste.
Numerous caterpillars on one ragwort plant can reduce it to a bare stem very quickly. They are also known to be cannibalistic.
The caterpillars overwinter as pupa in a cocoon under the ground. The adult moths emerge around mid May and are on the wing up until early August, during which time males and females will mate and eggs are laid.”
You might also try to encourage birds in your garden, as they will eat some of the moths at caterpillar stage.
![[The Garden Jungle] cover](https://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/graphix/gardenjungle300.jpg)
I have read many books on organic gardening over the years, but never one with a focus on invertebrates. With The Garden Jungle I credit author Dave Goulson for opening my heart to earwigs. Goulson is a British professor of biology, bumble bee expert, keen gardener and advocate for sustainable agriculture. I try to be tolerant of the herbivore insects such as aphids because they feed many species of birds and beneficial insects such as beetles and hover flies. However, I didn’t know earwigs were omnivores and would feast on aphids as well as on dahlia petals. According to Goulson, earwigs don’t seek out ears to sleep in, so we shouldn’t worry.
Each chapter starts delightfully with a short recipe for treats such as mulberry muffins or homesteading classics like sauerkraut, cider and goat cheese. The book maintains a positive tone as Goulson celebrates all the creatures we encounter in our gardens, while detailing highly destructive practices committed by the horticulture and agriculture industries. He makes the case that the most egregious practice to be avoided at all costs is spraying pesticides. Another destructive habit is including peat moss in potting soil both because it destroys peat bog habitat, and also because of the massive amount of sequestered carbon dioxide released upon harvest. For each decidedly Earth-unfriendly horticultural practice described Goulson instructs readers on alternatives to achieve the same outcomes.
Goulson weaves in insights from his research, background on natural history and stories of wildlife encounters in his Sussex garden to relate why we should cherish moths, worms, and even the parasitic cuckoo bee. All are members of the garden jungle ecosystem. Once gardeners tolerate or maybe even love the creatures in their gardens, Goulson is sure that the planet can be saved.
Published in the Leaflet, volume 8, issue 6, June 2021.
A collections of booklets that recommends the best plants for attracting pollinators such as bees, butterflies and birds to various eco-geographic regions of the United States, including the “Pacific lowland mixed province forest” (Oregon & Washington). The booklet also describes the pollinators likely to be found living in the regions as well as general information on encouraging pollinator populations. Published by the The Pollinator Partnership┢/North American Pollinator Protection Campaign.
Published by Washington State University Extension. This manual provides strategies to encourage beneficial insects, spiders, and mites to visit and stay in your garden landscape, and set up defense lines against the troublesome herbivores.
“This guide is intended to provide the tools to identify and monitor wild bees and other floral visitors in the Puget Sound Region.”
“The Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) project is an ambitious effort to collect and provide access to quality-controlled data about butterflies and moths for the continent of North America from Panama to Canada.” Species observations submitted by citizen-scientists and verified by experts populate a map-linked database. Users may search the database by location or species to find detailed records with fields such as caterpillar host plants and habitat.
This organization is focused on promoting pollinator health through “conservation, education, and research. Signature initiatives include the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign), National Pollinator Week, and the Ecoregional Planting Guides.” The Resources section includes a learning center and webinars on issues such as habitat restoration.
Can you help me identify an insect that I see in the height of summer? It looks like a black and off-white moth or butterfly in flight, but when it lands, it looks like a dull beige- or gray-colored cricket.
What you describe sounds like a road duster, also known as Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina). According to Merrill Peterson’s Pacific Northwest Insects, it is often found on dusty or dirt roads and paths, sidewalks, and sandy beaches. It is not easily noticed until it flies, flashing its patterned hindwings. The hindwing pattern is unique to this species, though it somewhat resembles the Mourning Cloak butterfly. They are mostly active in the daytime, and seem to be generalists about food, eating grasses and forbs (herbaceous flowering plants) from what is available in their habitat.
This page from University of Wyoming has additional information about its food and migratory habits. A page on insects of eastern Washington mentions that birds, bats, praying mantis, and spiders eat Carolina grasshoppers.