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BY J. RONALD WINTER

GUEST COLUMNIST

Last year (2023) I mentioned to my wife that I was seeing very few bees or other insects in my garden and I was worried about pollination. Due to my sickness I did not start a garden as usual in late March 2024. However, my wife did do some gardening and I helped her plant some tomatoes near our house. Then I noticed that I was virtually not seeing any insects. Look at the flowers around your home. Few or no insects. No honey bees or bumble bees. Then I noticed that there was only a stray butterfly occasionally. Then I began to look for other insects and look for information on the internet/email. I found information at OFF THE GRID. The information agreed with what I had seen nationwide and other places in Europe. No bees or butterflies like normal. In essence no insects like the past. What is going on? Is the government and/or liberal  elites doing something to us again? Is it associated with the CHEMTRAILS or some other form of spraying?

This led me to look at what would be the effect of losing the insect population. First I decided to list the insects I was either seldom seeing now or were totally missing. Here is the list: honey bees, bumble bees, yellow jackets, crickets, grasshoppers, butterflies, millers, flies, June bugs, large number of insects around outdoor lights at night, bugs on your car windshields, fewer lightening bugs, gnats, mosquitoes, and the list continues. You can probably add to this list. If this is true over large regions or nationally what will be the effect? (Note: the insect population was created by God and is a part of the balance of nature. If you upset this balance we will pay dearly. The so-called climate change effect is nothing compared to the damage this could do.)

Now let’s talk about the effect of a greatly reduced or loss of the insect population. What depends on insects to survive? Note: the sound of insects at dusk and early night is not as loud as it used to be.

1. Spiders. Very reduced spider population. Never see the spider webs like in the past. Very few around outside lights, etc. 
2. Toad frogs
3. Tree frogs that you hear at night.
4. Lizards
5. Many smaller birds.
6. Bull frogs
7. etc.

Another possible side effect deals with fish. Small fish are somewhat dependent on insects to survive. Other aquatic creatures may also be affected.

Now the big question is what about the pollination of plants. With a reduced insect population it is more difficult for certain plants to cross pollinate. You become basically dependent on the wind. I doubt this will do as good a job. In small gardens you can hand pollinate using an artist’s soft paint brush.

Now comes the big question: what is causing this? Is this just me and an isolated case? Regardless, discussions with others and information from the internet supports what I have seen. Now is this a normal temporary event and will it return to normal? We do know that insecticide spraying is going on from aircraft. One of the reasons is for mosquito and fruit fly control. Dibrom (Naled) is used and does a reasonable job in the right concentration. This insecticide is being sprayed from Air Force planes. Of course, insecticides could also be sprayed from other planes. However, like many insect sprays, the wrong concentration can be deadly for other insects. The other question is can long-term use of any insecticide eventually be detrimental. These are questions that need to be addressed because something is happening to the insect population. 

(J. Ronald Winter is an Elizabethton resident and focuses on a variety of interests, including nature.)