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Index of Subjects
Trail this afternoo
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The declines are due to the herbicide killing host plants David. For example=
the corn belt is now 90% round up ready and so milkweed has been practicall=
y extirpated there. A cocktail of pesticides and fungicides has been found t=
o concentrate in the pollens collected by bees which is suppressing their ab=
ility to fight off disease and causing colony collapse disorder. These studi=
es have just come out in the past month. Do a google.
Mary Macaulay, P.Eng.
Executive Director
Atlantic Concrete Association
www.atlanticconcrete.ca
Office: 902-443-4456
Cell: 902-489-2000
Fax: 902-404-8074
On 2013-08-12, at 9:30 PM, "David & Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com> wro=
te:
> Hi Mary & All, Aug 12, 2013
> More on this later but I can't let this pass without taking a swipe at=
it because, in my view, it is dangerously simplistic to attribute such decl=
ines to pesticide dependent monocultures and especially roundup ready crops w=
hich is after all an herbicide.
> =20
> This decline has been underway here for 70 years or more and for a hos=
t of reasons that all fall through one funnel; environmental destruction, fr=
agmentation and degradation. It is not realistic to beat the crap out of som=
ething delicate, using the power of steam or the internal combustion engine,=
for 7 decades and expect no effect.
> =20
> The one essential ingredient has been the explosive growth in private a=
utomobile usage since WW2; here and in the USA. This runs the gamut from bug=
s, amphibia, reptiles, mammals & birds becoming road kill to the cancerous, d=
estructive growth of surburbia and the associated obliteration of habitat, a=
ir quality & water quality. Where, a mere 40 years ago, narrow roads with ta=
dpole-friendly roadside puddles ran through woodland we now have residential=
-friendly wider roads with deep ditches that run red in the spring directly i=
nto streams.
> =20
> Certainly pesticides were involved but one should not place all of the=
blame on 10% of the cause.
> =20
> But as Fred observed this has been a strange year. In addition, fewer b=
irds in the woods may reflect more birds at feeders. There has been no short=
age of Deer Flies in the woods recently. But I was astonished recently to se=
e no Andrenid activity on a large sand bank that is normally peppered with a=
bout 3 holes per dm^2.
> =20
> One other thing Mary, the statement that " These pesticides are 1000 t=
imes as strong as DDT and bio magnify." conveys nearly zero meaning. Many ea=
rly pesticides were soluble in lipids and consequently became concentrated u=
p the food chain. Surely the industry has not repeated that mistake.
> =20
> Or are the fund-raisers drawing on outdated information ?
> =20
> And lastly, undisturbed woodland in general is not a good habitat for i=
nsects that feed on flowers, especially flowers of disturbed habitats. There=
will be lots of insects that feed on wood in various ways but they tend not=
to move much in the daytime. In season, and in somewhat open woodland, ther=
e will be insects that feed on flowers of plants such as Cornus alternifolia=
, Prunus serotina, Prunus virginiana, Amelanchier, Diervilla lonicera, Hiera=
cium. ..., but insects associated with Solidago and other plants that need m=
ore sunlight are more likely to be seen in woodland that has been selectivel=
y cut or clearcut in small patches recently. I am no birder but have many ti=
mes noticed bird activity to increase from near zero in undisturbed forest t=
o high in nearby disturbed areas.
> =20
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
> =20
> =20
> =20
> =20
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Mary Macaulay
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 5:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] comment re Empty Forests
>=20
> This is a global phenomenon and is largely due to roundup ready crops and o=
ther pesticide dependent monocultures. There is a lot of comment about this o=
n the twittersphere from all over the world right now. Neonicotinoid use has=
brought it to the forefront now because of their effects in honeybees and o=
ther pollinators. These pesticides are 1000 times as strong as DDT and bio m=
agnify.
>=20
> Mary Macaulay, P.Eng.
> Executive Director
> Atlantic Concrete Association
> www.atlanticconcrete.ca
> Office: 902-443-4456
> Cell: 902-489-2000
> Fax: 902-404-8074
>=20
> On 2013-08-12, at 5:12 PM, "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> wro=
te:
>=20
>> Here is a relevant note I wrote myself on Aug. 7:
>>=20
>> AUG. 7, 2013 - I walked along the Wolfville Rail Trail this afternoon, as=
I often do, and noted just a few butterflies (mostly whites) flitting among=
the huge array of plants in flower, especially Queen Anne's lace, common ta=
nsy, knapweed, etc., from Wolfville Harbour but especially from Elm Street o=
ut to the Acadia Arena. BUT what really struck me was how very few other in=
sects I am noticing on the flowers as I walk. Thinking back a couple of de=
cades (or more?), I used to see a wide variety of insects and spiders on the=
flowers, and now I am seeing few to none, plus the few butterflies. Has an=
yone noticed the same thing? And does anyone know of a database somewhere o=
ut there in our world of information that has decades of data like we have f=
or breeding birds?
>>=20
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>=20
>>> From: Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com>
>>> Date: August 12, 2013 2:52:49 PM ADT
>>> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>> Subject: [NatureNS] Empty Forests
>>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>>=20
>>> 11 August 2013
>>>=20
>>> I was part of a group that hiked a trail near Moses Mountain in the beau=
tiful Avon Valley in Western Hants County yesterday. Despite walking more t=
han 12 km through beautiful deciduous and mixed wood forests, we encountered=
very few birds. While I suspect that most of the migrant breeding birds had=
departed, why were we unable to detect a single chickadee, nuthatch, or Blu=
e Jay? We heard a couple of vireos and a pewee, and one flicker. The one hi=
ghlight was a soaring Turkey Vulture, a new species for my Hants County list=
.
>>>=20
>>> Plenty of Goldenrod, knapweed,