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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists make tiny 3D glasses for insects to understand how they see the world”-->
<!--uxinox, 9th February-->
Insects are the product of billions of years of evolution. Therefore they may do things in very ‘smart’ and efficient ways. A mantis may not play chess, but his biology could be really advanced. Human beings have always learned by looking at nature, so why stop now??

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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists make tiny 3D glasses for insects to understand how they see the world”-->
<!--praam, 9th February-->
"but praying mantises are thought to the only insects which see in this way"
No. It is the only insect vision system that has been looked at until now.

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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists make tiny 3D glasses for insects to understand how they see the world”-->
<!--Straight talking, 9th February  -->
Insects given free 3D tv.. what about us humans!
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<!-- The Independent, “Trillions of flies can't be all that bad”-->
<!--praam, {115 days ago}-->
An increase of 244 percent will not get us back to the number of flies I saw around 1950.
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--Dr Andrew, {142 days ago}-->
The day birds and bees become Extinct, humans cannot remain far behind.
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--retsdon, {149 days ago}-->
For the first time in about 30 years, this last summer I revisited Britain and the coastal area of Wales that I grew up in. It was actually quite startling how scarce the insect and also the bird life had become. Hardly saw a skylark or a yellowhammer. As a kid in the 60s during summer there'd be half a dozen larks in the sky pretty much constantly, and just about every other gorse bush woukd have a yellowhammer calling from it. No butterflies to speak of and not much in the rock pools either. Plenty of jellyfish though...
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--Gary S, {149 days ago}-->
good i hate bugs!
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--fulham1958, {149 days ago}-->
I work outdoors, every day in London. Wasps, daddylonglegs, mosquitoes and ladybirds have been virtually non-existent. Bees and butterflies a bit better than last year. Flies down.
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--ShermanMunster, {149 days ago}-->
I've noticed it this summer, visibly fewer insects, I live in a semi-rural area in the north, it is very scary.?
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--SteB1, {149 days ago}-->
What insects, what species, more than where and when?

I actually count butterfly and dragonfly numbers every week for 6 months of the year, do other surveys, do insect photography etc, and I know very well that these declines are real, and your claims are ignorant.?≫
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--Midwinter1947, {149 days ago}-->
Whereas I smell idiocy in your posting.?

You should be aware that farmers and growers are now routinely importing bees as well as using manual methods in order to pollinate their crops whereas in the past pollination was never an issue.?≫
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--AllDayBrekkie, {149 days ago}-->
The emergency has not been obvious because previous we just recorded bees and maybe butterfly numbers.? No-one else has been monitoring it.? The emergency is here now.? It doesn't feel like an emergency though because Brexit/Trump/Towie/Facebook/Netflix.? Its definitely an emergency though.? Humankind rapidly needs to wake up but Im not going to expect too.?≫
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--VSC, {149 days ago}>
Hardly a scare ... it's a fact that bees are reducing in number, and not surprising that other insects are following suit.

If our pollinators and part of the food chain goes down, we do ...?≫
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--Muggers, {149 days ago}>
What Frank above says. Through France this year, one fly on my visor every half hour. They have all gone. Us next.?≫
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<!-- The Independent, “Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%”-->
<!--sumy, {149 days ago}-->
I am lucky enough to live in the Charente in France, here we have an abundance of House Sparrows,and many of those species that are facing extinction in the UK! This is despite the best efforts of the local population who have a spray or powder to kill just about everything!
The main difference is that France is 5 times larger than England but with a similar population,subsequently there is more space for the wildlife to exist.
I do confess that I would rather not have the 2 Bees nests in my roof or the Hornets in the chimney! So far this year the score is 2 bee stings? to 0 wasp/hornet stings!?≫
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<!-- The Independent, "Scientists warn of 'ecological Armageddon' after study shows flying insect numbers plummeting 75%"-->
<!--RetiredTaxman, {149 days ago}-->
Certainly there seem to be fewer visible insects, and even the small black slugs that are attracted to the milk delivery have declined. However our spiders have not, and must be feeding on something?≫
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<!--The Independent, "Family's 'dream house' ravaged by moth infestation of 'biblical proportions'"-->
<!--Real European, {156 days ago}-->
The moths in the picture belong to the family of Geometridae. Their larvae DO NOT feed on wool.

The larvae of only a handful of very small moths feed on  wool (eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niditinea_fuscella).

The larvae of ALL other moths DO NOT feed on wool but on various kinds of plants.
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<!--The Independent, "Family's 'dream house' ravaged by moth infestation of 'biblical proportions'"-->
<!--HomoSapien, {194 days ago}-->
Very misleading picture suggesting that adult moths munch their way through wool. They do no such thing.
Adult moths (and butterflies) can only sip liquids.
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<!--The Independent, "Family's 'dream house' ravaged by moth infestation of 'biblical proportions'"-->
<!--Real European, {156 days ago}-->
The larvae of the species in the picture do not eat away at wool either!
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<!--The Independent, "Family's 'dream house' ravaged by moth infestation of 'biblical proportions'"-->
<!--Nina Cumbria, {195 days ago}-->
Despite the picture, it is the larvae that eat the wool and they are the wrong type of moths, it is the little gold ones that have wings shaped more like Concorde. The little beggars also lay eggs in flour, grains and nuts which then hatch out and eat the food.

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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--loftwork, {295 days ago}-->
Strangely, people who find the idea of eating bugs shocking often have no objections at all to eating sea-going bugs like crabs, shrimp and lobster. »
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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--Farsight, {295 days ago}-->
It's not about if people find it disgusting or shocking, but how silly it is to try to solve a global food crisis by eating maggots!
Think of it, all the large-scale livestock & agricultural farming - was that supposed to be good for nothing? I guess if that didn't do it, bugs & maggots won't make much of a difference either....
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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--ruralpete, {295 days ago}-->
Pity you show a cockroach!! »
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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--Christopher Searle, {295 days ago}-->
Actually it's a giant water bug, they've been eaten for years in many parts of the world. Still not a hornet tho'... »
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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--Zhu, {296 days ago}-->
Stir-fried hornet grubs with red chili powder on top are rather good. They're crunchy, like Cheetos, but spicy and probably healthier.  Stir-fried bamboo worms are much the same.  Both are common in Yunnan, SW China. Stir-fried silkworms, common in NE China, are less to my taste, but OK.
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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--abstrusus, {296 days ago}-->
Or, given that most people, at least in the West, are ridiculously fussy when it comes to bugs, how about farming things like locusts and crickets, grinding them up into a kind of flour and then using that to make things that people will actually eat?
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<!--The Independent, "How eating giant hornets and cheese with larvae could solve the global food crisis-->
<!--RightSedFred, {296 days ago}-->
That 'hornet' in the lead picture looks awfully like a cockroach to my untutored eye.
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