A question for DUers (started by the honeybee thread)--please read and at least give

[JanMichael]

a short answer.

Has anyone noticed the absence of species of insects/birds/snakes/rodents around their house?

For instance--Stephanie mentioned last summer that she hasn't seen a Daddy Long Legs in a while--when I thought about it, I hadn't either.

[Berry Cool]

1. Not me.

I live in an apartment building near a body of water, which means plenty of bugs, which means a good living for spiders. They often seem to find a way inside. Plenty of pigeons too. I can't say I have noticed the absence of any particular species, but critters in general--I still see 'em. Although you don't get snakes up where I am. No rodent problems either, thank goodness.

[whistle]

2. Mass extinction may be coming dominated by a single species

...the radical Christian right wing SUV gas guzzling auto driving conservatives

[Fresh_Start]

3. Lots of spiders and ants and wildlife here

actually being invaded from the reservoir area nearby.

Mountain lions on the trail at the end of the street. No shortage I can see though I think the hummingbirds were fewer than normal. Too early for hummingbirds so far this year.

[blonndee]

4. Well, I haven't seen many bees or wasps the last couple of years

but I was glad about it till I skimmed that thread.

There have been more "wild" animals appearing, though: A cottontail rabbit, a turtle, and a roadrunner have spent a good deal of time around my house. I wonder if they're going hungry and that's why they're coming into neighborhoods. :cry:

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. I live by the water so we still get more than our fair share of spiders.

And a huge bee's nest ever summer. But it could be because of our location.

[BeHereNow]

6. Yes, absolutely.

I had a herd of blue jays I fed for years- gone.
At least 30 squirrels- gone.
Lizards galore- gone.
Possums- gone.
Hawks- haven't seen one in a year.

However, I have been infested with crickets.
Which I don't mind because I love the sound.

BHN

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

7. Nah. Pretty Much Same As Ever Here From What I Can Tell.

In fact, I even saw japanese beetles making a comeback last summer.

[Subdivisions]

8. Lightning Bugs. Gone. From Texas. n/t

[seabeyond]

9. all the daddy long legs are at my house. it seems like every summer

one bug is dominate.

no, i am not seeing shortage of birds, we never have snakes, no shortage of bugs, ... though they stay out of my house. i do everything possible to not see them.

[Lerkfish]

10. well, we have no shortage. Our backyard connects to a strip of woods and

then a large field. this summer we had such a large group of daddy long legs it was amazing to see. Plenty of caterpillars, ants, spiders of all types and stinkbugs, you name it.

this is in southwest Ohio.

[KG]

11. i've noticed a certain socialist has been missing from the lounge.

:hi:

[Bonhomme Richard]

12. Frogs n/t

[cynatnite]

13. Yes...

because we exterminated last year.

[BrotherBuzz]

14. Toads

My yard had resident toads for years until about eight years ago (I became friends with two or three of them as I always encountered them in their secret little hiddy-holes on a regular basis). On the up side, our bird population has expanded significantly in diversity and numbers.

[leftchick]

15. bees, hummingbirds and butterflies

I am a gardener and I notice when the pollinators are missing. :(

[HamdenRice]

16. Fireflies / lightening bugs -- almost none last summer

The backyard used to be lit up with them, even here in the city. Last year I think I saw maybe 2 all summer.

[Mind_your_head]

17. Yes - I definitely have noticed signifcantly fewer birds/mice/chipmonks

To people responding, please think back more than a year or two....think back further - 5 to 10 years (or longer)....

My neighbors and I were commenting this past summer how many fewer birds there are around now (compared with nine years ago when I first moved here) - my elderly-ish neighbors have been here much longer than that. I used to have starlings that would build a nest every year in one of my gutters - I did nothing to "fix to problem", they just haven't come back the past two years, as one example.

As for the chipmunks, I used to sit at my kitchen table and watch them run around the patio - gone. Also the MICE appear to be gone too! Every year when it got cold there would always be one or two mice that got in the house. Fortunately, I have a FANTASTIC 'mouser' kitty who would, well, "do her thing". Even with this terrible cold we've been having, no mice intruders this year. I don't think the mice figured out that there's a CAT here - it never prevented them from entering previous years. Also, in the summer/fall my kitty brought us very few "mice or bunny trophies" to the door.

[philosophie_en_rose]

18. The honey bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are still around.

I plant a lot flowers and have fruit trees, so they're still around. There are also plenty of worms and rolypolys.

But I don't really see any spiders at all, let alone ants or other predator bugs. :shrug:

[ruiner4u]

19. Yeah... I read the other thread and did notice a lack last summer....

of honeybees, paper wasps, and mud dobbers.. Although we did have a huge amount of borer bees and yellowjackets...

Last spring a planted a few gourd vines <5> and only ended up with 2 fruit. It makes sense to me now that a lack of pollinators could be why. The vines were not diseased and were pretty vigorous growers and flowered profusely.

[IDemo]

20. bees had been rare for several years but made a comeback last summer

Quail and pheasants are almost completely gone from the surrounding fields.

[earth mom]

21. Lots of wildlife around here...

spiders, ants, blue jays, raccoons, squirrels, even a cougar was seen in a housing development recently. As soon as it warms up we will see a lot more critters. The only thing I've noticed missing is ladybugs. We used to live 45 minutes further east and had ladybugs IN THE HOUSE! Since we've lived here, I've only seen ladybugs a few times, but we get other winged creatures like butterflies, bees, wasps, hummingbirds and-ugh-flies! Oh and last August, we had 3 bats in the house which really freaked me out! We sealed every crack and really hope it doesn't happen again! :scared:

[ptolle]

22. bees

Yes-bees of all descriptions and the garden suffers for the lack of pollinators.