First bees now butterflies

The Washington Post article by Darryl Fears in the July 1st newspaper lists two species of butterflies that have gone extinct in Florida and mentions others that are endangered. The Pollinator Partnership, a group dedicated to the conservation of insets such as bees, moths and butterflies says the decline is based on loss of habitat, including loss from drought and early bloom and pesticides.

Bugs cling to existence more ferociously than mammals, he says. He quotes Robert Robbins, a research entomologist at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, "If butterflies are going extinct, It's a strong indicator that we're messing up the environment around us."

A recent U.S. Geological Survey study estimated that seven species of amphibians will drop by 50 percent if the current rate of decline, fueled by pesticide use and loss of habitat, continues.

There we are--back to pesticide. We can't keep poisoning our water, land and air if we knock off all the critters that support our existence. We may be at the top of the food chain but if food goes, we go with it.

Do you think we can live without pollinators?