Drop in insect number frightens environmentalist

Bob Tompkins said there had been a dramatic decline over the past six years

A Jersey environmentalist has said he was "frightened" by the low levels of insects on the island this summer.

Bob Tompkins said numbers have been dwindling over the past 50 years, but the past five or six have seen a dramatic decline.

He said he was fairly confident the island's very mild and very wet winter was a factor, adding a lot of insects need dry conditions.

Gordon Steele, chairman of the Pollinator Project, said there have also been "fewer wasps and butterflies" in Guernsey.

Vital insect

Mr Steele said a damp summer may have contributed to the "health" of Guernsey's nature.

The conditions produced a lot of mould and funguses which Mr Tompkins said attack insects and wipe them out.

Mr Tompkins said people appeared to be "fixated on annihilating wasps in their garden".

He said wasps were a "vital insect within the insect world for removing what we would classify as dangerous insects, if you like, or insects that will damage food crops and so on".

Mr Tompkins said the size of bumble bees was smaller too, which means they are not getting as much food.

This demise means we are going to see less pollination – "major failures within crops" not just in fields but fruits too such as raspberries, loganberries and strawberries.

Alastair Christie said a total of 339 Asian hornet nests were found in 2023

The Asian hornet population has also dwindled this year, an expert said.

Alastair Christie, the senior scientific officer for invasive species for the Government of Jersey, said the team dealt with nest 82 on Monday.

Whereas they had dealt with 127 nests this time in 2023, adding a total of 339 nests were found at the end of the year.

Mr Christie thinks it was partly due to the control programme involving nest tracking.

He added the damp winter and fewer easterly winds bringing the hornets over from the continent, may have contributed.