Brett W. writes:

"...I ride my bicycle a lot in and around the city, and I eat so damn many
bugs, it makes me wonder where all of you are reporting from...."

It is not the species of bugs that people eat that those of us that study
bugs are worried about.

The more familiar you are with the diversity of insect species, and the more
you are familiar with the historical diversity of insect species in western
Washington and the diversity of insect species in the richest remaining
habitats here, the more I expect you would see that we have a dearth of bug
species and often a dearth of bug numbers now in the metropolitan Seattle
area. I spend a good deal of time looking for bugs in the different Seattle
city parks and in the metropolitan Seattle area, and though I don't know a
high percentage of their species names, I can attest to disappointment in
current bug species diversity in Seattle parks.

The Montlake fill is one of very few places that may now support more bugs
and bug species than it did decades ago, as it was a garbage dump and dump
for the material taken out to put in I-5 about 40 or so years ago.

It is towards the goal of restoring some of our historic insect species
diversity and the diversity of all organisms, including birds, above them in
the food chain, that I have both been planting and promoting the restoration
of our lost and declining native plant species that those different insect
species depend on to a large degree. I can also attest to a large and ever
increasing percentage of alien plant species covering the landscape -
species that our native bugs are less likely to be able to use and our most
specialized bug species are even less likely to be able to use. It is often
these specialists that account for much of the diversity in habitats of high
species diversity.
Stewart Wechsler
Ecological Consulting
West Seattle
206 932-7225
ecostewart at quidnunc.net

-Advice on the most site-appropriate native plants
and how to enhance habitat for the maximum diversity
of plants and animals
-Educational programs, nature walks and field trips
-Botanical Surveys


-----Original Message-----
From: Brett Wolfe [mailto:m_lincolnii at yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 8:19 AM
To: Tweeters
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] insects and swallows - where are they NOT?


Either I have missed something from this thread, or I just don't
understand. I live in Seattle, in the U-District. I am down at the Montlake
Fill all of the time, and insects and swallows seem as thick as ever there.
There are literally hundreds of swallows flying around the Fill in the
mornings and evenings. I ride my bicycle a lot in and around the city, and I
eat so damn many bugs, it makes me wonder where all of you are reporting
from. Do you have trees in your neighborhoods? Are you ever near any water?
Because if you are, there is no shortage of insect life. Every park in the
city is filled with insects and birds. All along the Burke-Gilman is filled
with insects and birds. Almost every day I go out to go birding, I still get
40-60 species of birds. In the winter, that spikes upwards because of all of
the waterfowl, and at migration, it is still easy to see 80+ species in
about an hour-and-a-half at the Montlake Fill. Where are all of you NOT
seeing insects and birds? Or are folks just looking to make problems bigger
than they currently are? If this sounds harsh, I apologize. I just do not
see the problems you are all talking about.

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA
m_lincolnii at yahoo.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Brett Wolfe [mailto:m_lincolnii at yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 8:19 AM
To: Tweeters
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] insects and swallows - where are they NOT?


Either I have missed something from this thread, or I just don't
understand. I live in Seattle, in the U-District. I am down at the Montlake
Fill all of the time, and insects and swallows seem as thick as ever there.
There are literally hundreds of swallows flying around the Fill in the
mornings and evenings. I ride my bicycle a lot in and around the city, and I
eat so damn many bugs, it makes me wonder where all of you are reporting
from. Do you have trees in your neighborhoods? Are you ever near any water?
Because if you are, there is no shortage of insect life. Every park in the
city is filled with insects and birds. All along the Burke-Gilman is filled
with insects and birds. Almost every day I go out to go birding, I still get
40-60 species of birds. In the winter, that spikes upwards because of all of
the waterfowl, and at migration, it is still easy to see 80+ species in
about an hour-and-a-half at the Montlake Fill. Where are all of you NOT
seeing insects and birds? Or are folks just looking to make problems bigger
than they currently are? If this sounds harsh, I apologize. I just do not
see the problems you are all talking about.

Brett A. Wolfe
Seattle, WA
m_lincolnii at yahoo.com
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