Dry summer results in lower insect population

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A dry summer's had an effect on the insect population. The number of mosquitoes, flies and some pollinators are down from what we usually see in July.

No one's going to complain if they go home with less mosquito bites on a beautiful night like this. Entomologists say worldwide, the insect population's actually been decreasing for 10 years. It's certainly noticeable this year because of the drought.

Dry weather means virtually no standing water -- so no opportunity for insects to thrive.

"Without water, you have no insect populations. They need water to breed, especially mosquitoes," said Janelle Iaccino with Rose Pest Solutions.

With little rain, the reduced population of mosquitoes and buzzing insects means less calls to the pest control business.

"Yea, it's been kind of slow because people were just not experiencing insects like they normally would in the spring and summer, so our calls for those types of things are down," said Iaccino.

Backyard fire pits have been virtually mosquito-free, and barbecues haven't had many pesty flies or bees around.

"It may seem like it's a good thing if there's not insects around to bother us and get in our food, but the implications are really scary," said Edward Blumenthal, associate professor of biology at Marquette University.

Scary because Edward Blumenthal at Marquette says less insects can negatively affect the food chain. And don't put 100 percent of the blame on the drought, a number of issues are reducing the insect population worldwide.

"Well, it's a number of things, the climate change, habitat loss, pollution, insecticides," said Blumenthal.

And it's air pollution too. Not only has summer of 2023 brought drought-conditions to Wisconsin, we've also had poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires. But not to worry, a little rain can bring the mosquitoes back.

"Now of course when it rains you know, give it a week and there'll be mosquitoes again, so they're not gone. We don't see them, you know they're eggs or they're larvae and they're waiting for that water to show up," said Blumenthal.

"Mosquitoes only need the amount of water that fits in this bottle cap to breed. And it's just the females that will bite. So, every time you're bitten by a mosquito, that's a female about to lay 100 more eggs in the amount of water that can fit inside this bottle cap," said Iaccino.

As far as pollinators go, Wisconsin has hundreds of species of bees. A Marquette professor says some bee populations are falling, while others are rising. If you're interested in keeping these populations up, water your trees, and plant some native flowers.