[Miss Marple]

This is why I use hardly any pesticides in my garden (and believe me it is pretty tough to forego them during Japanese beetle season). I figure they need all the help they can get.

Dropping pesticides also allows for other pollinators...various other types of bees and butterflies, as well as hummingbirds.

[leadpenny]

Oh, No! A true conservative.

Good for you, MM.

[SmoothTalker]

"Dropping pesticides also allows for other pollinators...various other types of bees and butterflies, as well as hummingbirds."

Now that you mention it you dont see as many butterflies around anymore.

[Ditto]

I remember reading about this several years ago happening out in the west. I'm thinking it must be biological (a virus, fungus, or parasite) rather than pesticides since, if I understand it correctly, it has seemed to have migrated geographically over a number of years rather than happen in many places all at once.