Q:Β My yard in downtown Tucson has been devoid of bees and butterflies this spring and summer, the first time in seven years here that there has been a noticeable lack of insects. There are very few to no moths or mosquitoes in the evening β outdoor lights at night illuminate no insects hovering about. Even the bat population is nonexistent because there are no bugs for the bats to eat. I am wondering if anyone else in Tucson, or near the downtown Tucson area, has noticed the lack of pollinators this year. I also wonder if any kind of municipal spraying has contributed to the lack of insects this year.
A:Β I canβt speak for everyone, but my midtown environment is loaded with insects and bats. Each area is potentially subject to a variety of influences such as irrigation, weather, available food plants, available bat habitat and pesticides. Itβs hard to say why your yard is devoid of all these creatures without more information about what is and has been going on with regard to your landscape and the surrounding area. In my conversations with the city departments that manage the municipal landscape I learned that they use very few insecticides on city property so that is not likely the reason.
Peter L. Warren is the urban horticulture agent for the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. Questions may be emailed to
