Saalfeld (dpa/th) - According to observations by Thuringian conservationists, the increasing drought is accelerating the change in the insect fauna in the Free State. Inhabitants of cool, damp habitats are threatened like aquatic insects, since the source streams of the low mountain ranges are increasingly drying out in summer - also due to the use of drinking water - said the chairman of the Thuringian Association of Entomologists, Ronald Bellstedt, the German Press Agency. The association deals with the insect species native to the Free State.
"Obvious is the decline of many butterfly species and the size of their populations, such as the golden fritillary or the brown bear," said Bellstedt. A conference in Saalfeld on Saturday dealt with the disappearance of insects and the loss of biodiversity.
Bellstedt pointed out that, at the same time, some large insect species such as the blue-black carpenter bee, the praying mantis or the Asian ladybird were spreading more rapidly in native regions due to climate change.
With a view to agriculture and forestry, the chairman of the association campaigned for the preservation of refuges for insects. For example, roadsides should no longer be mulched as wide and as often as this would literally shred butterfly caterpillars, grasshopper larvae and other small animals, Bellstedt demanded. A corresponding petition had also been submitted to the state parliament.
