"Not all insects are bad," Hawkins said. "In fact, a lot of insects are incredibly important."

Pesticides cost money, Krupke said, but an increase in chemical applications is beside the point. Even a dip in revenue caused by spider mite infestations is nothing when considering the damage wrought by this year's abnormally low rainfall.

"The cost of the insecticide is trivial compared to the cost of losing the crop," Krupke said.

"Insects and mites are taking a back seat to the total lack of moisture," he added. "Everything is taking a back seat to that."

Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500

1 Comments

1. 1. philtorres 09:59 PM 8/1/12

   Fascinating article. If you're interested, here's a video about humanity's impact on the biosphere, which is quite significant. It's very much germane to this article. Thought you might like this short video about the impact of humanity on the biosphere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-6OL2Sej1c . Please share it with others if you do!

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