Ready for battle

Insects say fewer sightings down to sick-note culture and working from home

A wet Spring and Summer have been blamed for the lack of many insects usually seen in British gardens. However, sources from the bugs themselves have blamed the workshy and a culture of working from home.

A furious butterfly, Neville, was pretty scathing about his fellow lepidoptera. 'Some of them just can't be bothered to get out of their cocoon. "Oooh, sorry, it's my agoraphobia", or "My knees play up something wicked in this wet weather." It means the rest of us are flitting from flower to flower, twenty-four seven, just to keep production steady. It's the butterfly effect.'

Susan, not her real name, a honey bee, told us amber nectar supplies were well below average thanks to her colleagues 'skiving'. "They know all the buzz words. If it's not Group B Strep it's Hepatitis B. What I say is take some Beechams and get your lazy thorax out of that hive!"

Ant colonies have not fared much better. We spoke to Ant, his real name, who blamed the pandemic. "We have a group of shirkers who were forced to stay at home, got a liking for working in their pants, and it's an uphill task now to get them to leave."

However, the most severe criticism seem reserved for mayflies. "Pond scum the lot of them." exclaimed a somewhat laboured water boatman. "Rock up for a day and then you never see them again."

Image: Wix AI