Lack of insects in my garden

Loads of bumble bees in my Zone 2 South London garden buzzing around foxgloves, campanula and something else I don't know the name of. No sign of fox cubs yet but I think my neighbour may have blocked off all the fox runs to stop her newly acquired small dog getting out.

I was gardening most of yesterday and really noticed a lack of insects.Usually the self seeding foxgloves that are dotted about are busy with bumble bees and the caenothus hardly had an insect on it.We're in the North and it has been cool and wet most of this spring which can't help.However with the exception of a couple of other nature loving neighbours most of our seem intent on obliterating any living creature with weedkiller, strimmers and hedge trimmers whirring.Poor nesting birds.I do cut our hedges back with hand shears so we can use the paths-but leave the big tidy up until fledging is finished.One neighbour was even grumbling because a few starlings sit and chatter on a telegraph pole at the bottom of her drive.No wonder nature is struggling!

It's early yet in central Scotland to see many butterflies, but my ceanothus was covered in bees last week. It's gone over now and the bees are on other flowers.

It is strange. We have a wildlife pond which used to have frogs, newts, pond skaters, dragonflies etc etc. Over the last couple of years the numbers have diminished and we have not seen any thing this year. I'm in a rural area of France which is unpolluted, as evidenced by the amount of lichen, so we are at a loss as to why this is happening. Can it be global warming - wetter winters and hotter summers?

I haven’t seen many butterflies, but the bees (honey and bumble) are always very busy on the ‘big’ forget me nots (I forget what they’re called - the ones that are the very devil to pull or dig up). I always have so many, self sown every spring.

Oh dear, what part of the country do you live in? In my rural Midlands garden, it’s buzzing with insects. I saw ladybirds as early as March, white bottom bees and damsel flies are frequently spotted.
It sounds as if you have insect attracting plants, maybe a few more such as Persicaria, which is always covered when it flowers.