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“y" nsects end people are only one part of the complex, inter-

1 related world of life. Both are important, integral paris of its we living dynamism. Insects aré an important part of the diet for many birds, toads, frogs and other insects in nature's complex food chain. With the biodynamic/French intensive method comes a realization that every time you relate to an insect you are relating with the whole system of life, and that, if you choose to dominate the insect world system of life, rather than work in harmony with it, part of the system dies. For example, we depend on insects for pollination of many of our vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, fibers and cover crops. When we choose dominating, death-oriented control, then the scope and depth of our life becomes narrower and smaller. So, in reality, weare detracting from our own lives rather than adding to them. In trying to isolate an insect and deal with it Separately out of relation to the ecosystem in which it lives, we work against the whole life Support system, which in turn works against us in counterpro- ductive results,

When an excess of insects appears in a garden, nature is indicating a problem exists in the life of that garden. Ineach case, we need to become sensitive to the source of the imbalance. Observation and gentle action will produce the best results. In contrast, when poisons are used, beneficial predators are killed as well as the targeted harmful insects. Spraying trees to elimi- nate worms or beetles often results ina secondary outbreak of spider mites or aphids because ladybugs and other predators cannot reestablish themselves as quickly as the destructive

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environment, and leaving a few wild spaces for unexpected bene-

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96 4 Balanced Backyard Ecosystem and Insect Life