Week 20
“Do you have any orange-tip butterflies?” he asked, as I was showing him around my land.
“Not seen any,” I replied, trying to sound knowledgeable, when I had no clue what he meant.
Now it is Spring, the insects are returning. Wasps have crept indoors, bumblebees buzz round my kitchen, ants crawl on the veranda, and I have begun to see butterflies and moths fluttering on the land as the temperature begins to rise. By evening there is a cloud of insects, and the year has barely begun.
It was why I was pleased to see Peter, the ecological consultant[i], as it was instantly clear that what he did not know about ecology was insignificant. He knows a lot about a lot and had come to undertake an insect survey. This was the first of four visits and I admit to being more than excited.
When it comes to insects, I freely admit complete ignorance, yet I realise I need to know more. Right now, I refer to insects as creepie-crawlies and I run away from wasps. That is my total of expertise. Peter’s question about the orange-tip butterfly[ii] further highlighted my lack of knowledge. The butterfly happens to be extremely common throughout lowland England and Wales, slightly less so in Scotland. It can be seen flying along hedges and across gardens between April and June, and loves cuckooflowers, of which I now have plenty. A cuckooflower is where an orange-tip[iii] can lay its eggs.
As if on cue, perhaps it had been waiting for its moment, a butterfly fluttered past, hopping from flower to flower, plant to plant. The orange tips to its white wings were so clear, that even I could see them. It was my first ever orange-tip, although I had probably seen plenty on other occasions without realising. It was if it had been waiting for Peter.
Insects - a butterfly is an insect - are clearly important, as without them pollination cannot occur, plants would not grow, and mankind would be in a pickle. The reason I am renaturing is not only to support Nature but also to improve the chances of my land being used for pollination. If I can do that, if we all do that, the Earth might be a better place.
I had not realised the problem until a year ago when I drove a car from the north of England to the south of Greece and back, nearly 5000 miles (8000 kilometres). I was away for a month and not once did I have to clean my windscreen of dead insects. In my younger years I did that frequently. My observations matched with the 2017 study from Germany, which identified a 75% decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas[iv].
Society is perhaps becoming more insect aware, even if many still pave their gardens and manicure their roadside verges. In the United Kingdom, three times as many front gardens have been paved over, as compared with a decade ago. Five million front gardens have no plants growing in them, 7.24 million are partly paved over and 4.5 million are completely paved over[v]. That is a lot of paving and a huge amount of green space lost.
Somehow, the public perception of insects must improve, including my own approach to creepie crawlies. It is time to care about insects[vi].
There are three key types of insect - pollinators, decomposers and predators[vii]. Pollinators, which are critical for our existence, include bees, wasps, ants, flies, butterflies and moths. Meanwhile decomposers feed on dead animals and rotting vegetation and include mites, millipedes, centipedes, spiders and beetles. Predators include ladybirds[viii], lacewings[ix], and the praying mantis. Yes, the praying mantis has been found in the United Kingdom[x] and is not just confined to overseas. There are 1.5 million species of insects in the world, 27,000 of which are in the United Kingdom, as well as 4000 species of beetle. For wildflowers, 80% depend on insect pollination[xi]. Sir David Attenborough put it well, in 2005, when he said,
“If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse.”[xii]
If, like me, you shudder at the thought of insects, it is time to stop shuddering. Insects need our help. It is why Peter has come to my land, to see if I am doing any good by renaturing.
I heard my first cuckoo of the season two days ago, so the bird has finally made it from Southern Africa. It was a distant call, but instantly recognisable. It is a heartening sound that has been linked with lunacy, gibberish, unrequited love[xiii], and plenty more besides. There is no doubt that birdsong is a wonderful antidote to a stressful life[xiv], and when I heard the cuckoo, for a moment all my troubles vanished. They returned soon afterwards, but at the time the therapeutic effect of the cuckoo was evident. The obvious question, of course, is what does the cuckoo eat? Insects, of course.
Parts of my land are beginning to turn white, thanks to the appearance of the pignut flower[xv]. This is a member of the carrot family and looks like hemlock[xvi], cow parsley[xvii] and ground elder[xviii], so do proceed with care if you intend to dig up pignut. First, it is not permitted by law anyway, as also applies to other wild plants. However, if going to jail and a thousand lashes is acceptable, pignut tuber, which is the thickened part of the underground stem of a plant, is edible and fantastic for carbohydrate loading. Forget sugar, pasta and crumpets and hunt down pignut tuber.
Pignuts have been used in times of hardship by many country folk and can certainly be used as a survival tool[xix]. If life becomes truly bad, some say that pignut is an aphrodisiac. Bees love pignut, as do butterflies, hoverflies and moths. If you see aphrodisiacs as important, they are another reason for looking after insects.
I rest my case.
***
Acknowledgement
Take it from me - none of this would be possible without the help of RSG Horticulture. Rufus, who runs it, has far more energy than me and is full of ideas and skills.
References
[i] Peter Brash Ecology. https://www.peterbrashecology.co.uk. Accessed 12 May 2023. [ii] Anthocharis cardamines. This butterfly has white uppersides to its wings. It is only the males that have orange-tipped forewings; females have small black tips. The orange tips warn predators that this butterfly is highly distasteful. See Orange-tip butterfly at https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/other-garden-wildlife/insects-and-other-invertebrates/butterflies/orange-tip-butterfly/#:~:text=Orange%2Dtips%20are%20common%20throughout,but%20are%20rarer%20in%20Scotland. Accessed 12 May 2023. [iii] Orange-tip. See https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/orange-tip. Accessed 12 May 2023. [iv] Hallmann CA, Sorg M, Jongejans E, Siepel H, Hofland N, et al. (2017) More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLOS ONE 12(10): e0185809. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185809 [v] Monckton H. 3 million front gardens have been completely paved since 2005. Let’s try to reverse this trend. See https://www.lowimpact.org/posts/3-million-front-gardens-have-been-completely-paved-since-2005-lets-try-to-reverse-this-trend#:~:text=Over%20five%20million%20front%20gardens,gardens%20are%20completely%20paved%20over. Accessed 12 May 2023. [vi] Willmer G. People have started to care about insects. Now we need action, say experts. See https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/people-have-started-care-about-insects-now-we-need-action-say-experts. Accessed 12 May 2023. [vii] The benefits of bugs in your garden. See https://www.gardenhealth.com/advice/birds-and-wildlife/the-benefits-of-bugs-in-your-garden. Accessed 12 May 2023. [viii] Coccinellidae. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae. Accessed 12 May 2023. [ix] Chrysopidae spp. Feast on aphids and are a form of biological pest control. See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/other-garden-wildlife/insects-and-other-invertebrates/flies/lacewing/#:~:text=Lacewings%20usually%20have%20bright%20green,are%20less%20common%20in%20Scotland. Accessed 12 May 2023. [x] Praying mantis in Britain. Known as Mantis religiosa. See https://hbrc.org.uk/news/praying-mantis-in-britain/. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xi] Fascinating facts all about bugs. See https://www.gardenhealth.com/all-about-bugs. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xii] See https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/10_october/20/life.shtml. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xiii] Cuckoo symbolism: spiritual meaning, totem, spirit, & omens. See https://thebirdpedia.com/cuckoo-symbolism-spiritual-meaning-totem-spirit/. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xiv] Moss S. Natural high: why birdsong is the best antidote to oour stressful lives. See https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/04/birdsong-antidote-to-stressful-lives-dawn-chorus-day. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xv] Conopodium majus. Digging for its nuts was once a popular pastime among children, although now, to completely uproot a wild plant is illegal. See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/pignut. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xvi] Conium maculatum. A poisonous plant, hemlock has a repellent smell when its leaves are crushed, helping to ensure that accidental poisonings don't occur very often - even livestock studiously avoid it. See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/hemlock. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xvii] Anthriscus sylvestris. Cow parsley is attractive to a huge number of creatures, from orange-tip butterflies to marmalade hoverflies, and even rabbits. It is part of the Apiaceae family, more commonly known as umbellifers - a large family consisting of the celery, carrot and parsley variants of which there are over 3000 species. See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/cow-parsley. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xviii] Aegopodium podagraria. The flowers, which appear in late spring/early summer, resemble those of the elder tree. Hence the name. Sometimes known as gout weed as it has been used for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, arthritis, bladder, and digestive conditions, and to make poultices, as well as to treat burns and stings. Rich source of vitamins A and C. All parts edible but should not be eaten in any great quantity after flowering. Best eaten young. See entry 5 March 2023. See also https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/ground-elder. Accessed 12 May 2023. [xix] Pignut - Conopodium majus. See https://wildfood.originaloutdoors.co.uk/uk-plants/forest-plants/pignut-conopodium-majus/. Accessed 12 May 2023.
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