The ram’s horn gall oak wasp was first found in Berkshire in 1997. It is now quite common in the Park [Picture – Andrew Town].We can spot new arrivals in Nowhere Wood, if we have time and patience. Anyone can do this if they walk through the wood often, thinking about what they see. It is much harder to notice species that disappear because the changing climate does not suit them. Species come and go from the wood all of the time.
So how do we know which species have left permanently because of climate change?
This news article from the Natural History Museum is about declining number of insects. From: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/
One way is to combine our observations of Nowhere Wood with observations from other woods across the country. This helps us to see the ‘bigger picture’.
When we do this, we can see that we do have a problem: London’s Natural History Museum reports that “UK’s flying insects have declined by 60% in 20 years”.
Three reasons are given for this fall in numbers, rising temperatures caused by climate change, loss of suitable habitats and the use of harmful chemicals as pesticides.
The hairy-footed flower bee, pollinating a lungwort flower [Picture – Andrew Town].Losing insects could have serious effects on Nowhere Wood and the surrounding farmlands. Bees are insects that are suffering this fall in numbers. They help to pollinate many crops, including the apple trees in the orchards.
Many insects are food for birds and other animals. A loss of insects could lead to a reduction in the number of these animal, too.
Bee hotels are sometimes used as a way to help encourage solitary bees to breed and survive. Learn how to do this here.
Imagine what a world would look like without insects. Does it matter if we lose our insects?
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