Churchyard Nature Note with Andrew Tompsett
October 09
SOS for insects
Are you old enough to remember
meadows full of butterflies and grasshoppers? Corn fields bright with scarlet poppies and golden corn marigolds?
The problem is that to
produce the food we need and to reduce the amount of manua l labour required to produce it our countryside no longer provides the mixture of wild flowers we once enjoyed. One recent theory on honey bee population collapse is that our bees lackthe variety of nectar and pollen they depend on for health,and the diseases
they are suffering may be due to a weakened immune system.
What’s to be done? Well, actually,quite
a lot is happening now that farmers are
beingrewarded for conserving nature instead ofpaying them production subsidies. The general opinion is that without a diversity of wild plants there
will be even fewer insects including bees which together are essential for pollinating
many crops such as fruits and seeds, said tobe up to a third of our food. This is a
worldwide issue and there are plenty of
places much worse than Cornwall.
Our gardens, our wild places,and of
course our churchyard are vital oases where a wide rangeof creatures can find food. So called ‘waste land’ suggests
that it has no value – nothing
could further from the truth!
Consider for a moment butterflies. The adults neednectar from flowers and their caterpillars need green plants to eat.
Yes, cabbage white caterpillars, rather numerous this year, and of course
wasps can be a nuisance but each
have a place in a complex web of life.
In our churchyard we are seeking to
providethe trees and plants which
support the whole range of creatures.
The early flowering celandines provide nectar and pollen for beeson their first
flight of the year. Primroses, dandelions, May blossom, brambles, wild rose, buddleia,and autumn ivy blossom are just
a fewof the really good nectar flowers
whilst tall grasses, though pollinated by
the wind, are essential food for many species of caterpillars. Somenettles too should also be tolerated in every garden since they are such an important host plant.
Over-wintering places where creatures
can hibernate are also vital so don’t tidy
up all your dead plants and leave some woodpiles hollow bamboo canesetc for ladybirds. Full marks to village children who, encouraged by the Friends of Maningham Wood, have built a ‘bug hotel’ near the main gate beside the regeneration footpath. Already the children are leaning some vital facts of life and will be checking to see who takes upresidence there.