Don’t bug out
Something’s bugging me. When you hear the word “wildlife,” what do you picture? A bear rambling through the forest, a deer bounding across a meadow, a salmon leaping over a cascade, a bald eagle perched in a tree above that cascade waiting for the right moment to swoop in and clutch the unsuspecting salmon with its razor-sharp talons? That’s what I picture too.
Sometimes we forget that there is wildlife much closer at hand — wildlife that could fit in your hand. It’s under that rock by the front stoop, inside the blossoms on the flowering trees and shrubs along the street, roaming the cracks of the sidewalk. The compost pile is a veritable safari.
We overlook some of the most important wildlife — insects and other arthropods — simply because they are so small. The ones we do notice tend to be the ones we love to hate, like deer ticks, cockroaches, and mosquitoes, and that tunnel vision has serious consequences. In her 1962 book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson revealed that bird populations across the U.S., including the iconic bald eagle, were declining because of the wide use of DDT to control mosquitoes and other “pests.”
But insects are anything but pests. As entomologist Edward O. Wilson noted, “If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” They are essential — more on that later — and they are as fascinating, alluring, and fuzzy (have you looked closely at a bumble bee?) as the charismatic megafauna we love to love.
They also need our help. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protects a number of insects through the Endangered Species Act, and there are many others for which we are taking proactive action with partners in hopes of keeping them off the list, like the Bethany Beach firefly, yellow banded bumble bee, and frosted elfin butterfly.
“Frosted elfin, and many other species — like the whip-poor-will, eastern towhee, and the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly — depend on an increasingly rare type of ecosystem called pine barrens,” explained Robyn Niver, the species lead for the Service. “By working with partners to conserve this habitat for frosted elfin, we protect an entire community of wildlife.”
That’s not unusual. Insects are barometers for the health of larger systems. If insect populations decline — and many are — other wildlife populations will follow. Many species of amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds, and mammals rely on insects and arthropods as their sole food source.
But you’re not an anteater. So why should you care?
We rely on them too. Here are some of the vital roles insects and arthropods play in our lives:
- Pollinators like the yellow banded bumble bee, gather pollen and nectar from flowers, transferring it between plants, many of which need a pollen infusion to produce a fruit or seed. Think of it this way: No bees, no coffee.
- Predators like the spotted orb weaver spider, hunt live prey like flies. That’s good because flies bite us. Imagine if there were lots more flies around to bite us.
- Decomposers like sowbugs, break down organic matter. Without them, your compost pile would just be a pile.
- Scavengers, like carrion beetles, eat rotting dead stuff. I think that one speaks for itself.
Another reason to care: it’s fun! Just ask Charles Darwin. He collected tens of thousands of insects and arthropods during his expeditions abroad, and at home in England. Yes, for research, but also for entertainment. Darwin recalled in his autobiography that “no pursuit at Cambridge was followed with nearly so much eagerness or gave me so much pleasure as collecting beetles.”
He may have been overly eager at times: “One day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand; then I saw a third and new kind, which I could not bear to lose, so that I popped the one which I held in my right hand into my mouth. Alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that I was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one.”
Yet another scientific contribution from Charles Darwin: Don’t put beetles in your mouth.
Order!
Once you begin looking for insects and arthropods, you’ll realize they are everywhere. But how do you figure out what that thing that looks like a sunflower seed with legs is? There are clues that can help you narrow it down to the right group. By the way, it’s probably a firefly or a soldier beetle.
Those groups are called “orders.” Depending how recently you took biology, you may recall that orders (as in, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) comprise genetically related organisms with shared characteristics. For example, “Primate” is an order that groups together mammals with highly developed brains, opposable thumbs, and eyes that face forward, including lemurs, chimpanzees, and humans.
Let’s practice. Here are some common insect and arthropod orders, and descriptions of the shared characteristics of species within. Can you name something that fits in each category?
- Gastropoda — We have soft bodies without segments or hard exoskeletons, though some of us have spiral shells.
- Araneae — We have eight legs and two body segments, joined by a thin waist. Most of us have eight eyes and use silk to catch food, build shelter, and protect our eggs.
- Lepidoptera — We have four wings covered with scales that often form colorful patterns. Our mouth is a coiled tube used to extract nectar.
- Coleoptera — We have hardened front wings that cover our backs, forming a “T” where they come together. We are also the best-selling band in history.
Ready to put your skills to work? Here’s an insect-identification activity you can do at home:
- Take a light-colored pillowcase, towel, sheet, or even a tee-shirt (not the one you’re wearing) and lay it on the ground beneath the branches of a shrub or tree.
- Gently but consistently shake the overhanging branches for about 30 seconds. This may be tiring. Hang in there.
- Inspect the surface of your collection medium: Do you see any insects or arthropods? How many total? How many distinct kinds?
- Use this guide to insect orders from the University of California to help you figure out which group each of your specimens belongs to, and then see if you can narrow it down to the species using other resources online like Bug Guide.
- Gently shake out your sheet, towel, pillowcase, or tee-shirt to free your specimens.
- Try sampling in another location in your yard, or in a park, and compare the results.
Bee good
Now that you appreciate insects, and know how to identify them, you might wonder what you can do to help them out. Here are a few suggestions:
- Plant a pollinator garden with native flowers. These regional plant guides can help you figure out what’s best to grow where you live.
- Mow your lawn less frequently. Taller grass provides habitat for insects and other small animals. I know: I had you at “less yard work.”
- Avoid using pesticides on your grass or garden. You may be targeting certain insects, but you could inadvertently kill beneficial ones too, not to mention birds and small mammals.
- Don’t put beetles in your mouth. See The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin.
Finally, when it comes to insects and arthropods, try not to sweat the small stuff. Yes, an insect could nibble on the lettuce in your garden, rendering it unappetizing. Look on the bright side: a bird will probably eat that insect.
