Invertebrate. Tales. Challenges, facts and activities for children, and grown-ups too

Transcription

1 Invertebrate Tales Challenges, facts and activities for children, and grown-ups too

2 Earth Trust s Invertebrate Tales Project! Here at the Earth Trust we love our woodlands, and our bugs. In fact, we re so fascinated by them that we ve been studying them for over 20 years, and now we want you to get involved too! Our Invertebrate Tales project is calling upon you to become a citizen scientist and to See, Learn and Do more things around invertebrates and woodlands. We will be rolling out a medley of mini-beast events such as student placements, school visits, workshops, courses, and our Beat the Bugman challenge. What is an invertebrate? Invertebrates include a broad range of creatures such as insects, worms, millipedes, snails, spiders and woodlice. What do they have in common? None have a backbone! They can live in all sorts of different places, but they especially love living in woodlands. For example, on a single oak tree, you can find over 400 different species of invertebrates, with numbers totalling in the millions. Look! That s me when I was a baby! Each year a tree grows, another ring is created meaning you can tell a tree s age by the amount of rings it has Did you know during the last ice age, most trees were wiped out which is why we only have a few native broadleaf trees

3 WANTED: BUG HOTELIERS If you really want to do a good deed and have fun whilst doing it - help out by making a habitat for the homeless mini-beasts! There are different types of hotels for mini-beasts, so even if you don t have a lot of space you can still run your own little bug hotel. A bug hotel will provide them with shelter, a place to lay eggs, a feeding area and it might also attract amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. Building a bug hotel is a nice activity for children and adults to do together, and children can learn whilst supervised how to use tools safely, then watch their creation come to life. Challenge! Can you build any of these and become an invertebrate hero? Bug Bungalow [ ] A little starter home, this could either be made from chicken wire and old wood, or just bamboo canes for the lonesome solitary bees. Mini-beast Mansion [ ] A duluxe habitat for a variety of invertebrates, with at least three separate compartments. Creepy-crawlie Castle [ ] A three layered castle, with places for invertebrates, amphibians and more. Materials: These vary depending on how big you want to go. But, old washed food cans, scrap timber, chicken wire, crates, old flower pots and long bamboo canes are all essential items. The bamboo canes will provide solitary bees such as the one pictured below, with a place to live. Yezzz!

4 1. Where to put your hotel Many invertebrates tend to like cool damp areas, although bees prefer the warm sunny spots. If you can, place your hotel in an area where there is a bit of both, preferably near an area of the garden that is a little more wild. 2. How to build your hotel Depending on what type of hotel you want to build, look for ways to put something together where there are lots of gaps to fill in with different types of habitats. If using crates, it s best to secure them with screws, and place them upside down so there will be more room on the floor. 3. Filling in the gaps, nooks and crevices There are lots of different ways to fill the hotel, but here are some ideas: Old dead wood provide places for beetles to breed, bamboo canes make nests for solitary bees and dry sticks, leaves, hay and straw are good little homes for ladybirds. Don t forget to make it look pretty with flowering plants that will keep the butterflies and bees happy too! Good luck! Why not send us your pictures and let us know how you get on? See the back of this leaflet for ways to get in touch. Did you know, the average garden can hold over 2,000 different species of insect? That s like having your own mini-beast zoo, right on your doorstep! With less wild Turn your garden into a places now, gardens have wild thing! never been so important to our ecosystem. Wildlife such as invertebrates, birds and mammals rely on green places, woodlands and gardens to live in. By creating a place in your garden that s attractive to them, you will be inviting a whole range of fascinating creatures to come and share your space. Leave a little patch of garden for nature, build a pond, get some plants for insects or create a bug hotel and make your garden go wild!

5 Aliens invaders or aiders? Harlequin ladybird Generally, the rule of thumb is that nonnative species often end up competing with native species which can have a devastating impact on them. In the case of the Harlequin ladybird, it was imported from East Asia to Europe to control pests on crops. It s a bigger bruiser than many of our native ladybirds, so it s been doing very well in the UK at their expense, such as the dainty 2 spot, despite it being a very fine pest eater! (Photo Ian Kirk) Oak processionary moth Arriving on timber like a Trojan horse, this is the nemesis of the forester. While many of our native butterflies and moths are in decline, unfortunately these non-native moths have been doing rather well. The caterpillars of this species are a pest as they feast on oak trees from top to bottom, as well as posing a risk to human health. In neighbouring Berkshire, extreme measures have been needed so they ve been targeted by helicopter! (Photo LTOA) Buddleias Another species from the orient, this Chinese plant was brought over and is now the bush of choice for many butterflies. Providing a refuge for butterflies who have been suffering at the hands of habitat loss this plant s fragrant purple blooms are a treat for thirsty insects. This is a plant that has heard the call of the wild though, and it knows it s in need. The plant will often branch out and spread itself around given the chance, so control measures have to be taken each year so it doesn t get too carried away. (Photo Matthew Smith)

6 Norway spruce trees Although it might not sound familiar, this tree is in fact very well known although it might look a little more recognisable with presents underneath, adorned with tinsel. You ve guessed it it s a Christmas tree! As the name would suggest, it s originally from Norway and generally takes a bit of a beating when looking at biodiversity benefits compared to broadleaf trees. However, some research suggests that the elusive red squirrel that is severely threatened in the UK as a result of the introduction of American grey squirrels, thrives especially well in these trees. Not to mention we all like a good fast growing tree to chop down in time for Santa! Did you know we only have 3 native conifers in the UK - Scots Pine, Yew and Juniper Rhizophagus grandis To Bee, Or Not To Be? There are so many different types of bees. Honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees in fact in the UK alone there are around 250 species! Some are stripy, some are furry but mostly they can be found buzzing around the flowers. Bees are important for a number of reasons, but they re especially important to us because they pollinate the plants that we eat such as strawberries, tomatoes and apples. They also pollinate flowers, allowing them to reproduce. They are an essential part in our ecosystem, and without them people would have to pollinate plants by hand which would be a lot of money. But with so many bees, is it always easy to spot one? Take our quiz and tick which ones you think ARE bees and send us your answers (details at the back) and see if you can tell your bees from your bugs! A [ ] B [ ] This isn t a well known beetle, noticeable by the fact it hasn t been given a pet name, rather it is left with the rather difficult to pronounce Latin name. But, it is often referred to as the biological cruise missile by forestry scientists how novel. These predatory beetles were the solution to the problem of bark beetles, another invader that will, given the chance, destroy commercially valuable trees. First introduced in the 1980 s, Rhizophagus grandis hankering for bark beetle has gone down well as they re so capable of seeking out their prey and devouring them before they cause too much damage. Nice work! (Photo John Tann)

7 Can you spot all these creatures? We challenge you to find them all! Go on an adventure in your own garden, snap a photograph and share it with our Bug Man! [ ] Dark green fritillary [ ] Yellow spotted long-horn beetle [ ] Nursery web spider [ ] Roesel s bush cricket [ ] Magpie moth [ ] 7 spot ladybird [ ] Kentish snail [ ] Brown hawker dragonfly [ ] Red tailed bumble bee [ ] Rough or shiny woodlouse Wow Bug Man! Other ways you can get involved Send your photos in to our Bug Man through our twitter, pinterest or facebook page, or web@ earthtrust.org.uk or - Volunteer at an invertebrate work party - Come on a school visit - Attend one of our events, courses or training days twitter.com/ earth-trust facebook.com/ EarthTrustUK pinterest.com/ earthtrust youtube.com/ user/earthtrustuk See our website for more information -