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Nature Notes Marvellous minibeasts


Lots to enjoy in the Great Outdoors


The merry ol’ month of May is bursting with life and as spring moves to summer (hopefully!) nature is in full swing stimulating all our senses.


Aside from the more obvious, colourful and noisy nature dwellers if you delve a little deeper and look a little closer there is a world of marvellous mini-beasts who are busying around in the undergrowth and in the water. This world of little creatures includes butterflies, spiders, beetles and bugs and they all play an important role in the natural world.


WHAT IS A MINIBEAST?


Minibeast is the nickname for all those ‘little creatures in the world.’ The scientific term is an invertebrate – i.e. all creatures that don’t have a backbone.


Approximately 96% of all known species of animals are invertebrates and they can be found on land, in water and on every continent.


Invertebrates are the biggest source of biodiversity on the Earth – over 1.3 million known species with potentially millions more to be found.


WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT?


Invertebrates are very small creatures with very important jobs and it’s vital we do all that we can to protect them and their habitats.


RECYCLE – Invertebrates like worms, dung beetles and woodlice are busy eating, using up, and exchanging essential nutrients back into our ecosystem.


POLLINATE - Invertebrates pollinate plants with one third of the species of crops cultivated for food pollinated by insects. 90% of all wildflowers would become extinct if there were no insects left to pollinate them.


CONTROL PESTS – spiders eat flies, bugs eat aphids and wood ants protect our trees. By keeping potentially harmful species in check invertebrates can help keep trees and hedges healthy.


IMPORTANT FOOD SOURCE - As a critical part of the food chain invertebrates provide sustenance for many animals including birds,


frogs, fish and hedgehogs.


RARE MINIBEASTS TO LOOK OUT FOR LOCALLY


Bloody-nosed beetles (so named as it secretes an unusual red liquid from its mouth when threatened) can be seen trundling slowly over pathways and grassy areas at Berry Head, from April to September.


Six-banded nomad cuckoo bee – the rarest bee in the UK, found in just one spot in the South Devon AONB.


Hornet robberfly – arguably Britain’s largest fly and one of our rarest. Harmless to humans, they are ferocious predators of other insects often found near grazing animals.


Narrow-headed ant – one of the rarest in the UK (found only in South Devon) and a part of the recent Back from the Brink Buglife project.


Long-horned mining bee – one of the UK’s largest solitary bees which is also very rare and found in wildflower- rich cliff top habitat.


For pics and bug identify tips see Buglife.org.uk


DID YOU KNOW? The average life span of a queen narrow-headed ant is an incredible 27 years! Source: naturebftb.co.uk


Insects are a type of invertebrate They are identified by 6 legs, 3 body parts, wings and antennae. E.g. both beetles and woodlice are invertebrates but only beetles are insects. Source: Devon Wildlife Trust


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