Wildlife Trust in Hertfordshire celebrates new insect species discoveries
It's in a week aimed at celebrating their importance in maintaining our biodiversity
To mark Insect Week taking place this June, the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is highlighting the ecological importance of insects and the role its nature reserves play in supporting insect diversity.
The Trust, which manages 40 nature reserves across Hertfordshire and Middlesex, says insects are a vital part of the ecosystem, providing key services such as pollination, nutrient recycling, and supporting food chains.
The reserves include a range of habitats such as grassland, heathland, woodland and wetland, managed to encourage plant diversity and structure that support different insect groups including bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, beetles, midges, mayflies, dragonflies and damselflies.
Recent surveys at Danemead Nature Reserve near Hoddesdon, carried out by the Herts Natural History Society’s Invertebrate Project, have led to the identification of several uncommon insect species.
Ian Carle, Nature Reserves Manager at the Trust and a member of the survey team, said: “I was delighted to discover Ischnomera sanguinicollis, which is a nationally scarce beetle and Conops vesicularis, a nationally notable fly. Both of these have previously only been found at a handful of sites in the county.
"As well as the vital role insects perform in terms of pollination, they play a crucial role in the food chain as both prey and predator.
"The wide-ranging nature of insects’ diets and their role in decomposition also sees them play a vital role in recycling nutrients – essential to a healthy ecosystem. Without insects, much of the wildlife we are most familiar with wouldn’t survive – take bats, birds, fish and hedgehogs, for example.
"That’s why protecting the habitats on our reserves is so important and so is the diversity of them. If they can support a wide range of insects in abundance that will elevate our chances of reversing the nature crisis and give us all a more sustainable future.”
The Trust is also encouraging the public to value common insects that are part of everyday life in homes and gardens.
Kate Sheard, Wilder Communities Officer at the Trust, said: “In our homes and gardens, we can all experience insect safaris with ladybirds, ants, midges, house flies, wasps and Daddy Longlegs all being part of the fabric of our everyday lives. We might not always appreciate them but each one has a purpose.
"Watching Swallows and Swifts catch flying insects, a House Sparrow eating an aphid, or knowing that the bats we see at dusk are eating their way through thousands of midges every night reminds us of the importance of insects.
"By leaving a bit of deadwood in your garden for beetles, leaf litter for woodlice and millipedes, a nettle or two for caterpillars, or creating a pond for dragonflies and damselflies, you’ll be adding to the bigger picture of our amazing ecosystem and supporting a liveable planet for future generations.”
Insects are responsible for pollinating about 80% of crops in Europe, including many fruit and vegetable species as well as some biofuel crops.
However, invertebrates, including pollinators, are in decline globally. This trend has been recognised as a risk to biodiversity, food security, and long-term human health.