There has been lots of talk about wildlife corridors concerning how animals can use these areas of native vegetation to feed, roost, breed or move around the landscape. Most people think of animals as being things such as birds, koalas, kangaroos, possums, lizards or even bats. And many people like to attract these sorts of animals to their gardens, plantings or bush blocks.
However, wildlife corridors and reserves are also vital for the long-term survival of countless other sorts of animals besides birds, mammals and reptiles.
Insects are vital to life. Without insects many species of birds would die of starvation; and much of our food and seed stores for future crops would not be produced without the pollination job that bees and wasps just do automatically. And, of course, termites and cockroaches recycle wood and grass and create nest hollows for birds in trees. Butterflies, moths and caterpillars are also pollinators while ants renovate soils, disperse many sorts of seed to places they can germinate and grow into new plants.
Some wasps, ladybirds, lacewings and spiders (which are arachnids, not insects) eat other insects – and may even lay their eggs in particular insect pupae and so eat the young before they hatch and devour pastures or other vegetation.
To provide habitat for insects in wildlife corridors plant a variety of local species, especially shrubs and herbaceous plants. Include a diversity of tree species, so there is a range of bark types for insects to live in. Leave fallen timber and rocks. Encourage the build-up of organic mulch on top of the soil as organic matter helps keep the soil moist and when incorporated in the top soil layers makes it easier for burrowing insects (and other soil fauna) to move in and out of the soil.
Citizens Wildlife Corridors Armidale Inc (CWC) is a voluntary, not-for-profit, charitable organisation that helps landholders identify and manage areas of native vegetation and wildlife corridors, be they grassy areas or woodland habitats. CWC helps people restore, conserve or recreate and link areas of native vegetation across the New England region – and has been doing so for the last twenty years.
CWC can help with ideas, planning support, technical backup, species identification, and access to funding, tailor-made to suit you and your land. Membership is open to all and includes two newsletters per year. For further information, contact: Ruth Trémont, email ruth.tremont@gmail.com, or Kath Wray, phone (02) 6772 8878.
