Home
Portal
Search
Latest images
Register
Log inHomes for Insects
Page 1 of 1
Homes for Insects
Feronia Tue 27 Dec 2011 - 23:30
Whether you love or hate insects you have to agree that in life they are vital. They come in the strangest or shapes and many sizes, some such as butterflies beautiful and some such as earwigs quite scary.
To let insects die is to let the larger wildlife also die. It can be quite easy if you have a garden to encourage insects and to protect them. But it's a matter of lots of wild spaces being built on, including our gardens and if you do have a garden are you willing to allow mess to stay?
For example the Stag Beetle is a brilliant and rare species, the main reason for them being rare is because it takes the larve 4 years to turn into that brilliant creature. The larve therefore must have an undisturbed home for that long and for all this time when they turn to adult they do not live long at all.
Incouraging Insects
Insect Towers! These are like insect hotels you can buy small ones from most garden centres and such. they involve a house shapes frame with lots of wooden poles inside.
For the Ultimate Insect Tower you can build a wall-like-structure. First you need a frame. Then you can segrigate it into shelves and sections for different components. You can have clay pots for shelter, rotting wood, straw, wooden tubes for solitary bees, cardboard and so on. Before you lay the frame down you can go as far as digging a small way down and filling the hole with bark and soft soil for grub shelter.
Log Piles
When you go around nature reserves, woodlands especially you will no doubt see lots of log piles, these are delibrate as they are secure homes for many insects.
Wood that attracts the greatest range of species is - Ash, Oak, Elm, Sycamore and Beech. You can use small log piles as path edging. Drill holes in some of them to provide shelter for insects, large holes for animals such as toads. If you wish to help out the poor Stag Beetles try to bury some logs before piling up. It's best to have the logs in damp and sheltered areas. You can allow plants to grow over them to provide even more shelter.
The most important thing is to keep the logs undisturbed if you can. You might get a pleasent suprise at what you see crawling about around the logs.
To let insects die is to let the larger wildlife also die. It can be quite easy if you have a garden to encourage insects and to protect them. But it's a matter of lots of wild spaces being built on, including our gardens and if you do have a garden are you willing to allow mess to stay?
For example the Stag Beetle is a brilliant and rare species, the main reason for them being rare is because it takes the larve 4 years to turn into that brilliant creature. The larve therefore must have an undisturbed home for that long and for all this time when they turn to adult they do not live long at all.
Incouraging Insects
Insect Towers! These are like insect hotels you can buy small ones from most garden centres and such. they involve a house shapes frame with lots of wooden poles inside.
For the Ultimate Insect Tower you can build a wall-like-structure. First you need a frame. Then you can segrigate it into shelves and sections for different components. You can have clay pots for shelter, rotting wood, straw, wooden tubes for solitary bees, cardboard and so on. Before you lay the frame down you can go as far as digging a small way down and filling the hole with bark and soft soil for grub shelter.
Log Piles
When you go around nature reserves, woodlands especially you will no doubt see lots of log piles, these are delibrate as they are secure homes for many insects.
Wood that attracts the greatest range of species is - Ash, Oak, Elm, Sycamore and Beech. You can use small log piles as path edging. Drill holes in some of them to provide shelter for insects, large holes for animals such as toads. If you wish to help out the poor Stag Beetles try to bury some logs before piling up. It's best to have the logs in damp and sheltered areas. You can allow plants to grow over them to provide even more shelter.
The most important thing is to keep the logs undisturbed if you can. You might get a pleasent suprise at what you see crawling about around the logs.
Feronia- Admin
-
Posts : 31
Age : 39
Join date : 2011-12-22
Favourite Genre : Non Fiction such as craft books
Mythic High Student
Race: Elemental -
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum