Pease Park Patch
There are over 1 1/2 million acres of urban parkland in the US. Over 80% of the American population depends on this parkland for a primary connection to nature. New York's Central Park, for example, attracts over 40 million visitors annually, more than visit all of the national wildlife refuges combined.
Urban parks are more than recreation venues; they are critical biodiversity refugia as well. A recent study by Sanz and Caula (2014) states that several studies have shown that urbanization usually leads to severe biotic homogenizing, i.e. the local extirpation of many native species and the expansion to regional scales of a small group of “urban-adaptors”, some of them exotics. They report that omnivorous birds were common along the gradient and granivores were also tolerant to urban development. Specialized insectivores and frugivores were the most negatively affected groups.
According to the Entomological Society of America (ESA),
Over half of all multi-cellular animal species are insects. Therefore, they play dominant, vital roles in the functioning of ecosystems. They are one of the few organism classifications that define the complex nature of biodiversity. How sensitive insects are to an ecosystem and its degradation provides a persuasive argument for using appropriate insect taxa as indicators of biodiversity. Monitoring key insect groups can define ecosystem stability and signal actual or potential shifts in productivity, desertification, nutrient cycling, and other changes.
Earth’s long-term well being may depend on a solid understanding of how biodiversity functions.
Insects are one of the few key groups of organisms that define the complex nature of biodiversity, and their condition is indicative of ecosystem health.
Identifying the species that inhabit an ecosystem is fundamental to understanding that ecosystem’s biodiversity. Therefore, research on insect systematics and taxonomy is encouraged as part of biodiversity assessment.
Bees are in trouble. Honey bees are not the only bees that are struggling. The total number of managed honey bee colonies has decreased from 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today.
In many places, bumble bees have declined by as much as 70%. Creating, protecting, and restoring habitat is a very important way to conserve the populations of bees that remain.
Bees (wild and domestic) perform about 80% of all pollination worldwide. A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers each day!
A successful harvest depends on insect pollinators, mainly bees, for 1 of every 3 bites of food eaten worldwide. That’s most of the planet’s Top 100 food crops, or 70% of the crops providing 90% of human food.”
A beautifully simple solution to the problem is the creation of wildflower meadows or pollen patches.
These are the underpinnings for my conceiving of a program to develop a series of "pollen parks" or "pollen patches" in city parks. The first of these is being planned for Duncan Park in Austin, Texas. These pollen patches will provide food for insects that feed on pollen and nectar, and for those predatory insects that feed on the pollinators. In addition, these interpreted gardens will expose city dwellers to the insect diversity that exists literally at the ends of our noses.
This is my gallery of insect images from a small mesquite/grass (savannah) patch in Pease Park on the east side of Shoal Creek between West 24th and MLK. This small patch (around 1/2 acre) is off the beaten path and is rarely maintained. As a result, this is one of the few areas within the park with a diversity (even if limited) of plant species. Many of these plants were placed in the patch in recent years as part of an effort to diversify the native habitats in the park. The patch has received little maintenance in the intervening years, although recent rains have sparked a resurgence of growth.
All of the images were taken in September and October 2014.
Read MoreUrban parks are more than recreation venues; they are critical biodiversity refugia as well. A recent study by Sanz and Caula (2014) states that several studies have shown that urbanization usually leads to severe biotic homogenizing, i.e. the local extirpation of many native species and the expansion to regional scales of a small group of “urban-adaptors”, some of them exotics. They report that omnivorous birds were common along the gradient and granivores were also tolerant to urban development. Specialized insectivores and frugivores were the most negatively affected groups.
According to the Entomological Society of America (ESA),
Over half of all multi-cellular animal species are insects. Therefore, they play dominant, vital roles in the functioning of ecosystems. They are one of the few organism classifications that define the complex nature of biodiversity. How sensitive insects are to an ecosystem and its degradation provides a persuasive argument for using appropriate insect taxa as indicators of biodiversity. Monitoring key insect groups can define ecosystem stability and signal actual or potential shifts in productivity, desertification, nutrient cycling, and other changes.
Earth’s long-term well being may depend on a solid understanding of how biodiversity functions.
Insects are one of the few key groups of organisms that define the complex nature of biodiversity, and their condition is indicative of ecosystem health.
Identifying the species that inhabit an ecosystem is fundamental to understanding that ecosystem’s biodiversity. Therefore, research on insect systematics and taxonomy is encouraged as part of biodiversity assessment.
Bees are in trouble. Honey bees are not the only bees that are struggling. The total number of managed honey bee colonies has decreased from 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today.
In many places, bumble bees have declined by as much as 70%. Creating, protecting, and restoring habitat is a very important way to conserve the populations of bees that remain.
Bees (wild and domestic) perform about 80% of all pollination worldwide. A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers each day!
A successful harvest depends on insect pollinators, mainly bees, for 1 of every 3 bites of food eaten worldwide. That’s most of the planet’s Top 100 food crops, or 70% of the crops providing 90% of human food.”
A beautifully simple solution to the problem is the creation of wildflower meadows or pollen patches.
These are the underpinnings for my conceiving of a program to develop a series of "pollen parks" or "pollen patches" in city parks. The first of these is being planned for Duncan Park in Austin, Texas. These pollen patches will provide food for insects that feed on pollen and nectar, and for those predatory insects that feed on the pollinators. In addition, these interpreted gardens will expose city dwellers to the insect diversity that exists literally at the ends of our noses.
This is my gallery of insect images from a small mesquite/grass (savannah) patch in Pease Park on the east side of Shoal Creek between West 24th and MLK. This small patch (around 1/2 acre) is off the beaten path and is rarely maintained. As a result, this is one of the few areas within the park with a diversity (even if limited) of plant species. Many of these plants were placed in the patch in recent years as part of an effort to diversify the native habitats in the park. The patch has received little maintenance in the intervening years, although recent rains have sparked a resurgence of growth.
All of the images were taken in September and October 2014.
Aztec Spur-throat (Aidemona azteca)
Aztec Range Grasshopper (Lactista azteca)
Aztec Range Grasshopper (Lactista azteca)
Scaly Bee Fly (Lepidophora lepidocera)
Crab Spider (Mecaphesa sp.)
White-lined Sphinz Moth (Hyles lineata) caterpillar
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), blue female
Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), adult male
Blue-ringed Dancer (Argia sedula)
Blue-ringed dancer (Argia sedula)
Springwater Dancer (Argia plana)
Springwater Dancer (Argia plana)
Dusky Dancer (Argia translata)
Dusky dancer (Argia translata)
Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera), female
Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens)
Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta)
Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta)
