Ladybugster
Wandering around in the blessed sunshine on this first day of spring, I came across a small congregation of Spotted Lady Beetles in the leaf litter and rocks in our backyard. Near a dozen of these fine looking native lady beetles roamed about near the base of a dead Weigela bush, no doubt not far from where they gathered to overwinter. So for a few minutes this afternoon I was pleased to observe their peaceful commotions and take on the role of "Ladybugster," a name coined by one of my favorite entomologists, the well-known Canadian nature nut, John Acorn. Acorn wrote the very first field guide to North American Lady Beetles in 2007—Ladybugs of Alberta: Finding the Spots and Connecting the Dots.
While the Spotted Lady Beetle is not an Albertan species and therefore not treated in the Acorn book, I still spent some time re-reading parts of the book. One of the important topics of this guide is Acorn's discussion and consideration of the invasive species question. Certainly, my own righteous zeal against invasive and non-native species has been duly tempered by knowing Acorn's thoughts on the subject. Though I admit to keeping a slight favoritism for encountering native species such as the Spotted Lady Beetle above the non-native species.
"Conservation, to me, is about sustaining the living world around us—people included—not about returning to a mythical golden era when we, or our ancestors, or someone else's ancestors, were 'in harmony with nature.' The biggest threat to conservation I see is the loss of credibility that comes from 'crying wolf,' and I think ladybugs provide a case in point. The second biggest threat to conservation is loss of habitat, not introduced species."
– John Acorn
Observações
Fotos / Sons
Observador
scottkingDescrição
Spotted Lady Beetle
on dead Weigela stump
Northfield, Minnesota
Comentários
Interesting quote. I think one could argue, however that invasive introduced species constitute a loss of habitat. The spring ephemerals on the forest floor that are shaded out by honeysuckle and buckthorn are just as screwed as the ones that lose their habitat to a mcmansion. At least in the former case it's a little easier to get that habitat back for them.
Can't wait to start seeing insects around here. I've been out looking a few times and the best I've managed is a tiny fly near some hellebores that was too active to see. Might be time to dig in the leaf litter on the south sides of rocks and buildings.
I'm supremely fascinated by invasive species. I've only read a couple books on the subject, but they still perplex me. Maybe in a few hundred thousands years, certain invasive species will find various niches and we'll have a new kind of biodiversity. Freeze my brain until then, will ya? ;)
John Acorn does the topic more justice than this small quote conveys. Sam, like you guessed, Acorn takes the long view, thinking along evolutionary time scales and the stance that nature is constantly changing, like the cycles of the ice ages for instance. It's a fascinating and complex problem. Obviously, like Mark points out, there are a few species that demand some kind of action. One of the very best books on the subject (though admittedly I'm not well versed in the literature of this subject) is Alien Plants by C. A. Stace and M. J. Crawley (New Naturalist Series, 2015).
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