Ruud Kleinpaste: Insects after the storm

<p><strong>Insects after the storm</strong><span> </span></p> <p><span>Last week we talked about school grounds, “learning forests” and “outdoor classrooms” demolished after the cyclone;</span><span> </span></p> <p><strong>What about the insects after the cyclone? </strong></p> <p><span>Comments from Taupo teachers indicated that since the windy and rainy disaster the number of chirping cicadas had nose-dived to silence.</span><span> </span></p> <p><strong>Overnight! </strong></p> <p><span>This could well mean that this particular cohort of cicadas will not have been able to lay their quota of eggs in the soil for the generation in 3 or 5 years from now! Interesting to watch that “blip” in the future.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The rain will also have drowned myriads of soil dwellers, especially those that live in tunnels. Native bees (that create tunnels for their larvae) may find few offspring surviving, leading to a reduced amount of pollinating small, endemic bees next spring.</span><span> </span></p> <p><strong>Who will be affected???? Native flowering trees and shrubs! </strong></p> <p><span>Tiger beetles will also drown in their silty tunnels – the only critters that might enjoy that news is their prey. (Spiders, ants, beetles, grubs, flies)</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>The most sensitive group of soil-dwellers are probably earth worms, who are (in my opinion) the best drainage engineers we have.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>Our 175 or so native species (and 16 exotic types) are ones that aerate the soil, opening it up to great depths… 3 to 3.5 meters deep in the sub-soil”;</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>of course they also transport organic matter down to the root zones, enhancing the top soil’s fertility.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>But a lot of the top soil has been washed away, leaving poor silt covering the earth. I reckon a heap of worms have drowned or covered by silt.</span><span> </span></p> <p><span>We have huge, long worms (over a meter long!) and species t