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“If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”
— E.O Wilson, the world-renowned biologist and thinker.
At Pestival we will be addressing the world of the “creepy-crawly” – all those that the person in-the-street thinks of as a ‘bug’ or ‘insect’; everything from daddy-longlegs to silverfish and everything in between.
The entomological Class ‘Insecta’ is far more precise, of course. Insects are those arthropods (ie. with external skeletons) divided into three main sections (head, thorax and abdomen) and bearing no more than six legs. Thus including butterflies and moths, dragonflies, “true” flies (including mosquitoes, hoverflies and bluebottles), stag beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers, ladybirds, cicadas, weevils, glow worms and bumblebees to name a few of the more familiar. They are the single most diverse group of animals on the planet, with over a million described species.
Perhaps some of the better known additions to Pestival’s palette are the arachnids (spiders, ticks and scorpions), centipedes and millipedes, snails, crabs and worms.
Pest species, I guess, are those that may at some stage of their life-cycle have a negative impact on us – humans.
This can vary from those merely presenting an irritation (both mental and dermic), to others that are quite definately life-threatening ( malaria). Sources of irritation can include damage to our property, including our foodstuffs (which when severe may indirectly also become life-threatening, eg. through famine). Of course, for some sensitive types, all insects are irritating.Usually however, through the irrational fear brought on by ignorance. For every insect that presents some form of hazard there are a myriad more on which we depend as crucial providers at a critical level in the food chain.
The Pestival Team are big fans of GiGL and would urge you to sign up and get insect spotting in your area, it’s free and good for us humans and our insect friends!
