Walid-Dani Kaki

“In none of his works did Nature show her originality more than in insects”(Pliny the Elder)

In recent years we have seen a steady decline in biodiversity, with devastating consequences for the natural world and human populations. The tendency of people to migrate to urban areas has led to their chaotic development at the expense of the habitats surrounding them. The most affected living creatures are, indeed, those that provide us with the most cultural-economic welfare services, specifically insects.

City in Question

Urbanization does not always lead to a total decline of indigenous insect populations and the emergence of non-native species that could harm local biodiversity. For instance, Drăgășani is a town in the southern part of Romania that sits on a naturally terraced landscape. It is filled with peri-urban vineyards and agricultural fields. With the 4^th largest river in Romania (Olt) crossing close to it, and old oak tree forests surrounding this area, it has made a suitable habitat for many species to ease into urban living.

Urban species diversity

In Drăgășani, there were a multitude of species present; however, the majority of them were pollinators. Most of the individuals found within the city were the common honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the garden bumblebee (Bombus hortorum). Other species spotted included the common grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus), the housefly (Musca domestica), and the oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis). Additionally, most butterflies and damselflies were seen only in the adjacent peri-urban fields; however, some species were seen in an urban habitat–Vanessa cardui, Iphiclides podalirius, Macroglossum stellatarum, and Maniola jurtina. Surprisingly, some rarer species were also present in the urban areas, such as the Rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis) and the longhorn beetle (Dorcadion sp.). These little crawlers are hard to find in non-urban environments, let alone in a city. This may tell us that species could adapt and survive as urban environments continue to expand, increasing the biodiversity of cities.

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Cities, the future of Biodiversity?

As far as urbanization is concerned, more natural habitats will be transformed into urban jungles, putting pressure on the biodiversity surrounding these areas of development. Urban evolution describes species evolving specific traits to cope with the changes in the environment and climate within cities. Insects are of great importance to study behavior and evolution in urban environments, as they are often the pillars of a balanced nature.

Cities could be the future for biodiversity, particularly as more species adapt to their new environment. Green infrastructure in urban environments will hopefully become more present in the future. This will be an emerging driver for urban evolution–new adaptations, traits, and functions in species to cope with the human-made environment.

References

Prather, C. M., Pelini, S. L., Laws, A. N., Rivest, E. B., Woltz, J. M., Bloch, C. P., Del Toro, I., Ho, C., Kominoski, J. S., Newbold, T. a. S., Parsons, S., & Joern, A. (2012). Invertebrates, ecosystem services and climate change. Biological Reviews, 88(2), 327–348. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12002

Rákosy L., Goia M., Lepidopterele din România: lista sistematcă și distribuție, Presa Universitră Clujeană (2021).

Schowalter, T. D. (2016). Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach. Academic Press.

Snep, R. P. H., & Clergeau, P. (2012). Biodiversity in Cities, Reconnecting Humans with Nature. In Sustainable Built Environments. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0684-1_296

W.D. Kaki., (2022) Urban ecology: Insect species present in urban and peri-urban environments. People’s perception of them. Unpublished Bachelor’s Thesis.

Weisser, W. W., & Siemann, E. (2008). Insects and Ecosystem Function. In Springer eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74004-9

Article images are from the author’s archive.

Featured image: © Roman, some rights reserved (CC-BY)