Now that spring has finally arrived we turn our attention to the stirring soil, where the un-sung heroes of nature, the nematodes, worms and beetles, are coming into their own. The tiny ones loosen the soil and with their bacteria partners make its nutrients “bio-available” to the roots of plants. These nondescript species (many are literally un-classified) are the real powers inside nature’s machine, and they work in tandem with the large and nobler (literally, named) creatures. Beetles use the dung of deer and raccoons to lay their eggs in, and the grubs these hatch into are snacks loved by those same raccoons. The soil dwellers prepare the earth for the seeds which the songbirds drop and for the acorns which the blue jays and squirrels buried in the fall.
The boneless segmented earthworm makes soil fertile by excreting digested plant matter into burrows which it lines with decomposing leaf fragments. Charles Darwin noted that all England’s agricultural fields have passed through the bodies of worms. These versatile hermaphrodites can self-perpetuate, mating with themselves and regenerating tissue after being cut in half. They respond to vibrations from miles away and to focussed mental attention from humans in laboratories, according to researcher Larry Dossey, by exhibiting energetic wriggling. It’s no wonder that, having such mysterious powers, they have been feared as well as depended upon. The “worm” was a Medieval name for the serpent that ruled the garden of Eden. Darwin said the ones in the fields have souls.
Beetles are usually considered of even less account than the humble earthworm. They haven’t much aesthetic appeal, but beetles constitute the largest grouping of insects. Looking closely we see they have leathery armour, and horns and jaws evolved for fighting each other and their predators. Some eat dead wood, so like worms they provide a garden with essential demolition and nutrient-recycling services. Of course they also unhelpfully bore into potatoes and infest grain stores. Their bodies have been found in grain-holding urns in the 4,500 year old tombs of Egyptian pharoahs: they’ve been our companion-bug since agriculture began. Some have been helpful, such as the ladybug beetle whose larvae consume the aphids on our roses.
Nematodes are microscopic parasitic worms that live on Earth’s surface, under the ground, inside other bodies, and even on the ocean floor. They make up 80% of individual animals on the planet. They benefit food crops and lawns by getting inside grubs and weevils and killing them with toxic bacteria, and are therefore sold as “organic pest control”. These worms can consume 5000 bacteria a minute. Beneficial in some ways and harmful in others they can get inside our bodies too. They come in 2,271 Jekyll-and-Hyde genera, and you don’t want to get on the wrong side of them.
We higher mammals are inessential members of Nature’s kingdom, while the soil builders and those other power figures, the pollinating bees and butterflies, are the ones that keep food growing and meadows blooming. In summer come the insects we don’t care for, the flies and mosquitoes, but spring is the time to enjoy the awakening of the oxymoronic mini-giants. The earthworms we so value in our compost were originally a powerful invading army. Not native to North America, they arrived from Europe in the holds of colonial ships and soon took over the management of our gardens.
Power can come in small packages. We’d do well to acknowledge the tiny wildlife as well as the big charismatic species we so enjoy, since we couldn’t live without them. When the landscape comes alive and blossoms in spring for us and our favourite birds, mammals and flowers, it’s all thanks to the bugs.
Barbara Julien is a local writer and nature enthusiast who writes monthly about the various species making their home in Oak Bay.