Apart from
being the epigraph for E. M. Forster's 1910 novel Howards End “Only Connect” is
one of my favourite quiz shows on the BBC. Hosted by the delightful Victoria
Coren-Mitchell with her wickedly inappropriate sense of humour, teams of
contestants have to work out the connections between sets of obscure and
seemingly unrelated clues. The second round features up to three picture clues
and the contestants have to predict what the fourth picture will be. I thought,
by way of diversion, we’d have a little quiz ourselves this week. Take a look
at the three pictures on the left and see if you can predict what the fourth
picture should be. Award yourself three points if you can finish the sequence
straight away. (Clever clogs). |
| Holm or Holly Oak |
The first
picture is the Holm or Holly Oak which grows quite widely around the northern
Mediterranean. Like all oaks it produces acorns and these used to be a staple
foodstuff in ancient human history but, as they take special preparation, they
have fallen out of favour in more recent times in most parts of the world. We
still use them for food in one way though: their roots provide a home for the
much sought after truffle in what is known as an ectomycorrhizal association
(where both the plant root and the fungus derive mutual benefits). We also use
the hard, tough wood for the construction of everything from houses to wine
barrels. Still award yourself three points if this helps you to finish the sequence.
 |
| Long-horned Beetle |
The
connection between the first and second clues lies in the wood. I fished this
magnificent Long-horned Beetle (which rejoices in the name of Prinobius myardi) out of a stream last year and revived him
overnight in a tin in my bedroom. (I wasn’t aware that he was capable of
reviving until I was awoken by a peculiar scratching noise coming from my
bedside table at 3AM). In common with other members of the family Cerambycidae
its larvae are wood borers and can cause considerable damage. One of the trees
that this fellow likes to bore into is the Holm or Holly Oak. Award yourselves two points if you have the connection now and know what the fourth picture will be.
 |
| Mason Bee |
The third picture
is a Mason Bee. Many of us are familiar with the Bumble Bee and the Honey Bee
but over 20,000 known species of bee have evolved over the past hundred million
years and there are probably many more that we haven’t yet discovered. There
are eight species of Mason Bee on Crete alone. They produce neither honey nor
beeswax but leave a food store of pollen and/or nectar for their young. And the
connection between the Mason Bee and Long-horned Beetles? Mason Bees make their
nests in the holes made by the larvae of wood-boring Beetles such as the
Long-horns. They are called Mason Bees as they build a mud wall between each
egg and seal the entrance with mud. Are you beginning to see the sequence now? Award
yourself one point if you can predict the fourth picture.
 |
| Club-horned Wasp |
And finally, the
fourth picture revealed: a Club-horned Wasp. These wasps are parasitic on Mason
Bees. The female wasp lays one of her eggs on top of the mason bee egg using
her sting to penetrate the mud wall. When it hatches the first instar larva
eats the bees egg, later, smaller instars feed on the stored pollen and/or
nectar so nothing goes to waste.
If you didn’t get
the connection, don’t worry. Like the quiz show “Only Connect” the clues are
deliberately obscure and you’d need to be a dedicated entomologist to get that
one. But the point that I wanted to illustrate was the interconnectedness of
nature. The Club-horned wasp needs the Mason Bee to feed its young; the Mason
Bee needs the Long-horned Beetle (or some other wood-boring beetle) to provide
a nursery and the Long-horned Beetle needs deciduous trees such as the Holly
Oak to develop in its larval stage.
This is just one sequence that we know
about, there are many, many more that we don’t and yet we continue to destroy
habitats in pursuit of short term financial gain without a care in the world
about the knock-on effects. The economic argument so often trotted out that
“there is no scientific proof that we are causing any long term damage” is
ridiculous. 250 years ago we had no scientific proof that oxygen was necessary
for our survival (it hadn’t been discovered) but if we’d got rid of it all then
we wouldn’t be here now. Surely we know enough these days to stop chasing money as a
commodity in its own right, get back to using it solely as a convenient means
of exchange and concentrate on what really matters – maintaining a planet that
all life can share for generations to come?
I hope you enjoyed
this little diversion from the usual blog but the truth is I’m waiting for
something rather special to share with you and it hasn’t happened yet. Nature
doesn’t have much truck with my blogging schedule but when it happens you will
be the first to know so until then – happy hunting.
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LINKS:
Naturalists
(the facebook page that accompanies this blog)
