“Insects, worms and other small animals that carry out vital functions for life on earth have declined by 45 percent on average over 35 years, threatening human health, water quality and food supplies…”
-Steve Connor, “Vital invertebrates decline by 45 per cent, study finds,” independent.co.uk, July 2014.
The insect population has fallen 45% over the last 35 years, while the human population has doubled. This is a concerning matter because even though insects may seem creepy, they play a vital role in the actions of our planet. Some important roles of these creepy insects is pollinating the planet, pest control, decomposition, and ensuring that the soil remains intact and packed with nutrients.
A large cause to the decline in insects is climate change, which is mostly caused my humans. As humans, we don’t necessarily think about these little creatures as a vital part of our environment; however, without them we could lose a lot of the things that we take for granted. For instance, bees pollinate the crops, flowers, and all sorts of plants; however, the number of beetles, butterflies, bees and wasps has fallen by over 60 percent in the last 35 years.
That’s an enormous amount!
Another big factor to the huge reduction of the population of insects is the loss of their habitats.
With our advancing technologies and constant need for more houses, stores and attractions, a lot of insect habitats and being torn apart to satisfy our wanting. For examples, taking down a park to build up a new working facility will kill thousands of innocent bugs, anywhere from ants, to bees, or to maggots in the ground.
My proposal for the project was to create a bug motel with an onion built into the center that would support the life of Onion Maggots through their 3 stages of life and would protect them from large predatory insects such as Beetles. The hotel was built out of 3 main parts, 2 of which were put into the ground. These parts were scorched to preserve the wood for a longer period of time. An onion was placed in the center of the wooden form so that the maggots would have access to this large source of food. As the onion grows into the ground, the younger larva will be able to feed on the roots. Onion Maggots are a big pest control issue and by providing them a home, I helped increase awareness on these bugs.
Onion Maggots have 3 stages in life: the larva, pupa, and the fly. When hatching from their eggs, the larva spends two-three weeks in the ground feeding on the roots of the onion. Next it pupates in the soil, and within one-two weeks, the adult fly emerges. These flies hatch eggs soon enough, approximately two weeks after, and the cycle continues. It is very normal for these maggots to have multiple generations in one single year. Their main sources of food are onions, shallots, garlic, and leek.
The insect motel should be placed in a leaf-covered area, where these small bugs (about 6 millimeters long) will be protected from larger insects. The ground should be relatively fertile to support the growth of the onion. A wooden pole will be connected to the form in order to draw viewer attention to it.
Over the years, the onions will have to be changed to provide more food for these maggots. The form will also consist of small wooden blocks that would create small ridges of protection for the developing pupas and protect from wasps and birds.
Maintenance Report
- Place the Onion Insect Hotel in an area that does not have high grass surrounding it.
- Place the hotel into the ground so that the 4 legs are completely in the ground.
- Place onion inside the hole of the hotel
- The onion should be replaced every 4 months
Reflection
Before I began working on the project, I was very scared to start working with wood. I had no prior experience working with it before this project. I was also worried about the short time that we would have in the woodshop to assemble the project. My initial idea changed throughout the project; however, the concept of my project stayed the same. For the project, each student was asked to design and build an insect “hotel,” to raise awareness for the huge decline in the insect world and to create a habitat that would support specific insects.
To achieve this, I created an initial bug hotel made out of cardboard. This was mini sized and was used as a reference in class critique. After the critique, my model had many flaws that had to be considered, so I began finalizing a new idea. I came up with a new design and created sketches and drawings of it. When I began working in the woodshop, the tools seemed hard to use; however, with a little bit of help from students and faculty, I was able to construct a well-put-together insect hotel. To finish it off, I scorched the entire creation to encourage its preservation and prevent rotting.
After the project was complete, I was very satisfied with the outcome! I designed and built something that has a real purpose and that is going to be put out to the public. This was an amazing opportunity, especially to get my work out there. All in all, I enjoyed working on the project and my outcome was very successful.