Latest news with #marshfritillary
Irish Times
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Ireland's only protected insect the marsh fritillary to star in new comic championing cause of insects
The marsh fritillary – a beautiful butterfly and Ireland's only protected insect species – is about to become a star, featuring in a comic series and delivering the message that us humans unfairly give insects a hard time. Beo, Raja and the Butterfly Effect is the creation of teams from several Irish universities, and is designed to engage younger audiences on biodiversity , while also showing its place in our history, culture and the Irish language. It comes with a serious message too on the critical importance of pollination and the bioeconomy. Beo, Raja and the Butterfly Effect rallies to the cause of many insects that are vilified or at best ignored. Its creators hope it will benefit from the 'butterfly effect', where a seemingly small change in a complex system that can kick-start large, unpredictable but ultimately beneficial impacts. In lead character – the marsh fritillary – meets other insects such as the common wasp, who retorts: 'The bee gets the glory. The wasp gets the swat. I'm not pretty enough. I'm not cute. I work so hard at pest control and pollination all day long and what thanks do I get?' READ MORE The marsh fritillary is classified by the National Biodiversity Data Centre as 'vulnerable' and at risk of extinction The butterfly helps to spread the word within their ranks as to their environmental importance, reminding them of their power and of how 'each tiny wingbeat keeps ecosystems alive'. 'Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, and yet their importance in ecosystems is vastly underappreciated,' said Prof Jane Stout, vice-president for biodiversity and climate at Trinity College Dublin . 'They use various methods of communication, from visual and chemical to tactile and audio and while we can't always see or hear them, they are important to healthy ecosystems that underpin the bioeconomy, which uses nature's cycle – not fossil fuels – to create food, materials and energy,' she added. Prof Tom Curran, Prof Catherine Farrell, Dr Máire Nic an Bhaird, Prof Jane Stout and Dr Laoise Ní Chléirigh reading the comic defending insects and highlighting biodiversity in Trinity College's Front Square at the launch Beo, Raja and the Butterfly Effect Only a handful of species are problematic to people and many play crucial, beneficial roles. 'Plenty of us have an inkling as to their importance as pollinators, but they are also key pest controllers and nutrient cyclers, and provide food for wild birds and other animals.' said Prof Stout, who specialises in pollination ecology. The marsh fritillary is classified by the National Biodiversity Data Centre as 'vulnerable' and at risk of extinction. It has a wide but patchy distribution; more common in the midlands and western half of the country. It has experienced population decline due to a decrease in suitable habitat. The downloadable comic was a collaboration between TCD; UCD , Maynooth University , the Royal Entomological Society and the BiOrbic Research Ireland Centre for the Bioeconomy. It was part of a 'restoring biodiversity challenge', aiming to strengthen and integrate education and public engagement on the issue. TCD assistant professor of business and nature Dr Catherine Farrell said: 'Insects are essential to so many business supply chains, most obvious in terms of crops and food production, but with multiple contributions to so many aspects of our daily lives. The Butterfly Effect highlights this in a simple way: the small things really matter for the future of our society and economy.' A graphic representation of Ireland's bioeconomy, featured in the comic series Beo, Raja and the Butterfly Effect. Illustration: Nathan T Wright The layers in the comic are powerful and tie in elements of Irish history, said Dr Máire Nic an Bhaird of Maynooth University. Ireland's first president, Douglas Hyde, showed how language, heritage and land were deeply connected; 'Just as he used that connection to revive Irish, we must now foster a love of the land to inspire young climate stewards and support bioeconomy solutions', she added. Dr Laoise Ní Chléirigh, also based at Maynooth, underlined the importance of the Irish language in the series – 'a minority language where traditional ecological knowledge is deeply rooted, supporting both cultural and environmental continuity'. It was a very enjoyable collaboration between ecology, education and engineering, integrating different perspectives on the importance of insects, said Dr Tom Curran of UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Lottery grant of £227k for rare Dartmoor habitat
A Devon charity has been awarded a large grant to help protect and restore an ecologically important area of marshy Shallowford Farm Trust on Dartmoor provides children from inner-city areas with the chance to experience life on East Shallowford trust has secured a grant of £227,166 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to safeguard and restore its rare rhos pasture habitat - a wet grassland ecosystem characterised by purple moor grass and Kohler, one of the charity's trustees, said the money would be spent working to inspire the next generation to care for the natural world. She said: "We want fifty new volunteers to help us manage the land."We want to engage more young people in accessing that land, learning about it, and helping us to manage it."Hopefully they will go away with a care and concern about the habitat and the species that it supports."Ms Kohler added the farm plans to spend the money over the next two to the charity, 20 percent of the UK's rhos pasture is found on Dartmoor and it is a crucial habitat for species like the threatened marsh fritillary butterfly.
