Which insects (and other invertebrates) can be found in woods?
The abundance of birdlife in broadleaved woods is a reflection of the wealth of insects and other invertebrates that favour this habitat. Oak in particular, supports the greatest number of insect species of all our native trees.
A wealth of creepy crawlies such as bugs, slugs, snails, centipedes and millipedes are among the many thousands, probably millions of insects and invertebrates that live among the leaves, under bark and beneath fallen branches.
But, did you know that there is a scorpion that lives in woodland?
Well, okay, it’s actually a false scorpion, a clever fake which has the pincers of a scorpion but no actual sting. And, for those of you who are a little intimidated about walking in the woods even knowing this, take comfort in knowing that this beastie is only about 3mm long!
The false scorpion likes a bit of sunshine, it lives under the dead bark of old trees and prefers the south side as this gets the most sun. On really warm days it might even take a little walk on the trunk.
But it is still a predator, it hunts down and eats beetles.
A high proportion of the UK’s beetles are associated with woods and trees, especially ancient ones. Some of them, like the rhinoceros beetles sound very exciting, while others, like the dull brown beetle, a little less so – but they still serve a useful function in the woodland world just the same.
Butterflies are often the most conspicuous members of a native wood. Speckled wood, comma, orange tip and green-veined white butterfly are all fairly common, especially in southern woodlands; while the white admiral, purple emperor and silver washed fritillary are a little rarer.
Their cousins, the moths, are even more diverse but finding them in the daytime is more of a challenge as they’re more nocturnal. But at night, it would not be unusual for an oak wood in southern England to have in excess of 300 species.
Bees, wasps and flies, and a variety of spiders, such as harvest men, can also be found there.