•Small patches of land are vital for the conservation of large animals and entire ecosystems. These areas also make it easier to combat environmental threats such as fire and invasive weeds. However, some areas of Australia, particularly agricultural regions, do not have the land to support large patches of land. In Western Victoria’s agricultural areas, remnant reserves sometimes cover as little as 100 hectares. These small reserves are often undervalued and overlooked. However, recent research shows that these remnant areas may be critical for the survival of smaller plant and animal species.
The new species, which lived in the area where an ancient megaherbivore (Lake Bungunnia) was found during the Pleistocene period, was named Lake Bungunnia Murray Mallee matchstick (Keyacris bungunnia). It is likely that the species lives on the shores of this lake. The unique to Australia dung beetles are found in many habitats in the country, including deserts, mulga thickets, eucalyptus forests and grasslands. Although not considered harmful, these local beetles are a natural part of Australian landscapes and support food webs by feeding on them.
These insects, which do not have wings until they reach adulthood, usually do not move far from where they were born. In areas with a constant habitat, they can slowly spread over generations. Research shows that one species travelled 2,200 kilometres across the northern Tasmania to Victoria, while another travelled from Kalgoorlie to Broken Hill, crossing the Nullarbor Plain.
As landscapes become increasingly fragmented, environmental threats such as fire or overgrazing can wipe out entire populations. This is particularly dangerous for species like the Murray Mallee matchstick, which have no wings and are unable to migrate to other places.
The Eltham copper butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida), one of the sites where the largest known population of Murray Mallee matchstick was discovered, may actually indicate a high-quality habitat. Many of these insects are poorly studied, and yet they play a critical role in our local ecosystems, even though they are not as well known as bees and butterflies.
However, these valuable remnant reserves often face problems such as poorly managed, covered with alien plants or covered with rubbish. Yet, protecting these areas for endangered animals does not have to be expensive or complicated. Waste beetles can survive, even in small suitable habitat fragments, as long as there are food plants available. For example, in several revegetated sites near Melbourne, introduced populations of the Larapuna waste beetle (Vandiemenella viatica) have exploded.
