•Small remnant reserves are vital for the protection of large animals and entire ecosystems. They 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 remnant reserves. In Western Victoria’s agricultural lands, remnant reserves sometimes cover as little as 100 hectares. These small reserves are often undervalued and overlooked. However, recent research has shown that these remnant areas may be critical for the survival of smaller plant and animal species.
The new species, named the Lake Bungunnia Murray Mallee matchstick (Keyacris bungunnia), is found in an area where an ancient megadrome (Lake Bungunnia) existed during the Pleistocene period. The species is likely to live on the shores of this lake. unique to Australia, dung beetles have around 250 closely related species in a wide range of habitats in the country, including deserts, mulga scrublands, eucalyptus forests and grasslands. Although not considered a pest, these local beetles are a natural part of Australian landscapes and support food webs by providing food.
The latest study, led by student Kim Kaufmann, mapped the distribution of this dung beetle species in several areas. The findings show that each population is genetically distinct from the others.
These insects, which do not have wings until they reach adulthood, usually do not move far from where they were born. They can slowly spread over generations in areas with a stable habitat. Studies show 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 such as the Murray Mallee matchstick, which has no wings and is 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 found, may 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 weeds or covered with rubbish.
Nevertheless, these areas do not have to be expensive or complicated to protect endangered animals. Rubber bugs can survive in even small suitable habitat fragments, as long as the food plants are available. For example, introduced populations of the Larapuna rubber bug (Vandiemenella viatica) have exploded at several revegetated sites near Melbourne.
Most recently, scientists have successfully introduced the endangered Key’s matchstick rubber bug to the Euroa arboretum in north-eastern Victoria.
The benefits of these projects are not limited to rubber bugs. Rubber bugs are a critical food source for other insects, spiders and small birds, especially in late winter and early spring, when most insects have not yet hatched.
Many insect species, including the Murray Mallee matchstick, are likely to survive in remnant reserves. Protecting and managing these small, often overlooked areas could help rare species to thrive.
