Ode to Insect

02/28/2024
By: Kim Kitchener

When I first moved to Pescadero, the space where I lived was a safe haven for black widow spiders. Growing up with the connotations of “the scary black spider with the red dot” I wasn’t entirely too pleased with the roommate situation. Clearly, cohabitation was the only option and as I eased into acceptance, I began to understand that the widows had no intention or interest in bothering me. If anything, my habits began to pivot around them. I started to recognize and appreciate the haphazard and delicate triangle webs and the glistening of their freshly spun creations. Then they started to pop up everywhere I went; in the eves of the barn, in metal-rimmed window seals, in shady nooks and crannies.

Spider casting webs in the morning dew. Swinging through the air on invisible pathways. Long gone are my days of any sort of arachnid phobia. Finding spiders brings me so much excitement. In land management, we have learned to recognize spiders as a key indicator of land health. Spiders are apex insect predators of the grasslands; if there are a lot of spiders around, there are a lot of other insects and tasty things around, which means there are enough resources and habitats for the creatures that sustain the predators in some kind of abundance. A complete ecosystem beneath our feet. So quiet if you don’t slow down a little, you’ll miss it.

Through planned grazing and a keen eye toward benefiting complete ecosystems – spiders and their prey included – we can reduce the amount of inputs we use to continue cultivating an ideal environment for this tiny but mighty cycling system.

So too, is it wise to keep an eye on the mayflies in our streams, indicating a water system teaming with dissolved oxygen and healthy flow, and watch as the ducks swim along the edge of ponds feasting on mosquito larvae in preparation for spring nesting. As our friend and mentor Wendell Gilbert reminds us, everything relies on bugs. We need them to drive the incredible landscape and system we steward.

As I’ve learned and expanded my understanding of insects’ crucial role in my work, I’ve found the utmost joy in searching for and finding the insects of our landscapes and discovering all the secrets they unveil.