Entomologists From All Over The World are Flocking To A Region Full Of Mysterious Bugs

Entomologists From All Over The World are Flocking To A Region Full Of Mysterious Bugs

Exotic regions that are located in warm tropical climates contain an abundance of different forms of insect life. Entomologists and other scientists visit insect populated regions regularly in order to conduct studies on particular insects and their environment. Continents like South America, Africa, Australia and parts of Asia are all home to numerous nature reserves that grant special access to researchers hoping to shed more light on the nature of some of the world’s more interesting and lesser known types of insects. When you try to recall the locations of well known nature reserves from around the world, you probably don’t consider Great Britain. However, Britain is home to one of the most popular biodiversity hotspots today.

Canvey Wick, also known as Brownfield Rainforest, was going to be the sight of an oil refinery during the seventies. Luckily for the well being of the environment, and many curious bug experts, the oil crash of 1973 caused British officials to cancel the planned construction of the oil refinery, but by this time construction efforts had already taken place. Today, the manmade landscape is the most significant aspect of this particular reserve.

When the refinery was undergoing the initial phases of construction over forty years ago, construction workers installed large concrete slabs into the ground and transported different types of soil to the region. Sediment from the Thames river was also regularly dumped into this region. All of these different types of soil are still present in the region today, and this allows for a variety of different habitats to coexist in this one small area. If the construction of the oil refinery had not been cancelled when it was, then this area would never have become so rich in different insect species.

The abundance of different soil types located within the Brownfield Rainforest has allowed for the survival of certain insect species that would have otherwise become extinct. In fact, experts are regularly finding insects in this region that have long been assumed extinct. The Brownfield Rainforest is Great Britain’s first and only rainforest to ever exist.

Would you be interested in exploring the Brownfield Rainforest?