A unique home has come up for tiny insects inside Lalbagh Botanical Garden as the first ‘Insect Café’ was inaugurated on Friday by the Horticulture Department.
The café has been set up in association with Vibhinna India Foundation under their CSR initiative with an aim to provide shelter and breeding sites to the insects as rapid urbanisation and concretisation has rendered them with fewer natural sites for shelter or breeding.
The café, which has a wooden framework, has been divided into many sections keeping in mind the biodiversity of insects in Lalbagh. Each section comprises small and medium pieces of wood, dry grass, sticks of various types of plants and other materials, which will tie the café together.
“There are provisions for insects which drill dry wood and live there and insects which live beneath the earth by making holes in the ground in the café. There are important species like carpenter bees and bumblebees in Lalbagh. The bees which build hives and collect honey are in fewer numbers, while single bees are in thousands. They prefer to drill holes in the tree trunk and live there instead of hives,” Horticulture Department officials said.
D.S. Ramesh, director, Horticulture Department revealed plans to introduce around 10 more such insect cafes in Lalbagh, as well as in Cubbon Park along with Nandi Hills and Krishnarajendra Giridhama, Kemmanagundi. “Collaborating with the Forest Department, it aims to expand the concept to various forested areas. The primary goal is to familiarise the public with the concept of insect cafes and encourage them to install these in their own backyards,” he said.
Insects play a crucial role in pollination and various ecosystem functions, and protecting native species has become paramount said M. Jagadeesh, Joint Director (Parks and Gardens), Horticulture Department.
He expressed concern about the declining native species, comparing it to the extinction of dinosaurs. He emphasised the importance of conserving native plants and insects, stating, “Just as the loss of dinosaurs marked an era, the extinction of native plant and insect species will have far-reaching consequences. The insect cafe concept has been introduced to safeguard and nurture these vital species.”
