Tiny Wasps Are Saving Rare Island Birds from Extinction: ‘A Much-Needed Lifeline’
Conservationists credit a species of parasitoid wasp for keeping Wilkins’ Bunting birds alive
The Wilkins’ Bunting birds, a rare species living on the Nightingale Island in the South Atlantic, won’t go extinct anytime soon — thanks to wasps.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) revealed on Tuesday, Oct. 8, that a multi-organization effort to save the Wilkins’ Bunting birds from extinction has proven successful after the groups stopped an “invasive alien scale insect” from causing the ultimate demise of the birds.
The Coccus hesperidum scale insects, according to conservationists in an RSPB release, were secreting honeydew that eventually brought forth mold on forest tree branches. This led to trees known as Phylica arborea, which provide fruit to keep the birds alive, being slowly killed off. To control the infestation, the groups introduced parasitoid wasps known as Microterys nietneri to the isolated island to combat the scale insects.
“This project shows what can be achieved in turning around the fate of a threatened species,” David Kinchin-Smith, RSPB’s UK overseas territories project manager, said in the release. “Steely determination, ecological expertise and the wasps have given the buntings a much-needed lifeline.”
Related: Demi Lovato and Fiancé Jordan 'Jutes' Lutes Share Cute Photos of Their New Dog Pickle
The effort started after a 2017 survey discovered that only 120 breeding pairs of the bird remained on the island, and of those pairs, some were killed off two years later during a “huge storm,” the RSPB said.
The RSPB then partnered with CABI, FERA and the Tristan da Cunha government to formulate the wasp strategy to save the birds, “set up a tree nursery to boost the number of fruiting trees and improve island biosecurity to avoid similar occurrences in future.”
The wasps were then brought to the island amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The wasps faced an epic journey. Firstly, a flight from London to Cape Town, in a cool bag followed by an enforced stay in a hotel room as part of a staff member’s COVID quarantine,” Dr Norbert Maczey, an entomologist at CABI, said in the release.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Next came a week-long boat journey to Tristan with temperatures sometimes dropping below zero,” he added. “Finally, there was a further boat trip to Nightingale Island. It seemed like luck and time was against us but some of the wasps made it.”
Only less than 10% of the wasps survived the trip. The wasps were released into the forest in April 2021 with more releases since then.
Now, according to the RSPB, an “estimated 60-90 pairs of Wilkins’ Bunting” birds live on the island due to the wasps controlling the damage from the scale insects and halting the birds’ population decline.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.