The Majesty of a Tree

Fascinating research done in 2017 revealed the following information about trees:

Types of Wildlife Sheltered by Trees

• Trees support various types of wildlife, such as birds (like woodpeckers, owls, songbirds, and ducks, among others), insects, squirrels, caterpillars, butterflies, moths, salamanders, black bears, bats, and raccoons.
• Arboreal animals like sloths, koalas, geckos, opossums, tarsiers, flying snakes, spider monkeys, tree pangolins, harvest mice, tree kangaroos, and gibbons all dwell on trees.

Number of Species of Each Type Sheltered by a Single Tree

• Oak trees “provide a rich habitat and support more life forms than any other native trees.”
• A single oak tree hosts 532 species of caterpillars.
• A single oak tree also shelters 147 species of birds, 120 species of mammals, and 60 species of reptiles and amphibians.
• A mature oak tree supports more than 280 species of insects.
• Different types of trees support different numbers of wildlife species. The following trees support these numbers of insect species: common alder (90 insect species), ash (41 insect species), quaking aspen (90 insect species), beech (64 insect species), crabapple (90 insect species), hawthorn (149 insect species), small-leaved lime (31 insect species), rowan (28 insect species), silver birch (229 insect species), and white willow (200 insect species).

Favorite Trees for Wildlife

• According to the National Wildlife Foundation, the ten native trees that support the most wildlife are red cedar (30 native butterflies and moths), oak, willow, red mangrove (628 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes), ponderosa pine, beech, cherry, plum, longleaf pine (30 threatened and endangered species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers and gopher tortoises), and cottonwood.
• Dead trees provide shelter to over 1,000 species of wildlife including salamanders, ants, beetles, snails, chipmunks and squirrels.

What of it?

Seems like a great learning opportunity with your child and countless reasons why a child, or adult, would gain an appreciation for the trees which surround us here in Olympia.

Sequoia’s Treehouse