Shocking number of critters lurking in Brisbane backyards

Hate spiders and live in inner city Brisbane? New research will give you the shivers. The astonishing extent of the wildlife lurking in backyards has been revealed.

More than 50 species of spiders were found in Brisbane backyards.

Hate spiders and live in inner city Brisbane? New research will give you the shivers.

The astonishing extent of the wildlife lurking in backyards has been revealed.

University of Queensland researchers studied a share house yard in Annerley and discovered 1150 unique species of animals, plants and fungi over a 12-month period.

They found 56 different spiders, 436 moth and butterfly species, eight reptiles and 56 birds.

The research was the result of a challenge among three housemates to identify species around their inner-Brisbane home. It has been published in the journal Ecology.

A Mouse spider found in a Queensland garden.

UQ mathematician Dr Matt Holden, ecologist Dr Andrew Rogers and taxonomist Dr Russell Yong took a census of their Annerley backyard during the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.

“We asked a large number of ecologists and conservation scientists how many species they’d expect to find in this setting and they predicted only 200,” Dr Holden said.

“But after 60 days of surveying, we’d already discovered 777 species.

“It shows suburban houses and apartments could have far more biodiversity than ever imagined, especially when it comes to insects.”

The bird species included tawny frogmouths, laughing kookaburras, blue-faced honeyeaters, rainbow lorikeets, spotted doves and Brisbane favourite, the Australian white ibis.

“Blue-tongued skinks hibernated under the garage and at night blue-banded and teddy-bear bees slept in the hedges under the front window,” Dr Holden said.

There were many species of butterfly found in Brisbane yards.

The researchers were also surprised to discover three species not previously recorded in Australia’s leading biodiversity database, Atlas of Living Australia – a mosquito, a sandfly, and an invasive flatworm, Platydemus manokwari, which is responsible for native snail population declines, around the world.

“The house was a complex ecosystem of species interacting – we stumbled upon the moth Scatochresis innumera, which as a caterpillar spends its whole time feeding inside the dung of a Brushtail Possum before emerging as an adult,” Dr Holden said.

“The Parilyrgis concolor is another moth species whose caterpillar lives in spider webs and devours spider poop to survive.”

The Tawny Frogmouth was one of many bird species found.

Dr Holden said homes across all urban areas could play host to similar biodiversity.

“It depends on how people tend to their homes and gardens – keeping low maintenance trees and shrubs and eliminating manicured lawns and pesticides will significantly boost the number of critters found,” he said.

“You don’t have to go travelling to connect with Australia’s diverse range of species, just look in your own backyard.”