Animals and a plant species spotted by residents for the 2022 Shenzhen Nature Challenge. From left: Planthopper (Ricania speculum), Litchi stink bug (Tessaratoma papillosa) and Cobblers peg (Bidens Pilosa). WeChat account “i-Conserve”
AMONG Shenzhen residents staying put during the May Day holiday, many joined the 2022 Shenzhen Nature Challenge to record animal and plant species in the city.
By Wednesday noon, the event organizer had received 23,715 nature observation records submitted by participants, with around 3,200 species recorded, Shenzhen Evening News reported.
Themed “Bring city back into nature,” the city’s nature challenge kicked off April 29 and will last until Sunday.
With two nature guides assisting, a parent-child team consisting of six families from Longgang and Yantian districts searched for animals hidden in the grass and bushes along Dapeng New Area’s Luzui hiking trails on Tuesday night.
“Look! Here is a black planthopper (Ricania speculum),” a boy shouted, shining his flashlight on the grass, where a small and white grasshopper-looking insect with red eyes was quietly resting.
“That’s a one-millimeter-long nymph,” the nature guide explained. The discovery even impressed passers-by, who acclaimed: “It’s awesome that you can find such a little bug.”
Within two hours, the group found and recorded tens of species, including other planthoppers (Ricania quadrimaculata), crab spiders (Runcinia), kidney garden spiders (Araneus mitificus), South China tree toad (Hyla simplex) and banded bullfrogs (Kaloula pulchra).
A young team member named Wang Zirui told the News that they had done nature observations in Sanzhoutian Reservoir, Luogu Mountain and Luzui Hiking Trail, and submitted nearly 1,000 species records for the competition.
Last year’s 10-day event attracted 17 teams, with 17,632 natural observation records submitted and 3,346 species recorded.
This year, the number of teams increased to 73, while many residents competed as individuals.
The nature challenge, which started in 2016, is a global competition among cities to record as many urban wildlife species as possible.
In 2021, Shenzhen joined the event which encourages and awards people to discover urban biodiversity. (Shenzhen Daily)
