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c/does-anyone-elsethe_jamesthe_james12d agoProlific Poster

I just read that a single oak tree can support over 500 different insect species.

Found that in a local nature center pamphlet and it really surprised me. Does that seem high to anyone else?
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elliot_johnson
That pamphlet is underselling it honestly. I looked it up once and some studies put the number closer to 800 for a mature oak. It's basically a giant bug apartment building with a cafeteria built in. Makes you look at the tree in your yard a bit differently.
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robert_rodriguez66
Honestly those numbers feel super inflated. They probably count every single bug that ever landed on a leaf once. Like yeah, a butterfly might visit, but it doesn't "live" there. A mature oak might host a few dozen real residents, not hundreds. Most of that list is just random passers-by.
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