🌍 Microfauna: The Foundation of Life in the Limassol Mountains

🌍 Microfauna is the silent pillar of nature and the first victim of fires. Insects, bees, butterflies, earthworms and snails are the driving force that keeps ecosystems alive. Without them:

• Plants are not pollinated,

• the soil is not aerated and renewed,

• birds, bats and reptiles cannot find food,

• and the entire food chain collapses.

When we talk about the fires in the Limassol Mountains, we think of the burned houses, the lost forests, the large animals and birds that were burned. But there is an unseen world that is rarely included in the discussion: the microfauna.

Bees, butterflies, beetles, ants, snails, earthworms. Small creatures that, without us realizing it, keep the ecosystem afloat.

In the 2025 fires, the microfauna suffered enormous losses. Its absence will have a domino effect: fewer plants → fewer pollinators → fewer birds → extinction of mammals and predators. The regeneration of the Limassol mountains depends on the direct support of the microfauna through the sowing of native plants, the creation of microhabitats and the strengthening of beekeeping.

Saving microfauna means saving all of nature. It is the root of life that we must replant. 🌱

🔹 Why is it so important?

• Bees and butterflies pollinate plants; without them, trees and shrubs will not sprout again.

• Beetles and earthworms recycle organic matter; without them, the soil becomes barren.

• Ants and snails are food for birds, lizards, amphibians.

• All fauna – from the skunk and bats, to foxes and vultures – feeds directly or indirectly on it.

Microfauna is the first link in the food chain. If it breaks, the domino effect is inevitable.

🔹 What happened with the fires?

With the flames, the microfauna had no hope of escape:

• Ant colonies and snails were reduced to ashes.

• Earthworms were roasted in the ground.

• Bees lost their hives and honey plants.

• Butterflies saw all their host plants disappear.

• Within a few hours, the foundation of life was lost.

🔹 The Impact on Fauna

• Insectivorous birds (thrushes, scaly-wings, swallows) are left without food; their chicks are dying of starvation.

• Bats lose 70% of their food; colonies are in danger of collapse.

• Lizards and frogs can no longer find insects and snails.

• Hares and small mammals are starving, and with them the foxes.

• At the end of the chain, even the Vulture is left without food, since the number of animals dying in the wild is decreasing.

🔥 Fire → ❌ Microfauna → ❌ Birds/bats/lizards → ❌ Predators → ❌ Ecosystem.

🔹What can be done now?

• Sowing of honey plants (thyme, oregano, oleander) for bees and butterflies.

• Waterers and “butterfly gardens” to restore insects.

• Ban on pesticides for at least 5 years.

• Restore beekeeping with a plan, not piecemeal.

• Monitoring insect and arthropod populations to see if they are recovering.

Microfauna is the “invisible army” that nourishes Cyprus. All the species we love and want to save depend on it. If it is not restored, the Limassol Mountains will never be green again; it will remain a silent wasteland.

The battle for nature is not won with big words alone; it is won by starting small. And the small, in the case of Cyprus, is what nourishes everything.

🙏 We invite you all:

• Participate in volunteer actions of sowing and planting native plants.

• Help create watering and feeding troughs for animals.

• Support local beekeepers and growers who protect wildlife.

• Join community monitoring and rescue networks.

• Pressure Municipalities and Government to utilize European LIFE & CAP funds for nature restoration.

🌱 The regeneration of the Limassol Mountains starts with us. From small actions, from simple steps, from our collective strength.

🔥 If we don't act now, tomorrow will be too late. Join us – to bring life back to where today there is ash.