ABSTRACT
Monoculture-type grass lawns are not renowned for the rich variety of wildlife that they can support. Above ground, a few grass species mown on a weekly basis do not provide an ideal habitat. Tapestry lawns (T-lawns) are not monocultures, neither are they devoid of forbs, and with mowing at between 3 to 5 times years they are disturbed far less frequently than traditional lawns. A consequence of this is that T-lawns can contain and support a surprising variety of insects and other invertebrates. A bit of a surprise perhaps but remember that the grass lawns were being cut with the same frequency as the T-lawns and consequently had been allowed to get substantially taller than would be usual, and were much less disturbed than would be usual. Both the T-lawns and grass lawns shared a surprising amount of invertebrate species but also had distinct population differences, meaning that both lawn types support different types of invertebrate community.
