Turned a stone at Aberthaw & came across 2 beautiful limestone-loving Lapidary snails Helicigona lapicida. The Vale of Glamorgan limestone walls are also wonderful for lichens - I'm going to learn some this year with the help of this highly recommended new book @britishlichensociety.org.uk
Nice article on how pet flea & tick treatments end up in rivers:
the-european.eu/story-57030/...
Pollinators on shrubs at a local garden centre today: Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris, Early Bumblebee B. pratorum, a Hoverfly Eristalis pertinax, & a Bluebottle Calliphora. There's plenty of research into gardens being important for pollinators. Anyone aware of any about garden centres?
An image of the study site for the paper discussed in the thread, a lowland meadow in early summer, with Buttercups in flower.
A Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) plant with a Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) larvae and eggs visible on the plant.
Big thanks to my supervisors @owentlewis.bsky.social and @richardfoxbc.bsky.social from @savebutterflies.bsky.social for their support in this work and throughout my PhD!
Here is the full paper
#conservationevidence
@richardfoxbc.bsky.social @djhbutterflies.bsky.social @martinswarren.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social @pietervantieghem.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Seen today on my local patch in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales: Black oil beetle, Beadlet anemone, Fox moth caterpillar, Alexanders full of life. @valelnp.bsky.social such a special place.
A few days of sun is all nature needs to get going. Flowering Anemone nemorosa, Wood anemone and very active Frog tadpoles spotted yesterday.
Yes, it likes sand dunes near me, but also likes calcareous rocky habitat that is subject to drought.
Visited western edge of Kenfig NNR today. Dozens of tiny Hornungia petraea, Hutchinsia in flower (my thumb shows how tiny this plant is), my first Glow-worm larvae of the year & an impressive Fox Moth larvae. Skylarks, Lapwings & 2 Hares extra bonuses #glamorganbotany #kenfig #ukglowworm
Very interesting, thank you for sharing. It was a new one for me - a really spectacular & unusual plant. Lots at the bottom of the steps & part way up. Nice to bring back memories for you - my first time there but I intend to go back when the limestone grassland species are more advanced.
Visited Sand Point, Somerset today and had a brilliant view back over to Wales. Spotted this Iris tuberosa Snake's-head Iris on the walk up, non-native but the flies were loving it.
@riverflies.bsky.social After a tricky couple of years I am finally going through some old photos to put records in. This beautiful adult Chimarra marginata, was seen on a trip to Devon in 2022.
A guide to how light shielding can help moths, by Butterfly Conservation. No cut-off means light can travel in all directions, attracting nocturnal insects and contributing to sky glow. Semi cut-off means that some light is shielded but some can still spill upwards. Cut-off means that light is prevented from travelling directly up or spilling upwards. Fully cut-off is best, directing light downwards.
Unshielded outdoor fixtures allow light to be emitted in multiple directions, contributing to light pollution 💡🦋
Choosing cut-off or fully cut-off shielding can help to redirect artificial light away from our night skies.
#DarkSkyWeek #MothsMatter
The World Curlew Day logo.
Happy #WorldCurlewDay!
On this day - the best day of the year - we celebrate the beautiful Eurasian Curlew and its wonderful cousins around the world.
As Mary Colwell says: Love them, celebrate them, protect them 💚
These 1st instar larvae or caterpillars are tiny (5-6mm), mainly black in colour with spiky hairs. They will feed, grow and shed their skins over and over, changing colour and pattern as they do. When they are big enough they will spin silk and construct a beautiful cocoon 2/2 @valelnp.bsky.social
Hatched Emperor moth eggs
Day 2: 1st instar Emperor moth larvae or caterpillars
Day 2 Emperor moth 5-6mm in length
Already agile - I think these Emperor moth youngsters will be a handful!
Extra special Easter delivery! 13 days ago a female Emperor moth laid her eggs in our moth trap. Yesterday, they hatched & around 80 caterpillars are now happily munching on Bramble & Hawthorn. Follow along to see their journey from caterpillar to cocoon 1/2 @savebutterflies.bsky.social #mothsmatter
Not surprising that microplastic pollution has been around as long as mass plastic use has been. Shows importance of collections for research.
Good news about Barn Owl numbers. Trends show nesting began very early in 2024, with many broods already at ringing age by late May.
Spring is so early this year! Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterflies on the wing near Welshpool today! 5th April is a new record earliest emergence, by a whole week! They were too quick for photos, so this is a shot I took a few years ago. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @pickeletto.bsky.social
One of the big shocks of last year’s UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme results was that, after its worst year on record in 2024 and a run of six below average years, Green-veined White (Pieris napi) is now in long-term decline. Numbers have dropped 28% at monitored sites since 1976.
We also had a worn but always stunning female Emperor moth. She left us a gift of eggs so we will carefully rear those on for her - they only take around 10 days to hatch, so I'm looking forward to photographing their journey from egg to cocoon. (4/4)
The waves, lines and blocks of black patterning the silvery-pink wings give each Tissue a unique identity. This has been used at some Scottish sites to help survey overwintering sites. Reckon this would be a challenge at some
caverns in Yorkshire, where there can be hundreds of individuals! (3/4)
New for our garden - we had a Tissue moth. They spend the winter as adults, often in caves. In spring they emerge to lay eggs, their caterpillars feed during spring and summer, pupate & the next generation of adults are on the wing by August, ready to mate & overwinter. (2/4)
The Tissue moth
Nut-tree Tussock moth
Stunning female Emperor moth
Emperor moth eggs laid in an egg box
Not many moths in the trap last night (very windy here VC41 Vale of Glamorgan): 2 Common Quaker, 1 Early Grey & 1 Nut-tree Tussock. But we did have 2 other beauties... (1/4)
#mothsmatter
@gardenmothscheme.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @valelnp.bsky.social @walesnatureweek.bsky.social
Busy day of media interviews spreading the news of the @ukbms.bsky.social officially dreadful year for UK butterflies in 2024. 51/58 species declined, with common species having their 2nd worst year on record butterfly-conservation.org/make-your-pr... 🌍
Image of Small Copper on a computer screen, and text NEWS: More than half of UK butterflies are in long-term decline
NEWS: 🦋 2024 was one of the worst years on record for UK #butterflies, according to the latest figures from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme @ukbms.bsky.social
It was the fifth worst year since records began in 1976.
See the official UKBMS figures ➡️ ukbms.org/official-sta...
🧵🧪 1/
Wonderful Liam!
Join us in protecting the Marsh Fritillary in Wales 🦋
The Marsh Fritillary is declining in Wales due to habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, but together we can turn things around for this iconic butterfly.
Find out more at 👉 butterfly-conservation.org/conservation...
New streetlights installed in a Cape Verdean town have caused hundreds of seabird deaths in a matter of days, according to reports:
A pipe releasing dark water into the sea
There is no excuse for 3.6 Million hours of sewage spills in 2024📈
Our waterways are turned to health hazards for wildlife & those trying to enjoy them, while targets to restore nature are jeopardised🚣♂️
We need bonus bans for water company bosses where spills are up👇
www.wcl.org.uk/2024-sewage-...
