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Written by Jeff
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Friday, 07 August 2009 17:21 |
Doppelganger Duo
One of life's great pleasures is to take a time out and just watch, see what comes along and enjoy the moment. The wonderful sunny weather today was perfect for bringing out a host of interesting creature and so despite the pressing need to get a host of jobs done I couldn't resist just a few minutes indulgence with the natural world.
I perused the activity on my flowering patch of mint amid the humming bees and darting hoverflies I pretty soon spied what I'd be looking for, A tiny purple day flying moth, Pyrausta aurata. On this occasion my self congratulation was pricked like a balloon as when I examined it more closely I deluded myself in to believing it was in fact it's close relative Pyrausta purpuralis, whose subtle extra bits of gold glittered in the sun. As it turns out my first impressison was correct.
A quick photo for confirmation and just for good measure I've posted an image of its kin moth taken on the same mint patch last year.
Take a look at any flowering mint in your garden and you will be treated to a regular procession of delightful invertebrates. |
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Written by Jeff
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Wednesday, 05 August 2009 09:35 |
HITS 'n' Bats
I'm currently working on a project with the Charity HITS. This wonderful organisation works extremely hard to help younger people and to give them opportunities. The project I'm involved with is called 'MY Wildspace'. Part of the project will involve the construction of a bat hibernacula.
To help give the younger people some background information I led them on a bat detecting session at Oxmoor Local Nature Reserve in Runcorn. After a slow start we were lucky enough to connect with a wide variety of bat species. We got visual sightings of Brown-long eared and Soprano Bat. Thankfully the bat detectors also allowed us to determine Daubenton's, Noctule, Common Pipistrelle and a Whiskered/Brandt's bat. To find out more about the bat species of the UK got to the Bat Conservation Trust website
We are going back there again tonight 5th August 2009 in the hope of getting even better results. |
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Written by Jeff
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Wednesday, 05 August 2009 09:25 |
On The Wing
The Count Me In project continued with a really enjoyable exploration of flying insects at one of my former stomping grounds, Rivacre Valley Local Nature Reserve in Ellesmere Port. I managed Rivacre for several years back in the mid-90's and enjoyed it immensely. It was good to go back and see how things were doing in the company of the current Site Ranger Tim Lloyd. The group of enthusiasts comprised a few regular stalwart supporters of the project and a few new faces. We started with an exploration of the pond area close to the Ranger Centre, where we were able to find the recent exuvia of Brown Hawker Dragonflys and capture an adult male Common Darter to show the assembled crowd. Dragonflies may be an ancient order of insects but they are a supremely elegant and efficient design. July and August are the best months of the year for dragonfly watching. We then progressed through a mixture of woodland and meadows to reach the new Cornfield Wildflower Meadow. As usual this sort of habitat proved to be very good for hoverflies and ladybirds and the highlight for many was seeing their first Adonis Ladybirds. By the end of the session we had found a minimum of 7 different Adonis Ladybirds, probably more than has ever been seen in the county before. If you want to get involved with the Count Me In project contact the Co-ordinator Karen Lawson. The next session is a bat and moth night at Chester Zoo on the 22nd August. Hope to see you there! Count Me In is a collaborative project between Chester Zoo and RECORD to encourage more people to get involved with recording their native wildlife. |
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Written by Jeff
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Friday, 31 July 2009 15:12 |
Syrphids Up!
A search of any flowery habitat , particularly garden borders, at this time of year, will reveal a whole bunch of deceivers going about their business. Many species of hoverfly specialise in pretending to be something heavily armed, when in fact they are completely harmless. Most are wasp and bee mimics, some being incredibly like the model they are mimicking, others just bearing a passing resemblance to something that might be a bit dangerous.
Hoverfly's do exactly what they say on the tin, they are expert hoverers! Daisy-like flowers are particualrly attractive to many species, though in my garden the greatest number and variety are currently coming to my ever growing patch of mint.
Above I've depicted three species that are readily found in most garden. The smallest of the trio is Episyrphus balteatus, also known as the Marmalade Hoverfly, with the alternating thick and thin dark lines on the abdomen. It is a migratory species and is abundant this year. Eristalis pertinax is commonly referred to as 'Drone fly' as it mimics honeybees (the male honeybee is called a Drone, hence the name). The pointy abdomen separates it from E. tenax, its close relative. Myathropa florea is a large and brightly marked insect with a distinctive thorax pattern. Why not get out into your garden and enjoy this summers bounty of hoverflies?
For more information about Hoverflies try the Hoverfly Recording Scheme or get hold of a copy of the best guide to British Hoverflies by Alan Stubbs, published by BENHS, ISBN 1-899935-05-0 .
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Written by Jeff
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009 22:04 |
Give and Take Part 1
Although my business involves making a living from activities related to the natural environment I believe its important to contribute back as much as I can. Let's be honest few people who work in the natural environment are ever going to be wealthy. If money was the driving factor this would be low down on the professions of choice.For most people its a vocation.
That's why I'm a member of the Recorders Forum, an itinerant bunch of like-minded souls, our latest meeting took place at the Bunbury Arms in Stoak, near Ellesmere Port tonight 29th July 2009. In the above picture from the left clockwise are Rachel Hacking, Ian Wallace, Jack Swan, Tom Hunt, Eric Fletcher, Sarah Bird and myself Jeff Clarke, (Paul Hill was absent due to forseen circumstances). This group became established to help improve the connections between the biological recording community and RECORD, the Local Record Centre for Cheshire, Halton, Warrington and Wirral.The premise is simple, we try to bring forward the ideas and concerns of local biological recorders and in turn feed back from RECORD proposed solutions and requests to the recording community. We also work together to try to improve opportunities for people to become involved in biological recording and provide encouragement, guidance and training to new biological recorders.
If anyone reading this would like more information about the Recorders Forum, RECORD, The Count Me In project, or future bioblitz events, please feel free to get in touch and I'll do what I can to help or put you in contact with the right people.
Give and Take Part 2
In a strange parallel to the above item I noticed this cluster of aphids under the umbel of a fennel plant outside the Bunbury Arms, whilst awaiting the arrival of my fellow members I took a quick shot to capture the inter-relationship between the aphids and the ants that were attending them.
This is sometimes referred to as a symbiotic relationship, in other words "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours". The ants defend the aphids from potential predators, such as ladybirds, but they extract a price. The payoff is the sticky secretion 'honeydew' exuded as a waste product by the aphids. Sometimes when food is scarce the ants forget there lines and attack and eat the aphids. But in general those species of aphid that have relationships with ants must benefit as they have even undergone physical changes which make it easier for the ants to extract the honeydew. An even bigger clue is that ants have been observed carrying aphids to new plants and founding new colonies. Something akin to a farmer putting cows into a new area of pasture. Surely 'give and take' in a natural sense. |
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