jackz432r wrote:I also found a plant I can not recall having seen before. I thought it might be Yellow Rattle, but after checking it looks different and also too early I think. Can anyone give me an id for it

It's Yellow Archangel, Lamium galeobdolon.

Paul

Back home I checked on the White Admiral larvae, and they've all changed into the penultimate 4th instar, leaving behind the relatively-drab appearance of the 3rd instar in which they overwintered. ... They're all about 1cm long, but all looking very healthy. You've re-inspired me to get back out a...

Mark Colvin wrote:An early start ...

Yikes! It certainly was.

I've never been on-site before 7am, nor taken an Orange-tip photo approaching the quality of yours. There may well be a connection.

Wonderful stuff.

Paul

On a more mundane note, I've managed to eject 20 slugs each night from my garden. Now a friend of mine did tell me that they "home", and I'm beginning to wonder whether he was pulling my leg after all.... He may well not have been. Radio 4's Material World programme ran an experiment a fe...

Guy: I have to admit that the passage you quoted confused me somewhat. Terms like 'twigs' and 'branches' didn't really seem in keeping with the honeysuckle I'm familiar with, but I didn't like to say so. As far as humidity is concerned, no streams flow through my wood although it does boast a fair f...

Does anyone have any experience in searching for White Admiral larvae at this time of year? Last summer I tried my hand at searching for eggs at a Hertfordshire hotspot, using as a guide the excellent Field Craft Lesson 1 document produced by Warwickshire Butterflies. Although I'd seen encouraging n...

It looks like a Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) to me.
See the key at http://home.hccnet.nl/mp.van.veen/bombyliidae/

You're lucky to have them in your garden.

Paul

Trouble is, if it's butterfly enthusiasts vs. dog owners then the latter will always win given their massive numerical advantage. There are probably no more than 50,000 dedicated butterfly aficionados in the UK, whereas there are probably 10 times as many dog owners who genuinely believe it's their...

Regarding dog fouling, I was about to suggest that someone might like to investigate starting an e-petition. But a search of the relevant site returned details of a few which already exist. All have negligible support and stand little chance of attracting the required 100,000 signatories, but this o...

Rob Penn and Jo Binns, the owner of the wood featured in the series, appeared in an item on this evening's Countryfile . There was no mention of the name of the wood in which they were shown working (nor any reference to Tales From the Wild Wood ) but I wouldn't mind betting it was the same one. Paul

I visited Broxbourne Woods (Herts) on 17th July, and found large numbers of Ringlets alongside the footpath by Highfield Wood. This one was resting in fairly deep shade, and seemed completely unconcerned by my presence. I thought I'd try an underside shot, lit with a touch of fill-in flash. This is ...

This individual was flapping about along the Icknield Way near Telegraph Hill in Herts on 26th June. I felt quite sorry for it but despite a missing hindwing and only a partial forewing, it was able to fly surprisingly well.

Paul

... I can't help thinking the BBCs photographers would have got better film. ... and the producer would have found a narrator capable pf pronouncing the word 'monarch' correctly. Aargh! Still, the programme held my attention for longer than last week's film about metamorphosis, which spent much les...

padfield wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... -2013.html

A quote from the page referenced above: "... vulnerable species are among the worst to be effected ..."

<sigh>

Paul

Really interesting listen this, thanks for the tip off Paul. Glad to be of service. I sincerely hope we're not the only ones to have listened to it. :( On a similar subject, last week's Costing The Earth discussed not just Chalara fraxinea but other diseases which may be arriving from various parts...

A thoroughly excellent programme too. Well worth a listen. It was indeed, and for those who'd rather not wait for Thursday's repeat it's already available online for at least a year, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p70p4 And it won't be a surprise to anyone that you were mentioned (by your sh...

Oh, sounds good! It is a place I am really interested in so shall enjoy listening. Thanks. :D When I spotted this programme in the listings I immediately thought of the Sussex Gang. Saving Species is normally quite good so I hope this episode is worth listening to. [Pity I got the title wrong, thou...

Tuesday 11/12/12 at 11am Of particular interest to those down south: "Brett Westwood travels to Sussex to Knepp Castle Estate to find out how landowner Charlie Burrell is managing his land in a wilder way. Once a traditional arable and dairy farm, for the last 11 years the estate has been resto...

This programme's not specifically butterfly-related, but I expect many inhabitants of this forum will find it interesting nonetheless. Scheduled for Wednesday 12/12/12 at 11am, the synopsis (including a comma splice) is as follows: "With 80 million Ash trees in the country under threat, can any...

So that was summer. I thought tonight's programme was very similar to last week's, being more about commerce than forestry. At least the charcoal-making process was interesting. At £4 per bag it sounded quite profitable, though if no buyer could be found closer to the Black Mountains than Oxford, a ...