There was some nice springtime photography near the start of the programme but as you say, Susie, the series is primarily about making the wood pay for its upkeep; the wildlife attracted by the new environment, although nice to have, is almost a side-effect. I couldn't stifle a wry smile when he men...

Yes, Susie, I agree that episode two was also very watchable. I didn't think that this week's was quite so good; the tree-felling 'expert' possibly wasn't quite as skilled at his job as the horse was at his. Next week's programme is centred around the arrival of spring. so it could be interesting. T...

No problem, Susie; I'm also very glad I watched it. Both times. :) The state of the wood seemed similar to many near me - completely neglected, overgrown, dark and virtually useless from a wildlife perspective. It'll be interesting to see how much it changes by episode 6. I've since found some more ...

This six-part series, although not butterfly-specific, looks like it might be of interest from a habitat restoration standpoint. The BBC website says: "Writer and woodsman Rob Penn begins a year-long project to bring an abandoned woodland, Strawberry Cottage Wood, back to life". In episode...

On this afternoon's Gardeners' World , when answering a question about a lichen-covered Salix, Bob Flowerdew said: "We didn't realise it till recently, but actually the lichens are quite a valuable food source for the caterpillars of some of our rarer butterflies". I knew that some moth la...

Mildheart wrote:But not the one you were expecting, right?

No, but it makes a change ...

Goldie M wrote:I've been told of floating triangles before but was'nt too sure what it meant.

The floating chevrons and other differences are described and illustrated in the 'Similar Species' section of the (S)P-bF species pages (e.g. here), which have existed for as long as I can remember.

Paul

Good luck with your search - I think you've already done remarkably well in managing to follow him thus far.
Whether you're successful or not in tracking down the chrysalis this has already been an extremely interesting account of Aurelian's life story. Let's hope it has a happy ending.

Paul

The transit of Venus was the subject of an interesting Radio 4 programme last night, as part of their Frontiers series.

It's available online here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j5nx1

Paul

nfreem wrote:Also spotted in other parts of the garden were this pair of bugs,
<image>
Pair of Bugs?? - back garden

Yes, they're bugs all right - I believe they're Hawthorn Shieldbugs, Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale, the largest species we have.

Paul

Lee Hurrell wrote:Drizzled Skipper - very good

'Fraid I'm not taking any credit or blame for that one; it was unintentional humour from the lips of an ignorant interviewer.

But I may as well mention Orainge Tip, Grimstone, Greyling and Lack-of-rained White.

Paul

This morning's Today programme on Radio 4 included an interview with Dr. Marc Botham from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology about the 'comeback of rare butterflies'. The interview is available online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b01g65gl starting at 2:47:40. I'm off to look for some...

Many will recognise the gate to this little gem of a site but for those don't, try an inspired guess. Please keep mum if you are familiar - let the others guess. It looks a little like an HMWT site in west Herts which I've visited a few times, but not enough like it to tempt me to guess that it's i...

So has there been much rain over the last week or so in the south east? Not much to speak of here in Hertfordshire (if that's considered the south-east). The weekend forecasts had been favourable in that they predicted substantial rain overnight Monday/Tuesday, but I don't think it materialised. Mo...

padfield wrote:I've been in England for a week now, returning to Switzerland tomorrow, and have seen exactly three butterflies!

I bet you can't wait to board the plane. Can't say I blame you.

Paul

jackz432r wrote:Does anybody know what they are?

I'm pretty sure these are Brown-tail moth larvae. They're (in)famous for occurring in large numbers and are considered a pest by local authorities.

Paul

EDIT: Here's confirmation: http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2747

By Thursday 23rd February, much of the southernmost parts of the UK could be basking in temperatures of 16C, with 18 and 19 not ruled out. What's more, with the sun out there could be isolated microclimates that could climb higher still. I fully expect the coming week's predicted temperatures to be...

Might L-G be ill perhaps? If that is so, then he would have my sympathy and I would take back this and earlier comments I have made. Don't hold your breath; his ailment is chronic. Here 's an April 2010 Grauniad article about his outpourings and another , from politicalscrapbook.net in June 2010, t...

If I were on Twitter I'd certainly let Chris Packham know about it. (His website gives contact details only for his management company, so messages sent there might not reach him for a while, if at all.) He may already have been deluged with tweets, texts and emails, but one more wouldn't hurt. Paul

A few things about B, B & B annoyed me, as much on TV does these days. But on balance I thought the programme wasn't bad. I'd never heard of Ms Raven before so I did some research. It transpires that she has a substantial business and website, selling a range of related merchandise and running e...