Difficult to say, Felix. It could crop up anywhere, but will never crop up in colonies where the gene responsible is not present, unless of course the gene is introduced by a vagrant butterfly from another population. It is always worth looking again in populations where the aberration has been obse...

"Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run Run Run, Here comes that Felix with his Gun, Gun, Gun" Absolutely, rabbit is delicious. Beats buying some crappy meat from the supermarket, produced through some intensive method whereby the animal lived most of it's miserable life in agony. Enjoy your meal, J...

Hi Mr T. This brown argus... Looks like ab. pallida , the lunules are creamy yellow rather than orange. That's a very nice find. Did you notice the burnet moth larva diving for cover in this one ? I am unable to critique your pictures Felix, as I am not a photographer, but they certainly make me imp...

Rabbits are a massive problem for farmers and land owners, they can also be a huge problem on SSSI's as well, not to mention ancient monuments etc etc. Rabbits are a significant and serious pest species, they are not 'cute Easter bunnies'. I hardly think the laws are out dated, after all the rabbit ...

Bit of a Catch-22 potentially for the land owner Jack, If rabbits are present the land owner is legally obliged under the Agriculture Act 1947 to control or eradicate them and can be served notice under the Pests Act 1954 to force him or her to action. If he or she fails to act then they could face ...

..but it does show a growing understanding that, as a minority-party in coalition, whilst it may feel it has a carte-blanche to unravel all the ideological issues it has with the running of our society now it is in government, it does not have any popular support for many of its proposals. So, I wo...

If you watch this Newsnight clip Susie it we appear that it would be futile to bother..!

Life without electricity

Felix.

That, and being about 500 miles too far South..

Caroline Spelman has now gone further, announcing that the government "got it wrong" and has apologised... :shock: In what amounts to more than a u-turn, closer actually to a complete reversal of policy and thinking, the environment secretary has announced that a new panel of experts will ...

Interesting links for some perhaps...

Sun unleashes huge solar flare towards Earth

Aurora Borealis to light up the night sky

Felix.

Agreed! It is just the start of what will be a long wriggle by the government to get their own way You old cynic! ...and I have seen no evidence to suggest that this statement is anywhere near accurate, quite the reverse in fact... I actually believe that they have backed down under the weight of p...

Jack Harrison wrote:

Yesterday a very kind gentleman that I don't know left a CD of his butterfly photographs at work for me

That's a new one. I used to offer to show my etchings.

Jack

Any success Jack..?

Can I ask what a 'lister' is? Is it someone who leans to one side?

Getting permission to remove any fauna or flora from a SSSI, isn't as straight foreword as one might think. The land owner has to be granted permission from NE, before they can hand it on to you. There was a collective oops at one conservation HQ when they discovered this. :shock: ...and there's ye...

Does the Natural History Museum still collect? do we condone them? Of course Chris, the BMNH has a working collection , well many working collections in fact, and are still acquiring voucher specimens all the time for research, as are other such important institutions such as the National Museum of...

I use an aerial net frequently, for diptera and hymenoptera. It is an essential tool when you're sampling or recording fast flying insects that may be only a few millimetres in body length. A sweep net is also a valuable tool, although I would be surprised if anyone mistook such a robust bit of kit ...

This bloke's a complete @rse! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA7QFfnMYPc Monarch butterflies harbour compounds known as cardenolides which originate from the larval food plant ingested by the larvae and subsequently stored within the insect's bodies. The cardenolide provides an effective defence ag...

For those who have been following this thread, both through valuable contribution and by voyeuristic spectator-sport, Gillian (_astralis) and I have made our peace, and I have apologised without reserve for my abrasive, aggressive and somewhat bullish approach to her initial post in this this discus...

Why is it always this humble bit of equipment that allegedly gives people offence? Because it is the primary tool used by collectors in the field. The fact remains Pete that it is somewhat prejudicial to jump to the conclusion that the sight of a net equates to the presence of a butterfly collector...

Gillian.

I have sent you a PM. This needs to be taken off-line.

Felix.