Blog - caterpillars

Climate change changes phenologies.

Climate change changes phenologies.

by Chris, 26 December, 2019, 0 comments

Phenology is about observing natural events and recording when things happen. For example, when ash or horse chestnut trees come into leaf, when the first swifts are sighted or bumblebees emerge from their nests. These timings vary from year to year. By recording such events over many years, it is possible to look for trends and see if they are associated with changes in the weather or other phenomena. Climate change has resulted in significant changes in summer and winter temperatures, and rainfall patterns. For example, April, May and June of 2018 were all very warm, each being at least 1.9°C above average [that is the 30 year average for 1961–90]; June was the third warmest June for the UK since 1910. Read more...

box moth

The Box Moth – food, sex and death

by Angus, 24 October, 2018, 2 comments

The box moth has recently been ravaging the box hedges of Britain. Box hedges are like jam sandwiches to these hungry caterpillars and they are making gardens and woodlands unsightly and in some places they are putting at risk the survival of traditional hedging. Surprising as it may seem, there is an organisation dedicated to promoting boxwood - the European Boxwood and Topiary Society which celebrates and protects ornamental gardens across Europe. Box Moths (Cydalima perspectalis) come in two forms - the common variant and the darker melanic variant. Like most animals, their main activities are eating and sex. The eating is mainly done by the caterpillars which eat the box leaves and create a trail of cobwebs and leaf pellets - part of an affected box bush is shown below :- Read more...

wasp

Why wasps ?

by Lewis, 28 January, 2018, 1 comments

Generally speaking, honey bees and bumblebees have a "good press", wasps do not. Bees are associated with honey and the pollination of flowers and fruit trees. Wasps are often associated with being stung and with disrupting our meals when dining "al fresco". Why is it that wasps want to invade our space and our meals? Wasps, like bees, like sugary things (e.g. nectar). During the Spring and Summer, wasps can obtain sugars from the larvae that they are rearing back in their nest. The worker wasps hunt for insects in our gardens amongst the flowers and vegetables, and take back their prey to the nest. The prey is then fed to the larvae - which need a protein-rich diet in order to grow. In return, the larvae secrete (from their salivary glands) a sugar-rich fluid and the adults feed upon this. Read more...

Box shrub

Trouble in the garden

by Lewis, 23 April, 2017, 0 comments

Topiary is often on display in our parks and gardens, and many of the stately homes managed by the National trust have exceptional displays. One species that is a great favourite for topiary is Box (Buxus sempervirens). Box has small green leaves and a dense growth habit; it is hardy and poisonous (contains an alkaloid - buxine, which causes respiratory paralysis).. It was once planted close to houses (according to folklore) to deter witches entering. It was used extensively in formal gardens since Tudor times. However, Box is now under threat from pathogens that result in Box Blight, and also the caterpillar of the Box tree Moth from Asia. Read more...

Bud burst and street lights.

Bud burst and street lights.

by Lewis, 24 August, 2016, 2 comments

Street lighting may make our roads and homes safer places, but it also contributes to light pollution. The bright lights of towns and cities make it difficult for us to see the stars and constellations in the night skies. In places, the ‘warm yellow’ glow of street lights is being replaced with the white light of LEDs, the benefits of LED lights include energy savings plus an increased life time as compared to conventional lights. However, when compared to older street lamps they emit more blue light increases. Some think that this blue light can suppress the production of melatonin ; this is involved in the regulation of our circadian rhythms - particularly our sleep patterns. Read more...

Counting butterflies

Counting butterflies

by Lewis, 20 July, 2016, 2 comments

The British have always been inclined to talk about the weather “it's been too hot, too cold, been raining for days etc”. However, there is now some justification for discussing the weather as recent years have seen the number of extreme weather events increasing and there have been significant changes in the ‘pattern of the weather”. Though not extreme, the weather this Spring and early Summer has been been disappointing. Sleet and snow fell in late April, and there were a number of sharp frosts. The April temperature was 6.5o C, 0.9o C below the 20 year long term average. Most regions were colder and wetter. This pattern continued into June. This sort of weather, when coupled with last year’s rather cold , wet summer has significant effects on both insect and bird populations. Read more...

Poor pollination and pesticides

Poor pollination and pesticides

by Chris, 3 April, 2016, 3 comments

Dr Dara Stanley of New Holloway, University of London has been looking at the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on the ‘efficiency’ of bumblebee pollination of apples. Several studies have already implicated these pesticides in the decline of foraging behaviour of bees / bumblebees. As some 30% of agricultural crops depend on pollination by bees and bumblebees, hover flies and other arthropods (with an estimated global value in excess of $350 billion / year) then the effects of these pesticides needs to be evaluated, so that informed debate on the banning or restriction of their use can take place. Dr Stanley and associates exposed some bumblebees to ‘low’ levels of neonicotinoids (such as might be found in wild flowers), others were exposed to no pesticide. Read more...

Monitoring and improving the health of our trees

Monitoring and improving the health of our trees

by Chris, 1 October, 2015, 2 comments

Our trees, woodlands and forests are facing a variety of challenges to their well being, ranging from the changing (and rather variable) nature of our climate (extreme events), habitat fragmentation, the introduction of non-native species (sycamore, turkey oak) and ‘new’ pathogens and pests (some airborne, some travelling on imported plants). Fortunately, there are also a number of people and organisations who are working on ways to address these challenges. At the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dr Stephen Cavers, is the leader of the PROTREE project . Using the Scots Pine as a “representative” of our native tree species, it will look at the following threats / pathogens :- Read more...

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