The BBC reports when the pandemic hit last year, Thomas wanted to find a way to get outdoors and learn more about wildlife. Fast forward a year and the 14-year-old from Hampshire has discovered a love for watching badgers. Thomas observes the animals at his local woodland and has written a self-published book about his discoveries. Now he wants to share his love of wildlife with others.
The Independent reports Chris Packham is on a mission – to energise viewers with such amazement at the natural world, that they fall in love with science, and thereby help put us on track to improving our planet.
Speaking in an interview related to Packham’s currently broadcast series Animal Einsteins he says: “I want people to trust and believe in science so they can make best-informed decisions in every aspect of their lives, and certainly at this point in time, about the future of their lives and their children’s lives when it comes to looking after the planet – climate, biodiversity, overpopulation – all of the ingredients which are leading to our trials and tribulations.”
Species that have been introduced into areas outside their natural range through human actions and that pose a threat to native wildlife, are known as invasive non-native species. Sadly some have made their way to Normandy, affecting our native wildlife. However, you can help, by recognising them and reporting them, and even taking measures to control them. Read these details, from FNW Committee member, Bill Stanworth, on three such species to look out for.
The box-tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) has been recorded for the first time in Normandy at Springhill garden. Adult moths were attracted to a mercury vapour lamp in July 2020 and later in the year larvae were found on its foodplant, box (Buxus sempervirens) growing in the same garden. The moth is a native of the Far East and so its arrival in Europe (in 2006) is thought to have been from imported box plants – ugh.
The first record of the moth in the U.K. was from Kent in 2007 but a year later it was found in Weybridge, Surrey. Since then the moth has been gradually increasing and from distribution maps the moth may have been in our area for a year or so. Papers about the moth and its distribution can be found on the RHS website.
The adult moth, shown below is large and very distinctive. Its markings are variable and even a brown form exists. The stripy green caterpillar is also quite distinctive and is shown resting below on its foodplant. It creates silk strands that tie leaves together forming a lair from which it can feed and retreat into, in times of danger.
You can see from the photos below that even in less than one season they can seriously damage the plant. Feeding signs and frass are shown on the left and serious defoliation on the right. If you see this happening to your box bushes please check with the RHS and other websites for control methods (preferably using the non-pesticide methods).
We urge you to control this species as box is a native plant in southern England and it could have a serious effect on our best-known native boxwood at Box Hill, Surrey and other sites in the county and country. If you see the box-tree moth the RHS would like to know, you can submit your records on their website via their box-tree moth survey.
The second pest to look out for is the Agapanthus gall midge, which was also found in Springhill garden for the first time in 2020. It’s another devastating pest (if you grow Agapanthus in your garden!), a fly this time, that lays its eggs on the young Agapanthus flower buds. The tiny, creamy-yellow larvae develop and cause the flower bud to become distorted, go brownish and most fail to open. A photograph of the affected buds (here detached from the plants) is shown below.
According to the RHS the midge causing this was new to science and only discovered in 2014, this time at Wisley but it is probably a native of southern Africa, home of the plants. Control methods are given on the RHS website. Agapanthus flowers are popular with some native pollinators; an example shown here is probably a melanistic garden bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) from Springhill garden. This one spent a lot of time on this white flowered variety! Sadly many Agapanthus flowers at Springhill were ruined this year.
The RHS are asking for help from gardeners who have seen agapanthus gall midge or damaged flowers and request you send photos of symptoms on the flowers and buds, plus opened buds showing larvae where possible, to entomology@rhs.org.uk on their website.
Another invader and potential pest is the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar). The male shown below was attracted to a mercury vapour lamp at Springhill garden on 7 August 2020. On mainland Europe the moth can be a serious pest, stripping broadleaved trees (particularly apple, plum and willows; oaks and poplars in forests) and bushes.
Look out for patches of eggs covered with yellow/brown hairs on trunks and walls over winter or for large dark grey/black hairy caterpillers with reddish spots from April to June/July. Apparently the hairs don’t cause irritation of the skin unlike the oak processionary moth. The RHS website says ‘whilst a single defoliation from this caterpillar even early in the season, should not affect the vigour of a host plant, repeated defoliations can have an adverse effect’ and advice is given with regards control. They also very sensibly say ‘where possible tolerate populations of caterpillars’.
This moth (not mentioned/recorded in ‘The Larger Moths of Surrey’ [Graham A. Collins] published by SWT in 1997) was a former resident in the East Anglian fens but it lived on bog-myrtle and creeping willow and so wasn’t considered a pest. The European strain was accidentally introduced and has spread rapidly in the London area. Hopefully, as the large bodied females are mostly flightless, we won’t be troubled for a while.
There is no statutory requirement to notify sightings of gypsy moth to the plant health authorities but you can report serious damage to the government’s ‘Forest Research’ website: TreeAlert (their on-line pest reporting tool).
2018 saw the first arrival of the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) to Normandy (see our previous article). No moths were seen in Normandy in 2019 as far as we know but you may have seen that the Forestry Commission have erected posters warning the public to be alert for them and report them when seen. In addition at least one team has been seen on Normandy Common searching for evidence of their presence. This year three males were attracted to the mercury vapour lamp at Springhill so please stay vigilant.
This one may be global, but we HAD to share these beautiful photos with you! Remember to also check out our own Lockdown Photo Gallery, and we’re accepting more photos at fnwildlife@gmail.com.
The Atlantic reports the submissions to this year’s World Nature Photography Awards have been judged, and the winning images and photographers have just been announced. Thomas Vijayan was the Grand Prize winner, with his image of an orangutan climbing a tree. The contest organizers have shared with us some of the winning images, shown below, from their 13 categories.
The Telegraph and iNEWS report mutant grey squirrels, genetically modified to spread infertility genes, could be released into the wild to tackle the burgeoning population, the University of Edinburgh has said.
North American grey squirrels were imported to Britain in the mid-19th century by landowners, and their population has now grown to more than two million. Not only do they out-compete the native red squirrel, they also strip trees of their bark, causing a threat to woodlands, as well as preying on eggs and chicks.
The BBC and Independent report more than 50 wildlife experts, politicians and celebrities have signed a letter to Boris Johnson demanding tougher action on nature loss. The UK prime minister’s father, Stanley, is among signatories calling on the UK to become the first country to set legally binding targets for nature recovery.
The government has pledged to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. The letter calls for this ambition to be enshrined in law.
The Guardian and iNEWS report moths in Britain have declined in abundance by a third over the past 50 years, according to a study. The declines of 39% in the abundance (relative representation in an ecosystem) of larger moth species over southern Britain and a 22% fall across northern Britain add to the picture of calamitous declines in flying insects in the industrialised world.
Among the most rapidly declining of Britain’s 900 larger moth species are the stout dart (-81% over an average 10-year period), the golden plusia (-58%) and the garden dart (-54%).
The Guardian reports for many of us across the UK it has felt like another wet winter; yet again homes have flooded and politicians are under pressure to improve flood protection. Engineering our rivers and building defences might bring reassurance, but recent research shows that doing nothing is often more effective at reducing flooding.
The Guardian reports a “rewilding” of arable fields by HS2 will create 127 hectares (314 acres) of wood pasture, wetlands and flower-rich grassland using chalk taken from tunnelling under the Chilterns.
The new wildlife haven will be founded upon all 3m tonnes of chalk that are to be excavated from the high-speed railway’s 10-mile Chilterns tunnel, with construction starting in May.
iNews reports once a staple of a 1970s garden, the pampas grass has burst back into fashion as a favourite of the Instagram generation. The plant’s dried fronds have made a comeback as the ultimate interiors accessory, with fans even resorting to stealing it from coastal beaches to get their style fix. But although pampas grass might be a trendy alternative to a vase of fresh flowers, it is no substitute for native grasses on UK coastal dunes, experts warned this week.