Tag Archives: insects

Helping wildlife, News

‘Bee saviour’ sugar cards could save starving insects

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The Guardian reports if you’ve ever felt a pang of pity for a starving bee struggling on the pavement in front of you, then help may soon be at hand. Or more precisely, in your wallet.

A community development worker has invented a credit card-style reviver for bees containing three sachets of sugar solution, which can be placed beside the insect to feed it.

Dan Harris, 40, is now crowdfunding to produce the “Bee Saviour” cards after the success of his prototype, with community groups and businesses in his local city of Norwich, including the Book Hive bookshop and a local pub, pledging to stock the £4 bee revivers.

Each card contains three indentations containing a beekeepers’ formula, secured by foil-backed stickers which can be peeled off.

Photo by Jim Smart under creative commons.

Spotting wildlife

Help with Bee fly Watch 2019

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The arrival of spring means the return of bee flies . And that means Bee fly Watch 2019 has begun!

Above is the dark-edged bee fly, photographed in Normandy a couple of weeks ago.

You can help these fascinating furry flies by taking part in this survey.  Found out how to get involved on this page on the Dipterists Forum.

They will be on the wing through to June. You can see them often hovering over flowers and using their long proboscis to feed on nectar.

And please remember to let us know of any interesting sightings you have in Normandy as well.

Helping wildlife

People’s Walk for Wildlife – please join!

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Everybody who cares about wildlife will be gathering in central London on 22nd September 2018 for the first People’s Walk for Wildlife.  And we know you care about wildlife because your reading this, so please join us there.

Watch this short video for one of the most passionate and yet down to earth explanations of why we have to wake up to what is happening to British wildlife and act. Chris Packham says of our wildlife population’s downward trends “those statistics about those declines become normalised. Like it’s just another part of the conversation”.

He continues “We’re in trouble, we’re in big trouble…… It’s time for us to act. I think it’s time for us to stand up and be counted, and to ask, politely, for things to be fixed”.

Please join this polite, passive walk (it’s not a demonstration or rally) and show your concern for what is happening to our wildlife – whether your interest is for birds, hedgehogs, dragonflies, ferns, trees, fungi or any other of the diverse, beautiful and essential plants and animals that keep our environment healthy.

 If your interested in going and want to travel by train with other members of FNW please let me know so we can co-ordinate travel arrangements or arrange to meet in London.

10am: Gather – Reformers Tree, Hyde Park, London
12 noon: Infotainment
1pm: Walk
2pm: Finish – Richmond Terrace

News

Bumblebees thrive in towns more than countryside 

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The Guardian writes on new research revealing the differences between urban and rural bumblebees.

“Urban bumblebees have better access to food, allowing them to produce more offspring. Bumblebees are important pollinators, but face threats including habitat loss, climate change, pesticide and fungicide use and parasites.

Now researchers say that bumblebee colonies in urban areas not only produce more offspring than those on agricultural land, but have more food stores, fewer invasions from parasitic “cuckoo” bumblebees, and survive for longer.”

[Photo by Jice75 under creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/]

News

Declines in British wildlife

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Sadly, recent reports show that British mammals and butterflies are under decline.

The Mammal Society and Natural England reported that almost one in five of British mammal species face a high risk of extinction. This was the first comprehensive review of their populations for more than 20 years.  The reasons for decline include climate change, loss of habitat, use of pesticides and road deaths.

The red squirrel, wildcat and the grey long-eared bat are all listed as facing severe threats to their survival.

The review also found other mammals such as the hedgehog and water vole [Photo above by Nick Ford under creative commons
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode] have seen their populations decline by up to 66% over the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, a story in The Times tells how Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) believes a lack of management has caused butterflies to decline. Since 1990 butterfly numbers have fallen by 27 per cent on farmland and by 58 per cent in woods.

Small tortoiseshell

Farmland species in long-term decline include the gatekeeper, large skipper and small tortoiseshell. While the brown argus, common blue, peacock and purple hairstreak in woodlands have also declined.

 

Helping wildlife

It’s National Insect Week – count bees to help protect pollinators

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It’s National Insect Week! You can celebrate the wonder of insects and take part in the Great British Bee Count.

Set up by Friends of the Earth, and supported by Buglife, this count has run since 17 May and will continue until 30 June.  Download the app to make a note and report any bumblebees and solitary bees you see. It has a handy guide for identification as well as advise on how to create habitats for pollinators.

[Photo by Rob Gallop under creative commons
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode]

 

News

British butterflies suffered seventh worst year on record

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2017 was the seventh worst year for butterflies in Britain since records began more than 40 years ago.  Grayling and grizzled skippers had their worst year on record.

Habitat loss has caused the long-term falls in butterfly populations. However, scientists say the recent dramatic declines are due to climate change, pesticides such as neonicotinoids and nitrogen pollution.

Grizzled skipper numbers have more than halved since the 1970s while the grayling’s population has shrunk by 63% in the last decade. The large white – once so common it was a pest – fell by 19% in 2017.

Read The Guardian’s story for more information.