“The importance of urban nature has never been greater. During the last year and a half of the epidemic, city dwellers all across the world have sought out and loved urban nature more than ever… Now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to green space design and protection.” —Toronto Mayor John Tory, in a […]
Tag: butterfly
Butterflies
Mountain Marsh Runners aka Broad-billed Sandpipers have started passing through South East Norway the last couple of days. There are only a handful of sites with annual records of this scarce species and one of them is Årnestangen. So, I set off on the long walk with high hopes this morning. My hopes gradually became […]
Noar Hill National Nature Reserve, Selbourne
After a breeding bird survey near to Havant I headed to Noar Hill National Nature Reserve to see if I could connect with Duke of Burgundy. This 20 hectare reserve was was formerly a medieval chalk working is owned and managed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT). The reserve consists of a […]
Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. […]
Butterfly Dream
“Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then […]
Small copper butterfly in ‘inexorable decline
A tiny but unmistakably dazzling butterfly, the small copper, suffered its worst ever year last summer according to the annual scientific survey of Britain’s butterflies. The bright ginger butterfly joins a growing band of once-common butterflies in apparently inexorable decline despite no discernible habitat loss in recent years and conservationists are warning that climate change […]
A Butterfly Break
Tired of grey February skies? Here’s a nice butterfly from warmer and brighter times last year. It’s an American Lady, Vanessa virginiensis. Its upper side is black and orange with white spots and a touch of purple in some of the spots on the hind wing.
The Orange tip butterfly
Anthocharis cardamines – Males differ from females by the orange-tip on the fore-wings, hence their vernacular name. Their host plant is the Cuckoo flower, but adult butterflies feed on other crucifer flowers. It is I think one of the prettiest pieridae! Le plus joli des piéridés à mon avis! Si les ailes antérieures se distinguent […]