Wales Feed

Making butterflies count

2010-07-27T12:30:14+00:00

No, we're not forcing them to use calculators and do our maths homework...

Our colourful little friends are in real trouble with almost half of UK butterflies under threat and 70% of common moths being in serious decline.

Environmental changes and loss of habitat - particularly farmland are thought to be the main contributing factors for their demise.

We've had dozens of stunning butterfly images submitted to our Flickr group this summer and they are a firm favourite amongst wildlife photographers and nature lovers all over Wales.

Welsh naturalist Iolo Williams has joined forces with Butterfly Conservation to raise awareness about dwindling numbers here in Wales.

Iolo recently visited Wynn Gardens at Old Colwyn and urged everyone to get involved to help build up a picture of how the insects are faring across the UK.

A pair of common blues by Dr Murray from our Flickr group:

Sir David Attenborough - the granddaddy of all things natural history has also added his considerable backing to the campaign which runs from 25 July to 1 August.

Over the last hundred years, 4 species of butterfly and over sixty moths have become extinct - gone forever and let's face it - summer would be pretty dull without them.

Visit the Butterfly Conservation website to find out how you can help.

You can download a free butterfly ID chart and log your sightings online. Choose a location and spend fifteen minutes there counting butterflies - it's that simple.

Read a BBC News Online article about the campaign

Watch a video about moths & butterflies on our website.

Gull

A tiger in the garden

2010-07-20T11:04:11+00:00

Julie McKenna from Merseyside sent in some fabulous shots of a garden tiger moth she spotted whilst camping at Trearddur Bay on Anglesey recently:

Learn more about these flying sensations on the RSPB website.

Hummingbird in Porthcawl

2010-07-09T09:50:03+00:00

Recently I was lucky enough to come face to face with my very first hummingbird hawk-moth.

Sat outside in my garden during the summer (remember - it was back in June) I'd already spotted a peregrine and gull duelling, high up in the blue skies above, when something caught my eye, hovering over flowers on the other side of the garden - a bee perhaps?

I instantly thought of the BBC Bee Part of It campaign and I darted inside to grab my camera hoping to get a nice shot to add to our Welsh bee gallery.

But as I approached what I think are red valerian (I'm not good on plant identification!) growing out of an old stone wall, I was surprised to see what can only be described as a hummingbird?!

I've actually seen hummingbird in the flesh - on the edge of a rain forest in Ecuador, just for a fleeting second.

It was incredibly small and fast and could easily have been mistaken for a dragonfly. I literally had time to fire off two shots in sports mode; managing to capture it in one photo as a blur of wings, before it vanished.

This little moth was no different - three shots later and it was gone.

I'd only ever seen photographs of hummingbird hawk moths before and was surprised at how small they were, compared to other hawk moths which can have wingspans of up to 13 cm in some extreme cases such as the oleander hawk-moth.

The moth's body was around 2 cm long and browny/grey in colour with flashes of orange on the wings. It also had a really long black proboscis (tongue) and clearly defined eyes with rings around them.

Apparently they have some sort of memory - returning to the same flower beds each day throughout summer but I've not seen mine since, so I'd questioned that theory.

If you've seen one this year - add your sighting to the butterfly conservation survey. Mine is now registered on there too.

Watch a video of a hummingbird hawk-moth on the BBC Wildlife Finder.

Gull

Down at the allotment

2010-07-08T08:15:31+00:00

A work colleague of mine - Luke Surrey ran into the office this morning shouting about a giant 'bird like' moth he'd found, with a wingspan the size of a small child's head! ;)

He whipped out his latest gadget - a posh new iPhone to reveal photos of a lovely poplar hawk moth that had taken up residence in his house.

Poplar hawk moth alongside a £2 coin for scale. Image by Dawn Surrey:

This moth is actually one of our commonest. Having said that, I don't think I've ever seen one?

I did spot an amazing hummingbird hawk moth in my own garden a couple of weeks ago though - a tiny little thing I mistook for a bee at first.

Hawk moths are so named because of their ability to fly quickly and in some species (hummingbird hawk moth) actually hover like a hawk. There are 17 species of hawk moth found in the UK, nine of which are resident.

Poplar hawk moth by Dawn Surrey:

The poplar hawk moth is a large brown or grey moth with a wingspan of around 6-9cm and is not easily disturbed during the daytime - hence the nice photos.

The hind wings actually stick out in front of the forewings when it's resting because it has no 'frenulum' which is a small hook that normally supports and holds the wings in position.

The caterpillars are green with faint red spots and a yellow diagonal stripe along the sides. At the head is a green horn which occasionally has a red tip. They feed on tree foliage - poplar, aspen and sallow as well as other shrubs.

This particular moth has been relocated and was last seen on a water butt in Luke's allotment so it's caterpillars shouldn't go hungry ;)

Poplar hawk moth - Laothoe Populi on www.ukmoths.org

If you've seen any hawk moths or other colourful species of moth in your house or garden then I'd love to hear from you.

Email your pics to wales.nature@bbc.co.uk and I will feature the best ones in this blog.

You can, as always submit pics to our Flickr group too.

thanks

Gull