Note: The INDEX is with Rocky Mountains, USA. You will have a list of nearly 90 posts about wildlife. Information free of adverts. Photographs by John Solomon, 2020. Dragonflies are aquatic during their immature stages. Locally, they live in fairly still freshwater. The immatures, like the adults, are fiercely carnivorous and in garden ponds canContinue reading “The Natural World in Photographs – 4, Dragonflies.”
Category Archives: Invertebrates
The Natural World in Photographs – 3
Images by John Solomon NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index. The legs bear many spiky hairs, seen beautifully in this image. The venation of the wings shows clearly here, as does the metallic colour that seems to occur across all the odonata. A leopard ofContinue reading “The Natural World in Photographs – 3”
The Natural World in Photographs – 2
NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index. John Solomon’s images from 2020. We can all look at a damselfly and say to ourselves, “Sure, it is only another damselfly.” Today, you have the chance to take a second look at these British species, and to enjoyContinue reading “The Natural World in Photographs – 2”
The Natural World in Photographs
The odonata John Solomon Sometimes it is just lovely to see the organism in all its glory … not long now until the UK’s wildlife opens up again! NOTE: over 90 articles available, free of adverts. See: nwhwildlife.org – Rocky Mountains, USA and Index.
Here be DRAGONS and DAMSELS! A major article.
A major article by John Solomon, August 2020 A guide to the ODONATA of the ANDOVER region. Introduction Odonata is the Latin term for the insects more commonly known as Damselflies and Dragonflies. While superficially very similar they do differ in several ways. Firstly, Dragonflies are larger than Damselflies and when they rest they alwaysContinue reading “Here be DRAGONS and DAMSELS! A major article.”
Children
Freshwater wildlife July 18th 2020 David Beeson As much as many of us enjoy seeing and recording wildlife we need to engage others – especially young people. Big Butterfly Count and RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch are following that approach although the oldies tend to dominate. I do not believe the results are taken really seriouslyContinue reading “Children”
What do your insects eat?
A photo-essay 17th June 2020 David Beeson As you know Forest Edge aims to be an eco-friendly garden. It has a range of habitats that change through the year. It has a native and non-native flora. But, who eats what? Great project here for children? Our butterflies today are small, large and green-veined whites, redContinue reading “What do your insects eat?”
You Should Read This! Ticks.
Ticks – what every wildlife enthusiast should know David Beeson If you wander the byways and grasslands almost anywhere in the world you will soon encounter one of these arachnids. Eight-legged little delights! Relatives of the spiders. They are common locally but I’m unaware of Lyme Disease here. There are over twenty different species ofContinue reading “You Should Read This! Ticks.”
Longparish on the River Test
Longparish Mill or the Hunt for a Golden Bloomed Longhorn Beetle John Solomon What am I doing here? There is a blustery breeze and nobody would describe it as warm, perhaps 19C but not over 20C. I didn’t get rained on driving out but some of the heavier clouds threaten to spit on me beforeContinue reading “Longparish on the River Test”
Damsels
Chilbolton Common, June 25 John Solomon Thursday, mid-afternoon, and the summer has returned with a vengeance. The degrees “C” begin with a three and it is heavy and humid with not a hint of a trace that this sky ever saw a cloud. I pass the Mayfly on my right, West Down sweeps up toContinue reading “Damsels”
Insects
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2020/jun/10/spiky-hairy-shiny-la-abuzz-with-new-insect-discoveries-in-pictures-aoe Just a link to a UK Guardian photo article.
Slow-worms and the Moths of Harewood Forest
Legless lizards in your garden David Beeson June 2020 Life is amazing. From the Covid-19 virus (merely a stand of genetic material in a coat), through bacteria that can feed off plastic, to the tonnes of a massive whale or giant redwood, the diversity of life on our blue planet is mind-blowing. New forms ofContinue reading “Slow-worms and the Moths of Harewood Forest”
A Secret Pond – Damselfly Hunt
Secret Pond John Solomon 4th June 2020 While David was sampling the historic and exotic delights of Salisbury Plain I was off hunting a puddle. I get all the best gigs, but bear with me! I was on the trail of a conundrum. Rooksbury Lake is one of the most productive sites locally for DamselfliesContinue reading “A Secret Pond – Damselfly Hunt”
A Wet Meadow
Not a water meadow, just a wet meadow. (But, I’ll attach the Water Meadow article at the end) This John’s SECRET MEADOW. The River Test is one of the most beautiful lowland rivers in the world. It is not pristine because it does have fertilizer run-off and the cleaned effluent from sewerage works added. ButContinue reading “A Wet Meadow”
Ladies, you probably will not believe me, but being a male can be hard work.
A Common Blue butterfly David Beeson May 26th … still in isolation from Covid-19. We are familiar with male elephants or giant North-American buffalo fighting to hold prime mating territory. Birds are singing to proclaim both fitness and territory – all to lure the female of the species into their lair. Or is it theContinue reading “Ladies, you probably will not believe me, but being a male can be hard work.”
Of Dukes and Men
John Solomon Harewood Forest, 2 May 2020. A butterfly exploration. I make no apologies for this probably being the shortest blog I’ll ever post. Ileft the house around three o’clock with one target species in mind, driving uppast Walworth Industrial Estate and taking the B3400 towards Whitchurch.Here, driving past the Arbory rest home on theContinue reading “Of Dukes and Men”
Odonata 1
Rooksbury Mill LNR, Andover. Damselfly Exploration, early June. John Solomon Rooksbury Mill Local Nature Reserve is situated south of Andover town centre and adjacent to Watermills Park. It has two lakes which are fed by the River Anton and were created soon after World War II through gravel extraction. The site now encompasses a rangeContinue reading “Odonata 1”
Odonata 2
Rooksbury in August John Solomon August is the month of the Hawkers, the larger insects everyone thinks of when we talk about “Dragonflies”. Around Andover we have five species and all are found, in varying numbers, around all three of our local lakes. Some have emerged earlier in the Summer but, at this time ofContinue reading “Odonata 2”
Holly leaf-miner
The holly and the Ivy. Wildlife to search out in the winter months. David Beeson Flower arrangers often seek out the evergreen leaves of holly and ivy for their mid-winter displays. Yet, I suggest they look especially closely at the holly leaves they select … for many of them are less than perfect. The leavesContinue reading “Holly leaf-miner”
Butterflies and chalk flora
Figsbury Ring, National Trust Adonis blue butterflies and chalkland flora. Early June. David Beeson Figsbury Ring is a Neolithic and Iron Age archaeological site near Salisbury. It lies to the north of the A30 and reached along a narrow and bumpy chalk track. As the area is elevated it is prone to being windy, soContinue reading “Butterflies and chalk flora”
Wildlife and Ecology, the Wildlife Encyclopaedia 