Science & Nature communication since 1989
It’s easy enough to use ObsID or similar apps, Google Lens, or whatever you prefer to get a quick identification for the wildlife you photograph. But all apps can fail when there’s ambiguity in a photograph. I’ve had at least one plant photo that one app thought was a harbour seal. Moreover, some apps will … Continue reading "Nature identification"
Three scarce and vulnerable moths of the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire landscape, the Four-spotted (Tyta luctuosa), Marsh Carpet (Gagitodes sagittata), and Silver-barred (Deltote bankiana), illustrate an important principle for nature recovery: it is not enough to provide the right foodplant. We need to restore the habitat system in which that plant naturally belongs. The Four-spotted is ……
Our first butterflies of the year appeared on 23rd February, a Peacock, in our garden. On the 24th, two Brimstone fluttered through. Lots of Brimstone at Wicken Fen on 25th, a solitary European Peacock, and a likely Small Tortoiseshell. I will update this post as and when. Hoping to see an early Orange Tip … Continue reading "Butterflies of 2026"
Every moth-er gradually develops an instinctive eye for what “normal” looks like after handling hundreds, if not thousands, of moths each season. An Elephant Hawk-moth should be about this big. A Silver Y about that big. Most individuals fall comfortably within those expectations. Every so often you find an unusually large or unusually small specimen, … Continue reading "Size of a moth!"
The name Oak Processionary moth has an almost whimsical ring to it, conjuring up an image of tiny insects dutifully marching through the woods in orderly file. The reality is rather less charming. Native to central and southern Europe, Thaumetopoea processionea was once little more than an occasional visitor to Britain, with adult males drifting … Continue reading "Oak Processionary – Moth of the…
My eighth anniversary of garden mothing and an oddity turned up in our Cambridgeshire garden last night. A moth new for the garden (NFG), although that’s not particularly odd, I get a few dozen NFGs every year. But, this one, Dusky-lemon Sallow (Cirrhia gilvago) is reported in Manley’s British Moths and Butterflies as being on … Continue reading "Dusky-lemon Sallow – Moth of the Moment"
UPDATE: It’s 8 years ago today (23rd July) that I first opened a garden moth trap, the jewel box, at my friend Rob’s place, and really caught the bug! It was Mrs Sciencebase spotting a Copper Underwing on a garden wall that made me contact Rob, he having been pestering me to get into mothing … Continue reading "The moths that say Ni! – Moth of the Moment"
UPDATE: I was a bit too previous in putting this short post together this morning, I remembered too late that I’d made the SMW Moth of the Moment a few weeks ago when it first appeared. The Small Mottled Willow, Spodoptera exigua, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. Its larvae are highly … Continue reading "Small Mottled Willow – Moth of the Moment"
A member of our Wild Fen Edge Whatsapp group alerted members to the presence of Wasp Spiders in one of our local nature reserves, specifically on the edge of the small woodland adjacent to Wort’s Meadow in Landbeach, Cambs. It’s 8 years since I last saw a Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi, and that was at … Continue reading "Wasp Spider – Argiope bruennichi"
We have a WhatsApp group for local people to discuss wildlife sightings, get IDs from their photos, and for general discussion and chat about nature. You can join via this invitation link. Everyone’s welcome regardless of location, but discussion is centred on sightings and activities in Cottenham, Rampton & Willingham, Landbeach & Waterbeach, Histon & … Continue reading "The Wild Fen Edge and…