The Large heath butterfly (Coenonympha tullia) used to be a common insect in the peat bogs around Manchester but, when these wet areas were drained (to increase agricultural land) and the peat was cut for fuel, they disappeared. Now, after a local extinction of more than 150 years, an attempt is being made to restore this creature to a site near Salford (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/29/large-heath-butterflies-return-to-manchester-after-150-years). The site has been modified to make it wetter and the mosses and other plants, on which the larvae depend, have been planted. Caterpillars from another UK location have been reared to the pupa stage and these putative butterflies allocated to small, protective 'tents ' on the site. The tents are checked on a regular basis and any insects that have emerged are liberated. It will be interesting to see whether this relatively simple procedure works.
This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Plants We Used to Use 466. Water avens
Leaves (slightly bitter) and roots of Water avens ( Geum rivale ) are both edible. Herbally, this plant's been used for digestive tract...
-
The UK government continue their quest to turn England's rivers back into sewers. They first facilitated the privatised water companies...
-
North Yorkshire's Drax electricity-generating station was an enormous coal-fired plant, later converted to burn 'biomass'. In ...
No comments:
Post a Comment