What's In a Critter's Name? 194. Cuttlefish

This cephalopod's name is derived from the Old English 'cudele'. It may be linked to the Old Norse 'koddi' (cushion) and the Middle Low German 'kudel' (rag).

What's In a Critter's Name? 193. Winkle

Winkle is derived from the Middle English 'wykles', meaning 'small creatures'.

What's In a Critter's Name? 192. Limpet

Limpet is from the Middle English 'lempet'. Ultimately this name is, perhaps, from 'lambo' (I lick) and 'petra' (rock).

Seeing the Changes 2057

More Natural History at Crymlyn Burrows. Hairy St John's wort (Hypericum hirsutum); Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia) and Moon carrot (Seseli libanotis) in bloom. Meanwhile, a digger wasp (Nysson spinosus?) sunned itself.

What's In a Critter's Name? 191. Angelwing

This alternative name for the rock-boring piddock, is simply down to the shape of its delicate, white, bivalve shell.

What's In a Critter's Name? 190. Squid

This cephalopod's name is thought to be a sailor's variant of 'squirt', referring to the animal's tendency to eject ink.

What's In a Critter's Name? 189. Scallop

This bivalve's name comes from the Old French 'escalope', meaning 'shell'. Couldn't be more simple!

What's In a Critter's Name? 188. Peppered moth

This moth usually looks as if its wings have been sprinkled with ground black pepper.

What's In a Critter's Name? 187. Oak eggar moth

This moth actually doesn't feed on Oak trees. Its cucoon, however, is shaped like an acorn!

What's In a Critter's Name? 186. Hummingbird hawk moth

This hawk moth gets its name from its ability to hover, when feeding from tubular flowers.

Seeing the Changes 2056

Garden privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) in musky flower in Loughor. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) bloomed in Bynea.

Playing the Ball and the Man?

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a family of circa 1600 'forever chemicals'. They are produced to make a variety of commercial products water and/or stain-resistent. PFASs are called 'forever chemicals' because they don't seem to break down in the environment. New evidence from Wayne State University School of Medicine, shows that even modest PFAS doses accumulate in the testes of laboratory rodents (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/22/toxic-pfas-chemicals-testes). These 'forever chemicals' damage sperm, during a sensitive developmental period. PFASs alter sperm DNA methylation. The consequent changes can be inherited at fertilisation. This influences both early life development and later offspring health. Cholesterol values are increased, with potential influences on artheriosclerosis (blocking of blood vessels by plaque). This condition increases human risk of stroke and coronary heart disease. The suggestion that males might have to learn which products to avoid (e.g. non-stick frying pans, water-proof clothing and fast food containers), seems completely fatuous. PFASs are almost ubiquitous!

What's In a Critter's Name? 185. Skipper (butterflies)

These insects aren't sailors. They are named solely on the basis of their quick, darting flights.

What's In a Critter's Name? 184. Map (butterfly)

This butterfly is predictably named because of the cartography-style patterning on the undersides of its wings.

What's In a Critter's Name? 183. Gatekeeper (butterfly)

The Gatekeeper butterfly is named, as it's a systematic patroller of hedges and woodland rides.

Out of Sight: Out of Mind?

There's nothing (no laws, regulations or even agreements) to stop any country; city; company or even wealthy individual using geoengineering to try to change their local climate. Spraying reflective aerosols into clouds to reflect more solar radiation back into space, in a sweltering California, can apparently inadvertently intensify ambient temperatures in far-away Europe (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/21/climate-engineering-off-us-coast-could-increase-heatwaves-in-europe-study-finds). It can be argued that weather patterns are interconnected and currently too poorly understood for human manipulation, even by enthusiastic geoengineers? It seems dangerous to have a situation, where folk can freely mess with their local weather in any way they feel appropriate. Surely, they must have concern for others on the planet? In one sense, this reflects what's happened/i happening with global heating. The countries and individuals producing most of the 'greenhouse gas' emissions, generally suffer the consequences much less than poorer folk elsewhere. It's well known that the 10% richest folk on the Earth, generate circa 49% of all emissions. The poorest 50%, produce only 10% of 'greenhouse gases'!

What's In a Critter's Name? 182. Argus (butterflies)

Argus was a one-hundred eyed creature in Greek mythology, tasked with guarding Io. This butterfly's dorsal wing spots give it the name?

What's In a Critter's Name? 181. Ant

Ant and the archaic word 'emmet' are derived from the Middle English 'ante' and 'emete'. Both, perhaps, ultimately from the Old High German 'ameiza'.

What's In a Critter's Name? 180. Cicada

Cicada is a Latin word meaning 'buzzer'. Their nymphs spend prime numbers of years underground before mass emerging.

Seeing the Changes 2055

My Loughor garden continues to be a moth desert. Only 2 Common backswimmers (Notonecta glauca); 2 Willow beauty (Peribatoides rhomboidaria) and a Large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba) to show for a night's moth trapping.

What's In a Critter's Name? 179. Sawfly

These insects are named after the female's saw-like ovipositor, used in egg laying.