Bee Back?

There is a plan to capture queen Short-haired bumblebees in New Zealand (where their ancestors were introduced to pollinate Red clover in the 1800's) and to reintroduce queens of the progeny of these insects to Dungeness in Kent (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/07/short-haired-bumblebee-repopulated). This bee was declared extinct in the UK in 2000. This should be quite an interesting study but bumblebees of many kinds are not currently doing well here. One can't help wondering whether the introduced insects will continue to struggle, especially as this species is said to be a fussy feeder in terms of the flowers that it will visit.

Birder's Bonus 58

The flight of the ants (below) stimulated an aerial feeding frenzy by gulls in the vicinity.

Seeing the Changes 231

At Bynea, spotted a butterfly chrysalis and a Large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) larva shedding a skin. In that location, there was what seemed to be a very late (in the year) flight of Black garden ants (Lasius niger). Kings and Queens were around for the taking.

Consistency

The idiosyncratic nature of people's individual responses to 'environmental issues' seems perfectly encapsulated by the stickers on the illustrated mini's windows. Two stickers trumpet support/membership of WWF and the National Trust whereas two seem to reflect a 'petrolhead' agenda. I suspect that most people are a bit schizophrenic about how to live appropriately, supporting inconsistencies that chime with their particular mix of enthusiasms and pet hates.

Seeing the Changes 230

Went for a walk at Clyn Gwyn in the Vale of Neath. On the approach to the waterfall, there was lots of Devilsbit scabious (Succisa pratensis) being visited by hoverflies. The was also quite a bit a bracket fungus on dead wood. In Bynea, Golden samphire (Inula crithmoides) and Sea aster (Aster tripolium) were towards the end of their flowering. Most of the latter had had their purple petals blown away. In Loughor, Ivy (Hedera helix) was coming into bloom and also proving popular with hoverflies (e.g. Helophilus pendulus and Eristalis tenax). The Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) caterpillars had transformed to the chrysalis stage. There was also a soldier fly (Stratiomys chameleon) on parade along with an unidentified blue and red fly. A bunch of gregarious Buff tip moth (Phalera bucephala) scrummaged on an Alder. There were also three different kinds of Shield bugs (nymphs of Eurydema dominulus and Palomina prasina and adults of Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) on ground vegetation. The Oak leaves were infested with the Common spangle galls of the gall wasp Neuroterus quercusbaccarum. Garden spiders (Areneus diadematus) were 'making hay' between the rainy periods. A Ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) made the most of the sunshine.

Seeing the Changes 229

Visited, in Loughor, by the dark form of the Silver Y moth (Autographa gamma f. nigricans).

10:10 and Football

The supposedly "achievable and meaningful" 10:10 G2 issue and the Tate Modern event (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/01/10-10-campaign-explainedinitiative ) were part of the launch of a climate campaign in which "individuals, businesses and organisations of all kinds" (including Tottenham Hotspur football club) attempt to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. The hope is that individuals (some high profile) will make a difference and also encourage politicians (who tend to be interested in votes) to be more robust in their support of attempts to reduce carbon dioxide release (although it is not the only problematic gas). Such campaigns are fine but have to reach people well outside the reach of one UK newspaper to really achieve global results (recent evidence suggests that levels of already released 'greenhouse gases' will not come down quickly no matter what we do). There is also a difficulty of people attempting to appear 'greener than thou' without really changing much. How one does the calculation is also important. To take the Spurs example. I am sure they are making very meaningful changes in their 'day-to-day' activities but one has to ask 10% of what? The club could dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with it by asking their supporters to watch games on TV (especially in the case of away matches), refusing to take part in European competitions (if they finished high enough in the league) and avoiding overseas promotional tours. I don't think that any of these are likely to occur. Even if they did, they would simply be condemning the club to obscurity and failure. Similar considerations will apply to other types of organisation. Having said that, I am not against making the effort to do something.