I found this Pale Brindled Beauty in the public toilets at Bridgend on Tuesday (15th), appropriately in the gentlemen's side of the facility as this is the male of the species. This slightly blurred photograph was taken on my iPhone. As someone has since commented, taking photographs in public toilets is something to be rather cautious about and I decided not to go back in with my camera! The female moth is distinctively different, but I had to reply "no, I didn't" when asked if I had checked for one in the ladies' side!
There are no previous records for Islay for this species, which flies between January and March, though there were three records on Jura back in 1980, which have to be regarded with suspicion as they were all in early September with no mention that they were pupae, which is the stage the moth would be in at that time of year. So this may well be the first record for the vice-county, i.e. Islay, Jura and Colonsay.
Malcolm
Friday 18 March 2016
Thursday 17 March 2016
New Zealand Flatworm - Islay distribution - quick poll
On the back of our next talk the irony of the world exporting its wildlife to this remote island ecosystem. New Zealamd wildlife is giving payback - the New Zealand flatworm.
The irony is that for all
the introduced species sent in their direction New Zealand has a problematic
species export of its own now increasing its distribution here. Visit the Islay Natural History Trusts
Facebook page if you have the New Zealand Flatworm in your garden and let us
know where you have seen it in our quick poll into its current distribution on Islay . It may have
been present quite a few years now but I have only recently met one on these
unpleasant creatures. Why are they important? well they like to eat our native
Earthworms that do an important job of mixing up and aerating the soil, and
provide food for a whole host of bird species.
Fiona MacG
Next Talk 22nd March - New Zealand - Ecological Mayhem!
It seems to have been a popular destination for
But New Zealand is
indeed a beautiful country when viewed from other perspectives with quaint
towns, productive green farmland, and stunningly dramatic landscapes. Happily the tide of extinctions and losses is
turning and New Zealand
has perhaps the most pro-active and drastic government conservation policies of
anywhere in the World. This has saved at least some of its very special
wildlife from the brink and, in some ways, made it surprisingly easy for
birdwatchers to see what remains.
Come along and discover
the impacts that new species can have when they don't complement the native
wildlife.
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