Poem

I have just read your editorial from the July edition of North Weald Village Life (I am a slow reader) and see that you have trouble with Butterflies in your conservatory and find Moths ugly and hate them! I know ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ but have a look at these Moths photographed in the parish:

Many residents have seen the Jersey Tiger. When in flight it is often mistaken for a Butterfly.

An Oak Eggar and the famous Hummingbird Hawk – so named as to the speed of its wing beat while hovering to sip nectar from flowers. If you are having trouble evicting Butterflies or other insects for that matter from your conservatory, try one of these shown left? It’s an Insect Catcher and can be used single handily on vertical windows or curtains by just twisting the device around once the insect is caught inside. Gravity will close the door. You could have trouble with the large spiders in the bath though so you may have to just pick them up and carry them outside! J. Waters Editor’s Comment: I appreciate your advice and I don’t like to hurt many insects I promise and yes the colourful species look like butterflies which I absolutely love but it is just their underneath and the hairs of moths that make me scared of them—I am probably in the minority.

Photo: C. Jones

It’s been a rough few weeks for us, as a family so far, With a family bereavement, leaving such a huge gaping scar. The only thing to ease us all ,during this sad hand we’ve been dealt, Is to see so many friends and loved ones, conveying the love that they felt. I know that can never undo, what has now been done, But it helps with the slow healing, that has now just begun. It’s not the first loved one, we have lost and sadly it wont be the last, Thou for me the ramifications for this one, were incomprehensively vast. So together as a family, we will now try and muddle on through, Being there to support each other, with all the things we now must do. Still at night when its quiet ,with just a breeze passing through, I find myself crying, as all I can think about is you. Life will I am sure become easier, with each new day that we pass, Although for now, just getting through them is all that I ask. I can hear you telling us all, to pull ourselves together and move on, When the fact that I can hear that, makes it even harder now that you’ve gone. We will all come to terms, with the pains in our hearts that we feel, Until then happiness is an emotion, I feel we have to steal. Source: Andy—resident poet, on the very recent loss of his mum. I think these words work for anyone who has lost someone dear.

Many of us have trouble with Grey Squirrels when they take seeds from bird feeders and dig up our lawns, but they are a more serious threat. The Red Squirrel, classed as native to the British Isles since the end of the last Ice Age (10,000 years ago), was once the only squirrel in Britain and widely distributed until some 100 years ago. This species has now been replaced throughout much of its range in the British Isles by the invasive, non-native North American Grey Squirrel, introduced as a novelty to adorn the grounds of stately homes. Apparently, the first release of Grey Squirrels in Britain was in Cheshire in 1876 and it has now spread to occupy almost all of England. The decline of the Red Squirrel is the result of rivalry with the Grey Squirrel which is able to out-compete it in almost every stage of its life history. In addition, an infectious disease called Poxvirus, has been suggested as a significant factor in the decline of Red Squirrel populations. When Red Squirrels (pictured right) become infected with squirrelpox the probability of death within about two weeks is very high. In contrast, poxvirus appears benign in Grey Squirrels (pictured left) and has no adverse effect on them. Grey Squirrels also cause immense damage to our broadleaved woodlands affecting trees such as oak, beech, chestnut and sycamore. They strip bark from the trunks and branches which weakens the trees and allows access for tree pests and pathogens. This also threatens the effectiveness of efforts to combat climate change by planting new woodlands. It is estimated that the UK is home to around 3 million of these invasive rodents and in order to keep their numbers down to acceptable limits, control measures have been introduced. In areas where there are no Red Squirrels, Warfarin had been used as an indiscriminate control poison, but this is far from ideal. But it has now been realised that fertility control could be the answer as it is a non-lethal, humane and publicly acceptable method of control. If it could be targeted specifically at Grey Squirrels, the nonlethal method could help eradicate the invasive species and allow Red Squirrels to recover. But how would the oral contraceptive chemical be targeted at Grey Squirrels and not at other animals? The answer is by using special feeding boxes to house the bait designed with a weighted door that will exclude other smaller species, especially the more delicate Red Squirrel. Based on research, it was decided to test door weights of 200g to see if they would prevent Red Squirrels and other animals, apart from Grey Squirrels, from feeding on the bait. This has proved successful and now the mass birth control programme involves luring Grey Squirrels into baited boxes using pots of hazelnut spread spiked with the contraceptive, 2 0 , 2 5-d i a z a c h o l e s t e r o l d i h y d r o c h l o r i d e (DiazaCon™). DiazaCon™ inhibits the manufacture of cholesterol. Because cholesterol is needed to manufacture the reproductive hormones progesterone and testosterone, lack of cholesterol affects reproduction in both males and females. Keith Snow