The Suffolk Argus soft mid green leaves (70%). Eggs were never laid in full sun, and 75-90% were placed in summer shade. The mid green dull, soft leaf is a product of a shady situation, and the implication for woodland management is that opening rides and leaving sallow in the sun is exactly the wrong thing to do. This does not prevent the drainage channels around Theberton Woods from being used; it simply means that eggs will be laid low, on the shadier north side of the sallows.
may be of assistance in woodland management, as well as in searching for ova & larvae. He found that Salix caprea (Goat Willow), the most common form of sallow is strongly preferred over other varieties and hybrids of sallow, but that there were additional features to be considered. Leaf colour is variable (yellow-green, mid green, dark green and blue-green), as is leaf texture (soft & dull or hard & glossy). Egg-laying females made a positive selection (80%) for Salix caprea, and strongly favoured relatively
Rampart's Field Photography Session Thursday 29th April 2010 Rob Parker Thirteen of us turned out - 7 BC members plus 6 Blackbourne U3A photographers wanting to learn a little about insect photography. Unfortunately the sun was veiled by high cloud, so the number of butterflies prevented us from getting properly to grips with all the Spring species. Nonetheless, we split into small mixed groups and separated for patient hunting, and this approach worked quite nicely. One of the visitors described his experience as a masterclass. Our most notable target was a very patient female Emperor moth, but the butterflies were so scarce that we were reduced to
photographing moths, St Marks flies, beeflies and bumblebees in the morning. The four who persevered for the afternoon had a better time down by the riverside, and some nice images of male and female Orange-tips were sent back by email that evening. Another guest sent an image of a bee-fly in flight, not a shot any of us would have been certain of getting in focus! All in all, it seems a good idea to arrange occasional meetings like this, designed to draw in some specialist interest from nonmembers (otherwise known as potential members).
If you want to know what is going on in the world of Suffolk’s moths www.suffolkmothgroup.org.uk has a wealth of information ……… events, newsletters and identification guides……… it’s all there.
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