Category: Nature

Caterpillar Nest 6

Caterpillar Invasion

We have thousands of caterpillars here again this year. We had quite a few last year on one of the willows at the bottom of the garden, but this year we have several collections of them on both willow and hawthorn. The build a little nest of silk and feed on these plants. As a...

Moth Recording in Ceredigion – A County First 0

Moth Recording in Ceredigion – A County First

I’ve just had an e-mail from the County Moth Recorder in VC46 comfirming that my recent record of a Chamomile Shark is the first ever recorded in the County. Always exciting when that happens. Alan: Have been conferring with Ian over the last week, pondering your Chamomile Shark record which is a first for VC46....

Beekeeping in West Wales 1

Beekeeping in West Wales

Amazon.co.uk Widgets I’ve wanted to become a beekeeper for a while now, but as with many things such as this the barriers of entry are quite high. First, there is a lot to learn and it is a little daunting. Not only is there a whole new vocabulary to learn, but there are techniques and...

Our Garden 3

Landscape Gardening

I always enjoy gardening, especially the planning and landscaping of a garden, but here on the coast of West Wales, gardening of any type is challenging. We have to contend with poor soil (sand to be precise), strong winds and salty air. Coming up with any sort of a ‘garden’ is difficult and most people...

Flame Shoulder 0

Flame Shoulder – Ceredigion Moths

It was a little warmer last night, but still dropped to 4ÂșC so it wasn’t a great night for moths, but at least there were a few in the trap this morning, including a Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) which was new for me and a lovely looking moth 4x Shoulder Stripe 2x Hebrew Character 2x...

Chamomile Shark 3

Chamomile Shark – Ceredigion Moths

Things have been quiet in the moth trap here lately thanks to the cold overnight temperatures, but there was a new species for me in the trap last night: 3x Hebrew Character 1x Chamomile Shark* The Chamomile Shark feeds on chamomile and feverfew and we have loads of feverfew in the garden. I don’t think...

Eriocrania subpurpurella 0

Identifying Micro Moths

Mike, the warden of the local Nature Reserve has called around a couple of time this week with little challenges for me in the form of Micro Moths to photograph and identify. I’m only just getting to grips with the Macro Moths so the micros are pretty difficult. The first was this which I think...

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A change in the weather – New moths

Things have been fairly quiet on the moth front recently. Numbers have been avergae but the same old species were showing up all the time. Last saw a change in the weather however, with much warmer overnight temperatures – the minimum was 11ÂșC, light winds and some rain. This led to some new species in...

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Puss Moth

The moth trap has been quiet this week. With the cold nights I haven’t put it out much, but as it was the weekend I put it out last night and had a disappointing catch of: 2x Hebrew Character 1x Early Thorn 1x Clouded Drab But then, I was working on the lawn when I...

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Bird ID for beginners

It feels as though summer is here and as a new member of the RSPB I thought I’d make use of my membership and attend some of the ‘courses’ at Ynyshir, our local RSPB reserve. Today’s course was ‘Bird Identification for Beginners’ run by Caroline. My bird ID isn’t bad but you can always learn...