Alasdair Aston – who lives in Selborne, has had a poem about Gilbert White published in the April 2003 edition (vol 19) of the The Linnean, newsletter of The Linnean Society. The poem, Anima Naturaliter Christiana, sub-titled Gilbert White, was awarded the Seaton Prize at Cambridge University in 1994. Parts of the work have been previously published separately as free-standing poems in White Admiral; one of these is reproduced again in this issue. Members with access to the internet can find the complete piece at www.linnean.org and then by following the links to publications.
The second Great Nut Hunt, in which 50,000 hazelnuts were collected across the UK and analysed for teeth marks by the Mammals Trust UK, showed an increase on the 76 sites located in the 1993 hunt. Unfortunately dormice are still continuing to decline overall, with a 20% fall in 10 years.
Land managers can help dormice by:
Building fences to keep stock out of woodland, allowing it to develop a dense shrubby layer , Thinning canopy trees to create small glades, Not cutting hedges every year, but leaving them to grow up to 12 feet tall, Planting up gaps in hedges, especially where they
connect patches of, woodland. Rare-Plant ‘Species Dossiers’
One pipistrelle can eat up to 3,000 midges in a night!
Distribution data for butterflies in Britain have shown that the majority of species have failed to expand at their northern range margins during the past 30 years, because habitat loss has far outweighed any benefits of climate warming. Most species are predicted to disappear from southern parts of their ranges as climates become unsuitable.
(Hill, J and Fox, R (2003) Climate change and British butterfly distributions. Biologist, 50, 106-110)
Plantlife is launching a new website that aims to become the definitive source of up-to-date information on rare plants in Britain. Already, data on Plantlife’s Back from the Brink species is available on www.plantlife.org.uk in easy to access “species dossiers”.
At the 2002 annual meeting of supporter members in November, members voted to agree the name change from Plantlife to Plantlife International. The change reflects Plantlife’s growing status both at home and abroad, on the European and world stage. Plantlife’s international work was crucial in ensuring that the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation was endorsed by 138 governments last year, and the new name is appropriate to Plantlife’s influence and links with other global conservation organisations such as IUCN and Planta Europa. The logo will remain the same, and the change of title does not reflect a change in Plantlife’s work commitments in the UK. The organisation will often still be known colloquially as Plantlife.
Plantlife’s annual survey of how 65 common plants are faring, plus one celebrity species, is in its second year. Last year’s celebrity species was Crane’s-bill. This year Plantlife’s celebrity is the Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta (see Bluebells for Britain). The Common Plants Survey is in the pilot stage, and Plantlife is keen for participants to comment on the methodology. If you would like to take part in the survey, either visit the website on
www.plantlife.org.uk
or telephone the survey hotline 020 7808 0118.
Personnel at RAF Lakenheath SSSI can learn what to do to help protect the large areas of flower-rich Breckland grassland and rare species found on the site from ‘Wildlife at RAF Lakenheath’ – a leaflet produced by English Nature’s Suffolk Team and printed by the 48th Fighter Wing, USAF in Europe.
Norfolk Hawker dragonflies have been seen again several times this year at Minsmere (Minsmere Levels and Dingle Marshes, 13-16 June), raising hopes that this rare species may be setting up colonies there. However, they usually require water soldier for breeding, which is not present at Minsmere.
Gardeners are being urged to plant with Bumblebees in mind – five of our 21 native bumblebee species are in serious decline. The large garden bumblebee, Bombus ruderatus, is on the verge of extinction. English Nature and the National Trust say that modern garden designs with few or no flowers and hybrid plant varieties are contributing to its demise. As a general guide bumblebees prefer gardens with yarrow, Michaelmas daisy, ceanothus, knapweed, sweet william, lavender, tobacco plant, foxglove, thistle, geranium, hebe, rosemary, lilac, thyme, vetch, primrose, dog rose, comfrey and verbena.
Search is on for the mole cricket – researchers from the Natural History Museum, English Nature and London Zoo are seeking the public’s help to take a national census of Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa. The insect has been sighted only four times in 25 years. A member of the True Crickets (Gryllidae), the mole cricket is a
big chap, with adults 2-2.5 cm long. As the name suggests, it is a burrowing
insect with much enlarged front legs. It has a furry body with short forewings
but fully developed hindwings with which it flies on warm evenings. Its song
consists of long periods of quiet churring, usually produced from the mouth of
a resonating chamber in its extensive burrow, on warm evenings. It lives in
damp meadows.
Sightings should be reported to:
Bryan Pinchen,
Mole Cricket Working Group Co-ordinator.
7 Brookland Close, Pennington, Lymington, Hants, SO41 8JE. ,
© 2003 Suffolk Naturalists' Society