The Violet Oil Beetle, Meloe violaceous, is an unusual looking beetle, similar, but not to be confused with the Violet Ground Beetle, quite large at about 3cm long, and as its name suggests, is a rather striking violet colour. It is an insect of strange proportions, its front end being almost ant-like, with a roundedContinue reading “The Violet Oil Beetle”
Category Archives: Natural history
The Bilberry Bumblebee
Queen of the Mountain The Bilberry, or Mountain, Bumblebee, Bombus monticola, (bombus meaning ‘bee’, and monticola meaning ‘mountain’) is a relatively small, but gorgeous looking bumblebee with a distinctive orange/red behind making up two-thirds of its abdomen and two lemon yellow stripes on its thorax, or middle parts. The queens, workers and males all haveContinue reading “The Bilberry Bumblebee”
Walshaw Moor Windfarm, the Importance of Wide-open spaces for our Mental Wellbeing
Walshaw Moor is an area of great ecological and cultural value situated in West Yorkshire, it can be found on the map within a triangle formed by the towns of Burnley, Keighley and Todmorden and could soon be the site of the largest onshore wind farm in England with 65 turbines towering over 200m (492-657ft).Continue reading “Walshaw Moor Windfarm, the Importance of Wide-open spaces for our Mental Wellbeing”
The Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, is a small, flighty songbird which birdwatchers often put in the class of LBJ’s or ‘Little Brown Jobbies’, as they are sometimes hard to distinguish from other songbirds that can be found in the British isles. Their scientific name comes from the Greek word anthus, meaning ‘bloom’ or ‘flower’ andContinue reading “The Meadow Pipit”
Eristalis tenax, the Common Drone Hoverfly
The Common Drone Hoverfly Eristalis tenax, is one of the most common and ubiquitous hoverflies to be found in the British isles, and usually the first to emerge, as adults that have hibernated all winter begin to sense the warmer days outside and venture forth to feed before other flying insects do. At about 1cmContinue reading “Eristalis tenax, the Common Drone Hoverfly”
Rana temporaria, the Common Frog
The Common Frog Rana temporaria, rana meaning ‘to gaze’, and temporaria meaning ‘temporary’, spends winter hibernating in frost-free hideaways such as under tree stumps, in stacks of logs, or in stone walls where they will enter a torpor until the following spring. They emerge around February and spawn around March, the tadpoles hatching and growingContinue reading “Rana temporaria, the Common Frog”
The Brown Hare
The Brown Hare, Lepus europaeus occidentalis, is a brown, cat-sized mammal similar to a Rabbit but with with longer black-tipped ears, a longer tail, longer limbs, and the ability to run very fast, having been recorded at speeds of up to 40 miles an hour. It is not native to the British isles, originating inContinue reading “The Brown Hare”
Catching moths in winter
As winter is slowly waning, the days getting longer and the nights milder, it becomes a bit more pleasant to leave the house and see what wildlife might be around in the neighbourhood, also tentatively poking its head out from hibernation and eager to get out and about. One way of doing this is mothContinue reading “Catching moths in winter”
Northwest Nature and History 