Launch
of Research
on Awareness, Understanding and Impact of Biodiversity in 2010
Speakers
Michael
Starrett, CEO, The Heritage Council
Martha Fanning, Director, Behaviour & Attitudes
Wednesday 19th May 2010, 10.30 am
Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin 2
Heritage Council Lecture: Biomimicry
Speaker
Dayna
Baumeister
A Biomimicry expert will be speaking in Ireland for the first time.
"......learning how to design products for energy efficiency based on Biomimicry...."
The
lecture will take place in Dublin on September 7th 2010.
Venue is yet to be confirmed.
Check the Heritage Council website later in the year.
HONORARY
RESEARCH FELLOWS
Declan Doogue and
Sylvia Reynolds, past Presidents of the Field Club and Vice County Recorders for
the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, were appointed Honorary
Research Fellows of the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin
Photograph from left to right: Peter Wyse Jackson, Sylvia Reynolds, Declan Doogue, Matthew Jebb
Bio daversity code
This fun educational video from Harvard Medical School's Centre for Health and Global Environment & Free Range Graphics launched a discussion about biodiversity.
It teaches about the importance of biodiversity and that humans are part of the web of life.
You may recognize the plot from the DaVinci Code.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXXczLhzlHA
Essex SKIPPER IN CO wEXFORD
The Essex Skipper butterfly which is new to Ireland has been found in Co Wexford.
The Skippers first discovered in 2006 were found in larger numbers in 2007 in Co Wexford.
Further
information can be found at the DNFC butterfly website =>>
* * *
Butterfly Distribution Maps
The
distribution maps of all butterflys have been updated for 2009 and can be
seen at
www.butterflyireland.com/DistributionMaps.htm
Many thanks to all the recorders
Butterfly Ireland 20/05/2010
* * *
BUTTERFLY RECORDING FOR 2010
Records for all sightings in 2010 (and previous seasons) will be most welcome. It would help if you could give a grid reference for each record, obtainable from a Discovery Series Map for your local area, (or using a GPS) and if not then details of the location of your site.
Address: The
Dublin Naturalists' Field Club
35 Nutley Park
Dublin 4
Ireland
E-Mail: The Dublin Naturalists' Field Club
Butterfly Record Sheet and recording instructions: RecordSheet
* * *
Monarchs in the news 2010
Fall migration south begins approximately mid-August for northern Monarchs. After crossing half the continent of North America, the monarchs reach their overwintering sanctuaries, located at approximately 19.60N, 99.60W, in Central Mexico around November each year.
It's an area only 70 miles wide and within it only 12 mountaintops have the habitat the butterflies need to survive. The Monarchs roost for the winter in oyamel fir [Sacred Fir (Abies religiosa)] forests which are at an elevation of 2400 to 3600 meters and where temperatures range from 0o to 15o C. The humidity in the forest prevents the monarchs from drying out allowing them to conserve their energy. This provides an ideal microclimate for the butterflies.
Spring migration north begins in March (untill approx. mid-June), from the monarch sanctuaries of Central Mexico. After living off their fat reserves all winter, tens of millions of Monarchs will head northward producing the next generations of Monarch butterflys.
Hot and Cold
Snow
around 10th May and temperatures ~29C on 20th!
Cold
temperatures moved across North America last week (9th May) and kept the Monarchs
from advancing northward. It even snowed in some parts of Canada, where monarchs
had arrived the week before.
At the same time a
massive migration of Red Admiral butterflies was underway.
May 20, 2010
Follow Monarch News at
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/News.html
Map from the Animal Navigation Website at >>>
* * *
The Harlequin Ladybird
News Update from The Harlequin Ladybird Survey website (UK), 31/10/2007
Why
are there very large numbers of ladybirds this autumn?
They are likely to be harlequin ladybirds, an alien species that is
spreading fast in the UK. Harlequins are active later in the year than most
other ladybird species. In autumn they gather in large groups at overwintering
sites, which are often in or on buildings. They leave chemical traces that
attract others of the same species to that spot. They do not normally breed
indoors and should leave buildings in the spring.
.......read more at =>>
Because
of its threat to wildlife Damian McFerran of CEDaR and Roy Anderson of DARDNI in
Belfast are keen to see what members of the DNFC can find out about Harlequin
ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) in Ireland.
It's worth viewing the UK annual spread maps at =>>
 |
|
three common colour variants of the Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) |
You can download a ladybird identification sheet (pdf file) from the Harlequin Ladybird survey web site (UK) at =>>
the most invasive ladybird on Earth.
A new ladybird arrived in Britain in the summer of 2004 called the Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
It is also known as the Multicoloured Asian Ladybird and the Halloween Ladybird.
It has already invaded much of northwestern Europe
It was introduced to North America in 1988, and is now the most widespread ladybird species on that continent.
The
harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) has a very variable appearance!
The
most common forms in the UK are
orange with 15-21 black spots and black with two or four orange or red
spots
The Harlequin ladybirds are most commonly found on deciduous trees, such as lime, sycamore and maple, and on low growing plants such as nettles. They will also inhabit reedbeds, coniferous woodland and crop systems.
Harlequin ladybirds feed most commonly on aphids, but also feed on scale insects, adelgids, eggs and larvae of butterflies and moths, many other small insects, including other ladybirds, pollen, nectar, and sugary fluids, including honeydew and the juice from ripe fruits.*
*
For further
information on Recognition and Distinction etc. please visit
The Harlequin Ladybird survey web site (UK)
=>>
* * *
IRISH MOTH DISCUSSION GROUP
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MothsIreland/
* * *
DNFC WEBSITE
Visit the Dublin Naturalists Field Club Butterfly website at
* * *
NEW BUTTERFLY SPECIES IN IRELAND
Researchers
at the Ulster Museum and Butterfly Conservation have made a startling new
discovery: a new species of butterfly in Britain and Ireland; the first to
be discovered for over 110 years.
The new species of Wood White
(scientific name: Leptidea reali)
looks very similar to the ‘normal’ Wood White (Leptidea
sinapis) and has only been identified by examining the genitalia of
museum specimens.
So far, the new species has been found only in Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) and the specimens examined from Britain have turned out to be the normal species of Wood White.
The discovery was jointly made by
Brian Nelson and Robert Nash (Ulster Museum) and Maurice Hughes
and Dr.
Martin Warren (Butterfly Conservation).
This has helped explain a curious
phenomenon revealed recently in The
Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland. In Britain,
the Wood White is true to its name and found in woodland rides but is
declining rapidly, whereas in Ireland it occurs in more open habitats
(such as road verges, scrub and sheltered grassland) and has expanded
rapidly northwards in recent decades.
The phenomenon can now be explained
because they are two different, but almost indistinguishable, species that
may have different ecological requirements.
Maurice
Hughes (Regional Development Office of Butterfly Conservation in N.
Ireland) was one of the research team making the discovery. He said “This
is an exciting and important discovery, which helps explain the puzzle of
why the Wood White has fared so differently in Ireland compared to
Britain. In Ireland we have found that the ‘normal’ Wood White is
apparently confined to the scrubby woodland around the Burren in County
Clare (making it the rarest Irish butterfly).
The 'new' species occurs
throughout Ireland, but is absent from Britain (the only one). It has also
highlighted the need for renewed effort to conserve all populations of
this highly threatened species. We will now be conducting further work in
both Britain and Ireland to examine ecological differences and see whether
we can find characteristics that can be used to separate the two species
in the field.”
The new species does not yet have an English name, although the scientific name reali is derived from the person who first discovered it in continental Europe. So perhaps “Réal’s Wood White” would be appropriate.
Reproduced from
Press Release by Butterfly Conservation
News Publish Date: 10/02/2001
