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Monthly Archives: March 2013
The Grasslands
The grasslands areas which I surveyed on campus lie either side of the campus lake. These areas contain many differing grass species and are managed to allow patches of grasses of different heights to occur. Amongst the grassland are various … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Plants
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Ginkgo biloba – and a new book from a Reading Alumnus
We have a few plants of Ginkgo biloba on campus, all of which are fairly small and young compared with the historic specimen at Kew gardens. However that tree is small compared with the huge specimens that can be seen … Continue reading
Posted in Plants, Publications
Tagged Frank Lloyd Wright, Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba, Palaeobotany, Peter Crane
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Small and successful
Long-jawed orb weavers: Pachygnatha degeeri The name “orb weaver” has a poetic ring to it and the craftsmanship surrounding the design of an orb web is certainly deserving of such a title. The long-jawed orb weavers are known as the … Continue reading
Wolves in the leaf litter
Wolf Spiders: Trochosa terricola Although they do not hunt in packs like wolves, the spiders of the family Lycosidae are very much nocturnal predators. These wolves, unlike their counterparts, are readily found in the UK and within the genus Trochosa … Continue reading
Campus Lake Part Three – Other Water Birds and Edge Species
The third and final part to my blogs on the bird species that can be found on the Whiteknights campus lake. Today, I am including the rest of the water birds which were sighted during the survey period, and some … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Birds
Tagged Aegithalos caudatus, biodiversity, campus, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, Columba livia, Columba palumbus, Cyanistes caeruleus, Erithacus rubecula, Fulica atra, Gallinula chloropus, Garrulus glandarius, lake, Larus argentatus, Parus major, Periparus ater, Pica pica, reading, reading university, Troglodytes troglodytes, Turdus merula, whiteknights
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Spiders in mythology and medicine
Spiders have been incorporated into native lore and medicine the world over and in many tropical countries the larger species are seen as an important foodstuff. Last summer I was fortunate enough to spend a month in the Yucatan peninsula … Continue reading
The bite-or-flight response
Spiders are not everyone’s brownie in a mug, more often they are deemed hairy, scary and relegated to a life beneath a glass on your bathroom floor. The media are not particularly supportive of these fascinating animals either. Cases of … Continue reading