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- On la remarque sur cet anisodontea … – Jaccueillelanature on The Hornet Hoverfly- Volucella zonaria
- Campus Wildlife Champions – T&L Exchange on Campus Species Lists
- Powdery Mildew Survey 2016 | Culham Research Group on Powdery mildew – 2014
- Powdery Mildew Survey 2016 | Culham Research Group on Powdery mildew – 2015
- Alastair Culham on Mammals
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Category Archives: Animals
Badger
Colleagues in technical services report on a rare (in recent times) record of a badger (Meles meles) in Whiteknights park: “Testing 3 of our field cameras which did not show good results on the recent Ecology module. Cameras pointing to … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Mammals
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Flying Saucer Hunt
Last July we added White-letter hairstreak to the campus species list. It’s impossible to say whether it was a stray individual (revisiting my photograph it was a pretty beaten up specimen!) or part of a breeding colony on campus. It … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Butterflies, Insects, Lepidoptera, Surveys
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Enhancement Week
School of Biological Sciences students and staff alike enjoyed a veritable wildlife bonanza during week 6 ‘enhancement week’, with a range of sessions including bird ringing and moth trapping that served to demonstrate you don’t have to go far for a … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Lepidoptera, Moths
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Moth Night Catch
It was a cool, clear night, and 8am found the Harris Garden wreathed in mist and drenched with dew. Would any moths have found their way into our light traps in these conditions?
Posted in Lepidoptera, Moths
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Moth Night (Morning) update
Further to Alastair’s post, whilst it is probably too late to put on an official event I will have two light traps running in the Harris Garden overnight. All welcome to join me from 8am tomorrow to open them and … Continue reading
Posted in Insects, Lepidoptera, Moths
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Moth Nights 10-12 September – will you be recording?
Over the next two nights the UK will be aflutter with moth enthusiasts looking to see what is out and about. UK Moth Night aims to celebrate British moth recording activity and highlight this to the public. News coverage has … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Insects, Lepidoptera, Moths
Tagged #mothnight, moth night, whitknights campus
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White Letter Day
I had the distinct honour of adding a butterfly to the campus species list this week, in the shape of a rather smart White Letter Hairstreak. New moths come along on a near weekly basis – hardly surprising since we’ve recorded barely … Continue reading
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Ulmaceae
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The Hornet Hoverfly- Volucella zonaria
There is no need to be alarmed the Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) is a harmless species. Although I will admit, in its outwards appearance, if you have never seen one before or happen to see it out of the corner of your eye, … Continue reading
Posted in Insects
Tagged Diptera, European hornet, fly, hornet hoverfly, reading university, Vespa crabro, Volucella zonaria
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A Nightingale Sings In Whiteknights Park
This afternoon I was out enjoying the sunshine and doing a spot of fly-catching in the meadows near the meteorology field station. At about half past 3, I thought I heard – or perhaps imagined – the jug-jug-jug-jug phase of a nightingale’s … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Birds
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Looking down 3
This week, while collecting samples of Ginkgo leaves from the tree behind Whiteknights House, I noticed that the remaining leaves seemed to be caught upright in the lengthening grass. I assumed to start with that the leaves were being held … Continue reading