Category Archives: Animals

Leaf-mining moths going conkers…

While strolling around the campus grounds, have you been wondering what’s happening to our horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L., Sapindaceae) trees? Are those brown leaves really showing signs of an early autumn? These leaves are actually changing colour for a … Continue reading

Posted in Birds, Insects, Lepidoptera, Plants, Sapindaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Whitenights BioBlitz 2013: The Movie!

Back in June Dr M posted about the University of Reading Whiteknights BioBitz,  a large scale biodiversity event which ran between 7th-8th June 2013. During this 24 hour period a wide range of people got together to identify as many … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Plants, Surveys | Leave a comment

UoRPMN pond surveys

Part of the UoRPMN‘s (University of Reading Phenological Monitoring Network) aim is to record as many phenological events as possible that occur on the campus. One area which has sparked great interest among project students over the last year has been the … Continue reading

Posted in Amphibians, Insects, Newts, Odonata, Phenology, Surveys | Leave a comment

The Stags are Back in Town!

The Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) is the largest beetle found in the UK and can be up to 75 mm long, with the ones I have observed in Reading being approximately 55mm, but still an impressive sight! (Figure 1) Reading at … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Beetles, Insects | 4 Comments

BioBlitz Highlights

What a weekend! As well as amazing weather, we were lucky to have so many enthusiastic people joining us at the first ever Whiteknights BioBlitz. Friday night saw a large group gather for the start of the bat walk, run … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Fungi, Galls, Meetings/Events, News, Plants, Surveys | 1 Comment

BioBlitz brings in the crowds

Since 9pm last night the Reading Uni BioBlitz has attracted a huge amount of interest from local naturalists and from our own students.  Dr Becky Thomas has been busy organising everything from bat and moth walks to lichen and grass … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Meetings/Events, News, Plants | 1 Comment

The Bioblitz has started

The first displays have now been set up in the Harborne Building foyer. Berkshire Reptile and Amphibian Group (BRAG), Berkshire Ornithological Club and Berks and South Bucks Bat Group are already in place. This is the beginning of a very … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Meetings/Events, News, Plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Animals, Insects, Plants, Spiders | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Mosses, Spiders | Tagged , , | Leave a comment