Ladybird Spider: Have You Seen One?

One of Britain’s rarest species, it is found only in Dorset heathland, but has been recorded a fortnight earlier than normal this year and enjoyed perfect warm and dry conditions throughout its emergence period. 


Have You Seen One? Le us Know!

Insect News: Rare insect found safe on Devon beach

One of the UK's rarest insects has been found after going missing on a Devon beach where debris from the grounded cargo ship MSC Napoli was washed up.

Branscombe beach was littered with the ship's containers and their contents after it was beached in January 2007.

The National Trust was concerned for the survival of the scaly cricket, which is found at only three UK sites.

However, the trust has rediscovered the cricket - using bait including a Cornish pasty to tempt it into traps.

National Trust property manager for Dartmoor, Adrian Colston, had drawn a blank after walking along the shingle beach trying to find the cricket.

So he changed his tactics and set five traps using cat biscuits, pieces of apple and bits of a Cornish pasty as bait.

The MSC Napoli was beached off the Devon coast in January 2007

When he returned he was delighted to find that one of the traps contained a single adult female scaly cricket.

"This rediscovery has come as a real relief and it is likely a healthy population of scaly crickets can still be found on Branscombe beach," he said.

"They are notoriously difficult to find and their location away from the main site of the Napoli activity certainly helped increase the likelihood that they would survive."

Normally found in the Mediterranean, the scaly cricket was first discovered at Branscombe in 1998.

The nocturnal insect measures between 8mm (0.3in) and 13mm (0.5in) and feeds on general waste. It is also found at Chesil beach in Dorset and Marloe Sands in Pembrokeshire.

The 62,000-tonne Napoli was deliberately grounded after being holed by storms off the Lizard. Its crew of 26 was rescued by Royal Navy helicopters.

Thousands of scavengers swarmed to the beach when 50 of its containers were washed ashore. 

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7649776.stm

Butterfly and Moth News: Survey reveals record number of rare butterfly's

A survey has revealed record numbers of a nationally rare butterfly – seen earlier than usual this year due to recent warm weather.

305 pearl bordered fritillaries have been recorded at Devon Wildlife Trust’s Marsland nature reserve. The rare butterflies were out earlier than usual, with 15 recorded on 9/10 April by national butterfly expert Roger Harding.

A full survey was undertaken on Monday 18 April by Devon Wildlife Trust’s senior nature reserves officer Gary Pilkington. The previous highest count – 288 - was recorded more than 10 years ago.

Pearl Bordered Fritillary © Scott Hackett, from the surfbirds galleries.

Pearl bordered fritillaries were counted in many areas of the site which had been cut and coppiced by Devon Wildlife Trust staff over the winter, with funding from Viridor. Gary Pilkington has been managing Marsland nature reserve for more than 20 years to improve the wooded valley’s glades and pastures for the benefit of these rare butterflies. It is one of the most closely monitored sites in the South West for butterflies and the knowledge accrued over the years is paying dividends. The 212 hectare site on the North Devon coast supports five species of fritillary: pearl bordered, small pearl bordered, silver washed, dark green and high brown.

Gary Pilkington, said:

“Over the years we have learnt exactly what pearl bordered fritillaries need to thrive here. It includes appropriate bracken control, scrub management and providing the open ground they love.

“They are readily responding to our long-term and careful management of this site, in particular to us opening up areas, especially where their food plant viola and main nectaring plant, bugle, heave on the woodland floor. To see them in big numbers in coppice - mainly hazel with some birch and oak – rather than their traditional haunt of bracken slopes is especially pleasing.

“This is the ideal time of the year to see pearl-bordered fritillaries in flight. It really is a spectacular sight to watch them flitter in amongst the coppice on a beautiful sunny day.”

Other butterflies recorded at Marsland on 9/10 April included four comma, more than 100 orange tip, 50 speckled wood, 10 holly blue, one red admiral, one small tortoiseshell, one green veined white, five small white and two wall brown.

Management work at Marsland nature reserve is carried out by Devon Wildlife Trust staff, local contractors and volunteers who help to remove gorse, willow, alder and other scrub in the habitats best suited to the butterflies. Devon Wildlife Trust is leading the way with improving habitat for pearl bordered fritillaries, and increasing numbers. It has three other sites where reserves officers are undertaking the same simple and effective management approach and reaping the rewards.

Link: http://www.surfbirds.com/sbirdsnews/archives/2011/05/survey_reveals.html

Wildlife Sightings in Devon

What Wildlife have you seen in Devon?

Whether its an Insect, Spider, Bird, Mammal, Fish, Mollusc, Reptile, Plant or Fungi let us know! 

Remember to add the location of the sighting and if you managed to get a photo, you can add it to your comment!