Page 36 - br-june-2021

June 2021

The next are the hover flies, there
are many of them, 280 species, in
the UK. Many are striped yellow
and black, an interesting trend of
evolution with that body colour to
imitate wasps for defence against
predators.

All these attractive insects, many
of which nest in our gardens
play a key role in plant
pollination. There is now much
concern in the dramatic decline
o f i n s e c t p o p u l a t i o n s .
Maintaining adequate flowering
plants for pollination both in the
countryside and in our gardens for these insects to thrive is key to our future.

Newts
Newts have been seen in the pond on Black Hill, no doubt enjoying a feast of
tadpoles. There are three native newt species in the UK – the smooth newt, the
great crested newt and the palmate newt. The sighting on Black Hill was of a
palmate newt.
The Palmate Newt relatively common throughout the UK. It is a relatively small
species, reaching only about 8.5 cm to 9.5 cm. They are olive-green or brown with
a dark line running across the head with some dark spotting on the back.
During the March to May breeding season they are active during the day as well
as night, but outside this period their activity is restricted to rainy or humid nights.
Newts spend their breeding season in ponds, marshes and other still water. At
other times they tend to be land based in woodland, grassland, hedgerows and
marshy areas. They feed primarily on invertebrates and hibernate under logs and
stones over the winter period. A good reason to leave an area of your garden
untended with piles of logs and stones. Do let us know if you spot any.

Cuckoo

Have you heard a cuckoo this year? We would be interested to know if you have

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