October is traditionally the wettest month of the year but this one was the driest in living memory with measurable rainfall on only three days. It was also milder than usual with no frost. This was caused by persistent high pressure over Scandinavia, a pattern that in the recent past has often switched in...
Thanasimus formicarius, also known as the ‘Ant Beetle’ or ‘European red-bellied clerid’ (fancy!), is a small but striking species of Beetle native to the UK. It is not un-common but being small and selective in its choice of habitat it is rarely seen in even more rarely reported! The Beetle is typically found in...
September can be a wet and windy month but not this one; it was much drier and warmer than usual. This meant a busy time for me, finishing off several field surveys, including a coastwide investigation into the ecology of Small-fruited Yellow-Sedge. I ended up with 44 colonies of this rather uncommon dune-slack specialist....
A small-flowered Evenint-primrose from a population found at Crosby Coastal Park was collected and sent to Rosemary Murphy, the national referee for Oenothera, earlier this year. Rosemary has now carried out a detailed examination of the plant material and has concluded that it is most likely the ‘triple hybrid’ Oenothera glazioviana x O. biennis x O.cambrica an identification which...