Thoughts of Summer

Sunday, January 7th 2018

Putting the finishing touches to the species list for 2017 made me think back to the summer, full of colour and warmth, well warmth some of the time.  Winter colours tend to be rather monotonous, so I thought a blog of summer colour to brighten up the winter days.

Thistles, whilst proving at times to be a weed, provide food for insects including this Small Skipper.  On one day in the middle of July 118 of these butterflies were recorded on the butterfly transect.

Brimstone butterflies were frequent visitors and were most co-operative in sitting still.

Fine green leaves almost suddenly appear and then there is a profusion of white flowers carpeting the sides of Risedale Beck.  Greater Stitchwort has opened its buds.

The far moor was covered in white umbels of Pignut

In 2016 there were one or two Rayed Knapweed on the moor, last year there were many more of these beautiful flowers.

Searching under leaves many bugs and beasties can be found, including this Cucumber Spider.

The total number of species is now 2687, with 65 new species being added during the year. There are 557 moth species and 352 fungi species, included in that total. When will we find our first new species of 2018 and how many will we have by the end of the year? Lots of looking, searching, watching, rooting and walking will be needed by our dedicated species hunters! Thank you for all your work this year in adding to our species list.

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