Search found 67 matches

by Jane W
Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:13 am
Forum: Questions and Answers
Topic: making a wildflower lawn
Replies: 7
Views: 265

Re: making a wildflower lawn

I like the sound of this idea Melanie and it's interesting to hear that it seems to be working well. My meadows run I to the garden and so there is a slight crossover...and I find that every year the veg beds are full of wildflowers which have self seeded. I can't bring myself to chuck them on the c...
by Jane W
Wed Nov 29, 2023 1:03 pm
Forum: Books
Topic: Flower and plant identification
Replies: 0
Views: 13512

Flower and plant identification

This book I find very useful for identifying wild flowers. It has good, clear photos inside. It's too large to be used as a field guide, but then I find most field guides too small to be of much use anyhow. It's by Rae Spencer-Jones and Sarah Cuttle, and published by Kyle Cathie ltd, in association ...
by Jane W
Wed Nov 29, 2023 12:50 pm
Forum: Books
Topic: Moth ID book
Replies: 0
Views: 11446

Moth ID book

I find this book helpful for moth identification.
by Jane W
Fri Oct 20, 2023 9:54 am
Forum: Identify This
Topic: Caterpillar identification
Replies: 4
Views: 4199

Re: Caterpillar identification

Thankyou very much for the identification...I would never have guessed it was a sawfly larvae, so I've really learnt something new! Like you Alice, I was thinking that colours are sometimes a good clue to the puzzle, and was wondering if it was a hummingbird hawk moth caterpillar...but my ( admitted...
by Jane W
Mon Oct 09, 2023 12:37 pm
Forum: Identify This
Topic: Caterpillar identification
Replies: 4
Views: 4199

Caterpillar identification

Does anyone know what this caterpillar may be? I found it yesterday ( 8Oct) on the ground. It was underneath hazel, silver birch and oak trees, next to a meadow. The meadow is very rich in all kinds of wildflowers and grasses, so probably no point trying to list them all. It is a 'medium sized cater...
by Jane W
Wed Jun 21, 2023 12:20 pm
Forum: Life in the Meadow
Topic: The meadows are springing
Replies: 8
Views: 3251

Re: The meadows are springing

A sudden downpour has broken the dry spell here....hope you have had the same. There's nothing sadder to see than a parched meadow with flowers wilting in June. Who would have imagined that one of the wettest places on the planet could change so quickly. The rain was torrential, but the meadow does ...
by Jane W
Sat Jun 17, 2023 12:28 pm
Forum: Field Scale Meadow Restoration and Creation
Topic: Seed Bank
Replies: 4
Views: 3051

Re: Seed Bank

IMG_20220320_140441983.jpg Thanks for the report on Devils Bit Scabious, and, like you, I feel like, (even though I love science), I may not be designed to process all of it! And have my doubts as to my ability to correctly interpret these kinds of studies. I came away from it thinking that DBScabi...
by Jane W
Wed Jun 14, 2023 2:06 pm
Forum: Field Scale Meadow Restoration and Creation
Topic: Seed Bank
Replies: 4
Views: 3051

Re: Seed Bank

Fascinating subject,and I too would love to know more about seed banks. A little bit of reading that I did about it last year showed up great variety in the time seeds will persist, and there are 'transient' and 'persistent' species. Moth Mullein, common Mullein and Mallow for example, can still be ...
by Jane W
Wed Jun 14, 2023 11:37 am
Forum: Life in the Meadow
Topic: The meadows are springing
Replies: 8
Views: 3251

Re: The meadows are springing

Hi Paul How are things with the swallows a couple of months after your initial post? Did they take up residence in the shed? I saw two swooping in front of our house yesterday. I wondered if they were eyeing up the open fronted lean-to, for a nest...maybe for future years....but I was pleased, as I'...
by Jane W
Wed May 31, 2023 11:08 am
Forum: Identify This
Topic: Beetle identification
Replies: 2
Views: 1564

Re: Beetle identification

Thanks Paul O, your idea gave me a clue as to how to track down this beetle, and from what I can see it IS a kind of wood boring beetle. I think it's Morimus asper. Normally we have similar flora and fauna here (Brittany) and there (Devon), but on this occasion I think this may be a species not pres...