Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 79
Country life
Green Army goes Wild about Wight!
keeping the trees and scrub in check in the glades or
bee hot spots is another (winter) job.
For more information on how to get involved with
The Green Army recently joined the Hampshire & Isle
Wild
About Wight: Email: [email protected]
of Wight Wildlife Trust in one of their newest Island
or
[email protected],
Facebook: Natural
reserves, Martin’s Wood in Newchurch. While part of
Wight
and
Green
Army
Isle
of
Wight,
Twitter @
the reserve is managed for its relatively new woodland
VectisHA
&
@downtothecoast
benefitting red squirrels and woodland birds, the
really special thing about much of this site is that it’s
2016 Bioblitz
an absolute magnet for bees and wasps!
112 species of bees and wasps have been discovered
The National Trust hosted the 2016 Bioblitz at
in the open glades between the woodland here,
Newtown’s National Nature Reserve. The day was a
making this patch of land internationally significant!
wonderful success, with over 200 people taking part.
The reserve needs regular management for the bees
The main event started at 10am with a series of walks
- making sure that the turf is turned over in patches
and activities taking place across the site. Experts
and the bees can nest more easily is one job and
provided opportunities for people to sift through mud,
hoover up bugs or dissect owl pellets. The steady
stream of participants recorded species all day, with
nearly 1500 observations submitted giving over
600 different identified species. Some of the most
exciting species found include: the sea gooseberry
(Pleurobrachia pileus), and the violet leaf midge
(Dasineura affinis) which was the first record of this
species for the Isle of Wight.
Overall it was a tremendous showcase for the
breadth of wildlife found on and around the
Island. The full report will be available from www.
wildonwight.co.uk
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR...
TEASALS
A favourite of many
wildflower lovers, found in
rough grass, wood edges
and hedgerows and often
encouraged in the garden.
They readily grow to six
feet, with every bit of them
having spikes; stem, leaves
and seed heads! Having
flowered in the late summer
and been a poplar pollen
source for bees, they now
produce seeds that attract
goldfinches.
COMMON SEA
LAVENDER
DEPARTING
MIGRANTS
This can be found in our salt
marshes around the coast,
often covering large areas
and giving a spectacular
colourful display. The
flowers are small, bluishviolet in dense, one-sided
branched spikes that form
flat topped clusters. It is
the lesser known ‘cousin’
of the more popular thrift
that we also see around our
coastline.
Many different birds fly
to our shores and spend
the summer here to breed
before flying back with
their young. We all know of
swallows, house martins and
swifts, but also departing
this autumn are warblers,
flycatchers, redstarts and
yellow wagtails. All insect
eaters! They will fly south, in
search of a warmer climate.
COMMA BUTTERFLY
The Comma can look rather
‘tatty’, with its ragged wing
edges. It is bright orange
and brown, the underside
being a dull brown, with a
white mark, shaped like a
comma, hence its name.
The butterflies hatching
in summer, and being of
a lighter colour, will breed
again, with their young
hatching now, before
hibernating over winter.
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