(Guest post by Jessica Palmer)
Biodiversity is the variation of life
forms either within a species, or species within a larger ecosystem. Why is this important?
Increased biodiversity increases
productivity because each species has an important role to play in a
healthy ecosystem. A larger biodiversity within a species will help
it survive disasters because some of those variations will help it
adapt to the situation. If each specimen in a species was exactly the
same it would not allow for a fast recovery and would lead to higher
extinction rates. Biodiversity also helps sustainability and
variation of our crops.
It is well known that many of the habitats for grassland butterflies have been damaged by farming and pesticides as well as climate change causing a decline in these species. These wonderful creatures are not only beautiful to look at but also help those busy bees with the pollination of our fruits and vegetables. We are trying to do our part by leaving many areas as natural as possible and having a varied site including grass land, woodland, stream and agricultural areas.
I have not spent as much time as I would have liked to capture our beautiful wildlife but here are a few examples. We had a beautiful swallowtail butterfly but it eluded my camera. We had common ones like small and large whites, admirals etc. Unfortunately I only captured the most common ones.
It is well known that many of the habitats for grassland butterflies have been damaged by farming and pesticides as well as climate change causing a decline in these species. These wonderful creatures are not only beautiful to look at but also help those busy bees with the pollination of our fruits and vegetables. We are trying to do our part by leaving many areas as natural as possible and having a varied site including grass land, woodland, stream and agricultural areas.
I have not spent as much time as I would have liked to capture our beautiful wildlife but here are a few examples. We had a beautiful swallowtail butterfly but it eluded my camera. We had common ones like small and large whites, admirals etc. Unfortunately I only captured the most common ones.
Peacock
Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell
Painted Lady
a type of skipper I think
and this special one who is giving me some trouble to identify.
Please help identify and correct me if I am wrong on the others. As our little Freya is often running by my side scattering the flying ones so the caterpillars are easier to capture.
We had:
Swallowtail (Papilio Machaion if I am not mistaken)
Cinnabar Moth
Orgyia Antiqua Moth
again I can't identify this one so help please
The damselflies love the water as did the dragonflies but they were to fast for my focusing.
Swallowtail (Papilio Machaion if I am not mistaken)
Cinnabar Moth
Orgyia Antiqua Moth
again I can't identify this one so help please
The damselflies love the water as did the dragonflies but they were to fast for my focusing.
Here are a few
poor snaps to show the 4 most commonly seen at our stream.
