Brian's Nature Diary for January 2008
If you are driving around the countryside on a mild night at this time of year you are likely to pick up tiny vaguely leaf-like shapes drifting in the headlamp’s beam. Several species of moths occur in January, but the one you are most likely to see is the aptly named winter moth. And all of them will be males. How can I be sure of this? Well the females of this species have their wings reduced to mere stubs, and so they are flightless. The males on the other hand have feathery antennae, specially designed to pick up the irresistible perfume that the female produces. So powerful is this sex-attractant that the males will head towards her from a good way off, in some species hundreds of yards. Whoever gets to the lady first is declared the winner.
The winter moth is the main reason why fruit tree growers used to put grease bands around the trunks of their trees. For the female clambers up into the branches to lay her eggs. On unprotected trees the caterpillars hatch and set about devouring the new leaves in spring. So serious were the depredations of this insect that, in the 19th century trees in Kent and the Vale of Evesham were stripped of their leaves. Nowadays this and other pests of fruit trees tend to be controlled by chemical sprays.
Another insect which emerges during mild spells in winter are the several species of winter gnat. You can see these as thousands of minute winged specks that rise and fall, like puffs of smoke in the wan sunlight. Once again these are all males, and their winged dance is designed to attract the females as they sit in nearby vegetation. If you watch them closely, you may see one of the females as she rises towards the male of her choice, and they settle down to mate. According to the species she will then go off to lay her eggs, perhaps in a puddle, or in damp grass, or in leaf litter.
|By and large, of course, insects in winter are conspicuous by their absence. Most kinds spend the cold months as eggs or pupae. Some of those that are active in these conditions are protected by glycols – antifreeze – in their ‘blood.’ By the way, they do not bite humans!
ENVIRONMENTAL TIP OF THE MONTH.
Try to grow as much food as you can in the coming months. Due to the rising cost of oil, and the fact that food plants are being diverted to make biofuels to keep the gas-guzzlers on the road, among other reasons, food prices are set to rocket. Anything that you can grow for yourself will not only save you a packet, but will taste infinitely better, and your digestive system will not have to deal with a cocktail of chemical pesticide residues. If you do not have a garden, then use a few large flowerpots or a growbag or two on your verandah or patio.
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