We have all heard about the decline in insects. But the news that's hitting the headlines at the moment is even bleaker. Here are two headlines I have read from the Guardian this week - " A giant insect ecosystem is collapsing due to humans. It's a catastrophe" and "Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers" I have been lucky enough to travel to some distant corners of the world and experience some of the crazy and beautiful insects that are out there. I have seen an Atlas moth in Laos, Fire flies dancing like fairies through the wild forests of Vietnam and been bitten by several Army ants in the Amazon. I would love for many others in the future to be able to experience this as well.
Photos by Gethin Elias
Without insects the world will not be the same, without insects the world will start dying. We must try to do more to protect our insect world. We have lost 98% of our wildflower meadows in the UK. This in itself will have had a dramatic affect on our insect population. Here at Lake Vyrnwy I am developing and improving my passion for meadows. Over the next few years we will be improving our meadows by managing them in the right way, by grazing them through the winter and into early spring and then taking the stock off and letting nature take charge, creating a slow motion firework display! At the end of summer when I am happy that the plants have set seed we will cut for hay. Not all of our fields are flat enough to cut for hay, so in these areas they will be grazed at the end of summer. In the ideal world I would graze some fields and cut the others for hay in a patchwork effect. This will allow the insects a better chance of completing their life circle. As you can imagine, cutting for hay wipes out a lot of insects in the process.
Photo by Gethin Elias Here are a few insects you might see in Lake Vyrnwy in the spring and summer.
Photos by Gethin Elias Recent bird sightings It's been rather a wild week to put it mildly! There have been a few Redwings around and a few sightings of Brambling, the first trickle of our winter visitors. Kestrels are seen daily at Gadfa on the road to Dinas Mawddwy and I've also had a Woodcock. You can see Siskin and Marsh tit from Coed y Capel hide. There are quite a few flocks of Crossbill around as well.
Gethin Elias, Assistant Warden
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