we saw a load two weeks ago, and again a bunch of them today,
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I saw a thing in the garden (3 Viewers)
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Less than a week ago here
What triggers them starting the process? If it’s based on something seasonal, the variation in time could be based on something like latitude (like flowers blooming during spring).
it also might be some colony size thing, similar to bees swarming. Like once there's enough of them, once their nest / hive is getting to ~capacity, it's go time.
I guess it depends on what the driver is. Are they looking to breed or find new territory?
If it's breed they'd want to sync up within species (then they'd use something like you're saying, day length or something that they can all agree on). If it's territory they'd want a critical mass to just go off in all directions with some probability of happening upon a tasty bit of real estate.
Hmm. So seemingly the answer is "yes".
www.nhm.ac.uk
They seem to be saying that there's size constraints on the colony, but somehow in addition to this reaching a critical colony size they ALSO all pick a day they agree upon to go off having sex with each other. But it's not some hard and fast rule like day length, it's more "it seems nice and warm and not too windy".
Seems haphazard. Although it might explain why they were flying early here, it was lovely here at the start of the summer.
here, pop fact. The reason that cicadas and all those things that bury themselves for years and all hatch out at the same time to have sex pick prime numbers to stagger their emergence is that is makes is very difficult for predators to align their breeding cycles to that emergence. Since it's prime, there is no factors of the number, so the only way that they can consistently line up the breeding is to both use that prime (or a multiple of it), and synchronize.
Flying ant day: when winged ants take their nuptial flight
Get the facts on when and why ants grow wings and swarm.
They seem to be saying that there's size constraints on the colony, but somehow in addition to this reaching a critical colony size they ALSO all pick a day they agree upon to go off having sex with each other. But it's not some hard and fast rule like day length, it's more "it seems nice and warm and not too windy".
Seems haphazard. Although it might explain why they were flying early here, it was lovely here at the start of the summer.
here, pop fact. The reason that cicadas and all those things that bury themselves for years and all hatch out at the same time to have sex pick prime numbers to stagger their emergence is that is makes is very difficult for predators to align their breeding cycles to that emergence. Since it's prime, there is no factors of the number, so the only way that they can consistently line up the breeding is to both use that prime (or a multiple of it), and synchronize.
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Insects are deadly.
Also, here’s a moth sitting on my garden gate.
Also, here’s a moth sitting on my garden gate.
I was wondering what it was, I don’t remember seeing one before.
that was what google lens suggested based on your photo.
might be worth reporting it to the national biodiversity data centre - unless i'm using the site wrong, they've no records listed for it in ireland.
might be worth reporting it to the national biodiversity data centre - unless i'm using the site wrong, they've no records listed for it in ireland.
I'm into moths, especially the ones with the feathery antenae.
There was some class of moth that came to the honeysuckle in the courtyard during August at night. I'd never seen them in Ireland before, I only noticed them because they were buzzing away like little hummingbirds. I couldn't get a photo of them because they'd be tearing about all the time.
Oh. OK. I just typed "hawk moth Ireland" it it pulled it up instantly. Humming bird hawk moth. https://biodiversityireland.ie/app/uploads/2023/06/Species-13-Humming-bird-Hawk-moth-final.pdf
Really common apparently? Shows how observant I was I guess.
Happily the leaf cutter bees are back this year. I was worried they'd buggered off, but they've just moved their attentions to a different area. It's cool watching them snip sections of leaf out and fly away with it.
i have a couple of videos of one in the front garden from a few years back. this one was done in slo-mo.
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Unknown Convict
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You're confusing them with The House Martins.
I just submitted it there, good thinking. It’s listed as box moth and there seems to be a cluster in south Dublin but I’m only the 15th record for it on the site.
I think it can take a while for your record to be verified, they're sent off to an expert at the end of each month or summat.
Just saw a goldcrest there in the overgrown garden.
They are tiny. The site lists them as being comparable in size to a wren, ~9cm, but they seem a good bit smaller.
The sweetest little things, they fly like tiny drones too, buzzing straight from here to there.
They are tiny. The site lists them as being comparable in size to a wren, ~9cm, but they seem a good bit smaller.
The sweetest little things, they fly like tiny drones too, buzzing straight from here to there.
they're like feathery little golf balls.
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Moths
Moths are often misunderstood, but they hold vital roles in the wildlife ecosystem. Although many people overlook them, moths are numerous and widespread, with over 2,500 species in Britain living in a wide range of habitats. Since 1900 there have been 51 moth extinctions in Britain. Others...
"The rarest of the four British Cosmia species, the White-spotted Pinion underwent a rapid decline as a result of Dutch elm disease during the 1970"
Seems they are rare so I naturally uploaded my sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
#youknowyouregettingold
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