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Edinburgh Reporter
10-08-2025
- Science
- Edinburgh Reporter
Last chance to count butterflies
People in Edinburgh and the Lothians have until Sunday to take part in the world's largest annual butterfly survey, after the colourful insects crashed last year. The charity Butterfly Conservation (BC) has urged Scots to take part in its annual Big Butterfly Count, which draws to a close this weekend. The citizen science survey helps assess the health of the environment by recording the number and type of butterflies and some day-flying moths spotted around the UK. Members of the public spend 15 minutes in an outdoor space counting the butterflies they see, and record their results. Over 7400 Big Butterfly Counts have been made in Scotland in the recent weeks as part of this year's survey. The Large White has been the most commonly recorded species so far, ahead of the Gatekeeper. The Small White, Meadow Brown and Red Admiral make up the top five. Half of Britain's butterfly species are currently threatened or near threatened with extinction. Butterfly Conservation declared a 'butterfly emergency' after last summer's survey returned the lowest numbers on record. A spokesman said: 'Taking part in the Big Butterfly Count only takes 15 minutes but that can help to make a huge difference.' Peacock Trevor Goodfellow Like this: Like Related
The Herald Scotland
26-04-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
I ended up in hospital after a wasp sting - but I still love them
The workers become redundant in August so start sharing our food and do enjoy washing it down with a sip of beer. If you mistakenly swallow our companion, the resulting defensive sting could promptly despatch us to A & E, as I discovered last summer. Perhaps unsurprisingly this little yellow and black striped insect ain't too popular, but we should look beyond the sting and appreciate the insect for what it does for the rest of its life. The queen starts building her byke, or nest, and busily starts pollinating flowers like my loganberry in the greenhouse. She then starts laying eggs to build up her colony. We never see the worker wasps as they flit from plant to plant, catching greenfly and sawfly caterpillars they chomp up and feed the developing larvae in the byke. The workers live on nectar and a sugary liquid produced by the larvae. Read more Wasps come in many sizes, from near microscopic to a little larger than our picnic ones. They can be solitary or social like ours, simply feed on other insects, parasitise some, often caterpillars, or act as hyperparasitoids, attacking these parasitoids. Collectively, wasps help control other species, preventing damaging population explosions. As ever, we should intervene with these processes extremely cautiously as we rarely know or understand the full effect of our actions. We now know the more we learn, the more we need to learn. Many solitary wasps normally make their nests in the ground or in the case of Ectemnius cavifrons use rotten wood. This black specimen with a black and yellow striped abdomen is about the same size or slightly larger than the picnic wasp and can be found in lowland Scotland and further south. The female collects enough flies to stock the nest for the larva when it hatches. She injects chemicals into the victims to paralyse, not kill, them to keep them nice and fresh for the consumers. Other solitary wasps are parasitoids, after injecting paralysing chemicals into caterpillars they lay an egg which sets about consuming the caterpillar. Scottish gardeners will be pleased to know that Pimpla rufipes larvae dine on Large White butterfly caterpillars. And there are some unimaginably complicated life stories. Tiny gall wasps lay an egg or eggs on a plant's shoots or leaves. The plant is induced to produce a distinctively shaped protective casing with the developing larvae inside. They feed by making the cells inside the gall very thin walled. After this it feeds on the nutrients circulating through these cells. Finally before your brain explodes: one common gall on our wild roses is the Robin's Pincushion gall caused by the wasp Diplolepis rosae. These contain many developing larvae each in its own tiny chamber. But they are not necessarily safe inside their gall. Torymus bedeguaris is a largish, 3-8mm hyperparasitoid with a long ovipositor that can pierce through the gall to lay an egg on a larva inside. The larva that hatches from this egg eats the Diplolepis larva. Plant of the week Tulip 'Request' (Image: free) Tulip 'Request' has blooms the colour of blood oranges, bringing a glow and gentle warmth to spring plantings. They are also scented. Grow in a pot so you don't have so far to stoop to appreciate the scent and put it in a warm, sunny spot to bring out the perfume.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. egg prices halve since January peak, White House notes
-- On Monday, the White House drew attention to a significant drop in egg prices across the United States, as reported by the USDA Daily National Shell Egg Index Report. Data from the report, dated March 17, 2025, indicates that the cost of a dozen Large White eggs, the most commonly purchased variety in the country, has fallen to $3.45. This marks a sharp decrease from the $6.55 per dozen recorded on January 21, 2025, representing a nearly 50% reduction in price. The descent in egg prices is not only notable over the two-month period but has also been observed in the shorter term. Since March 14, 2025, egg prices have declined by 17%, underscoring a rapid decrease in costs for consumers. This recent pricing trend provides some relief following a period of soaring egg prices, which had escalated due to a bird flu outbreak affecting poultry across the nation. The bird flu epidemic had previously driven egg prices to unprecedented levels, impacting household budgets and becoming a focal point of political discourse. The elevated prices had been a significant concern for consumers, who rely on eggs as a staple food item due to their versatility and nutritional value. As the most popular choice, the price movement of caged Large White eggs serves as a key indicator of the egg market's overall health and consumer affordability. The White House's highlighting of the price drop reflects the administration's awareness of the economic pressures faced by Americans and the importance of food costs in the broader economic landscape. The current decline in egg prices may offer some economic relief to households and could influence purchasing behaviors in the coming weeks as we go into the Easter season - the busiest for egg sales. Related Articles U.S. egg prices halve since January peak, White House notes Red Sea insurance rates to stay firm as US airstrikes raise fears for ships SEC may scrap Biden-era crypto asset custody proposal, acting chief says
