h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

First heather seedlings, four of them, spotted on the third area of heathland re-creation on the Heath today. Fantastic! Now all three fields being turned back to heathland have heather plants.


Next step is s on the fields, then the s will move in.

There was a count of the s this summer. Just under 3,300 s found on one day on remnant heathland. When all three fields are heathland again numbers could be ten times that...

Congratulations.

We are finally reclaming a lot of land that was mined and then abandoned with the tailing piles and shafts left behind. I was so hoping that they would let it go back to native prairie, but it looks like they are going to sell it to developers.

Firld. That's field, dope. Field number three is still go - if at a saunter. Quite a few heather seedlings this autumn, though mostly around the edges. Three little heather plants were found in flower, another had seeded already.

Field one is at least 75% covered with well grown heather, knee high in places. And was mature enough to harvest seed from to sow on field three. Field two is making slow but steady progress.

There are ants on the edges.

The s suffered this summer like so many butterflies in 2012. Down to around 10% of last year's numbers. Probably the caterpillars simply found it too cold and maybe too little new and tender growth on their foodplants. I found seven extremely small caterpillars just a week before the adults started emerging in 2011. Just 3mm and brown. 15mm and green is what they should have been. I suspect they never grew enough. The s will be back. Those that emerged seemed ok, and should have laid eggs. Being fewer, they'll get lots of attention and protection from the ants and any parasitic wasps should have taken a nosedive in population.

Hyp, if you pass by, any news on the prairie/development? A lot of land round here was mined, very little sign of it now, 100 years-ish later.

Have you seen the on the h2g2 Front Page Waz? There's another on the Entry

Nice s . There's something special about blue butterflies. The ones on the heath are Silver-studded Blues and are just gorgeous.

Awesome