Alison Roberts reports on BATS: Wharfedale Naturalists final webinar of the autumn/winter season DO you love them? Do you hate them? Are they the silent nymphs of a summer’s night as they fly across your garden or do they make you shudder? They often get a bad press so to set the record straight with a fascinating insight into the activities and behaviour of bats the Wharfedale Naturalists were delighted to welcome two bat devotees and serious scientists: Greg Slack, a consultant ecologist specialising in bats and Matt Whittle, consultant ecologist and Wharfedale Naturalists committee member. We all know that bats are the only flying mammals but did we know that the UK is home to 18 species of bats (Worldwide some 1,300 species) - 25% of UK mammal species, the tiny pipistrelle being the commonest. Weighing in at about 5 grams it can still consume up to 3,000 small insects in a night.
Polly Hoskin reports on the Wharfedale Naturalists Webinar April 6th 2021: The Nature of Lockdown Part 2 “IT was similar to a wildebeest giving birth on the plains of Africa.” This is how Anne Riley introduced a photograph of an event in her Burley in Wharfedale garden last summer. The event? The live birth of an aphid which emerged and then quickly scuttled away. This statement and the detailed photographs which accompanied it demonstrate Anne Riley’s love and enthusiasm for insects. During lockdown last year Anne took numerous photographs of the insects living in her garden which she describes as a haven for wildlife. She and her husband garden organically, with limited interference and have specifically planted species that are beneficial for pollinators. After the talk, asked about the best plants to attract insects, Anne’s answer included the controversial ragwort and nettles as well as field scabious, vipers bugloss, meadow cranesbill and red valerian.