One we’ve not seen before!

If you live in rural Mallorca, as we do, you can’t afford be too squeamish about insects, because there are plenty of them to share our lives. We’ve seen some interesting specimens over the years, including an amazing moth that was the size of a small bird. We had friends round for supper on the terrace that night and the timing of this moth’s fluttering around the outside light was perfect – as though we’d organised its visit for their amusement. 

Ant-ics

The most common insect visitors inside our house are ants – and this is the time of year when they start to become a nuisance, carrying off cat biscuit crumbs that our Birman cat Minstral’s dropped on the floor around his dish, and looking for anything minute and food-like they can find. You can’t fault the work ethic of ants though; shame they can’t paint ceilings . . .

Today, The Boss spotted something rather unusual on the wall by our front terrace. We have no idea what it is, but I grabbed the camera all the same.

Does anyone know what it is?

Answers on a virtual postcard please!

bagworms are merely moth caterpillars dress in twigs or other plant materials.

Learn: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/MISC/MOTHS/bagworm.htm

My take: http://www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com/its-in-the-bagin-the-garden.html

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                   1. Be really familiar with the material you’re adapting. 

                   2. Know the effect the original has on an audience. The important things to bring over are the “heart and soul,” not the details. 

This really is the essence of what Krevolin says throughout the entire book. The feeling is what makes a piece important, and it’s what should survive the adaptation process. In some ways this pertains more to exactitude, with tone and feeling, than lightness. But lightness is a feeling within itself and since Austerlitz taught me a new definition of the quality I want to be sure to communicate the nuances of the feeling it inspired in me through my own adaptation. 

The ‘light’ feeling in Sebald’s novel has a suspended quality more suited to water than air. The words fall across the pages steadily, with a haunting quality I’d associate with the sound of a heart monitor. If I look into Austerlitz for examples, I’d say the lightness can be found in the story of the moths, in which Austerlitz recounts being fascinated by all the varieties of moth swirling upward through the night on a hill in Wales, then talks about how moths, caught indoors, will cling to the same spot on a wall as if knowing they are irrevocably lost, hanging on even as they die. The detached feeling of the book is scientific but at the same time traumatized, like a murder witness recounting their story in an interrogation room. At some times it seems unbearably grim and yet there is never any heaviness in the account, just the communication of facts. It’s my job to try to isolate the feelings that I identify with lightness and Austerlitz in myself, and transform them in this way to a visual medium, without losing the effect. 

I’ve been ‘home’ for a couple of weeks now and still not quite settled.  Hard to tell if this is an ongoing state of ‘homelessness’ or a reaction against the cold spring and my weatherworn fell, still nowhere near green.

One of my new Sydney friends, Katie, gave me an exquisite pair of curtains she’d made, incorporating screenprints of the patterns on Scribbly Gums.  I hung them at my sitting room window last week so now my view (of a landscape so unlike anything I’ve seen in the past three months I sometimes think it must all have been a dream – or this is…) is framed by a reminder of those wonderful trees on the other side of the world.

The Scribbly Gum Moth lays its eggs in the layers between the old and new bark and, when they hatch, the larvae tunnel their way along, eating the wood as they go.  They loop back the way they came before falling to the ground to pupate.  When the old bark drops off, their tracks are revealed, with the scribbly appearance that gives both moth and tree their name.

Native to New South Wales, the Scribbly Gum is just one of over 700 species of Eucalypt.  Many of them are hard to identify but its distinctive markings make it easy to spot.  The sense that something is written there – a secret, in code, some mysterious script – is tantalizing.  So much of my journey seemed to involve making translations from the world of nature, reading what wasn’t written.  Strange now to be back at my desk and starting a process of making translations of my own translations, tunnelling between the old and the new – even my curtains asking to be deciphered!

Scribbly-Gum  

The cold spring falls from the stone.


I passed and heard


the mountain, palm and fern


spoken in one strange word.


The gum-tree stands by the spring.


I peeled its splitting bark 


and found the written track


of a life I could not read.

Judith Wright

Common Quaker

Hebrew Character

Two wee beauties from Sunday night’s and last night’s trappings respectively, my first two successful trappings of the year.

The WB100 is earning its stripes! Click on the photos to view them in high-res on Flickr.

More about them on the Log.

Common Quaker and Hebrew Character bring the year list to…
2013 MOTHS: 10

I was very affected that it wasn’t ‘thriving’. I walk by beggars every day here in Mexico, often the same people who have been panhandling at the same corners for years. I admit to being rarely affected by their begging. It seems to come with the territory, and most of them have food and water nearby.

But this struggling hawk moth, it got to me. We are in the driest part of the year here, and most everything in nature looks shut down or in heavy conservation mode. Except for the birds. The birds are raucous in the morning, and they are raucous at night. Many are mating in mid-air or joining long lines of kin as they fly to one watering hole in the morning, and another in the evening, day after day after day.

I looked up the Latin for eumorpha typhon. It was here that I found a way to connect the unexpected appearance of this rarity to the events unfolding in my life: an impending stay in the US to attend to one son’s healing, a lengthy separation from my husband and youngest son, and more.  ‘Eumorpha typhon’ means ‘well-formed whirlwind’ and whirlwind is precisely the state we are in.

I know I could construct a set of deeper, more expanded symbols out of my encounter with this moth. Don’t most of us do that at one time or another, when we are searching for meaning or for a way to explain the pockets of chaos or doldrums our lives fall into. Instead, I find I am grateful that this bug arrested me, and in that pause I was able to get quiet, and look deep, and see the beauty of a thing as it was winding down the days of its life.

This critter, which over-wintered in this form (where, by Godwin?), was not heading towards Flatbush Ave (quite the opposite, in fact), a gauntlet of infernal combustion-driven death, so we just let it go on its way. It’s a nocturnal feeder, “broadly polyphagous” (hey, moi aussie!) according to David L. Wagner’s Caterpillars of Eastern North America. The leopard-patterned adult moth looks quite handsome. I’ve never seen one before. This was a first time for the caterpillar, too. The night is full of surprises.

©2013 Melissa Marie Hernandez

©2013 Melissa Marie Hernandez

©2013 Melissa Marie Hernandez

In order to help you keep the pests out, you need to take a look at your plumbing. Be certain your drains are clog-free, inside and outside the house. The stuff that plugs up a pipe often attracts pests like cockroaches, flies and ants. Once drains are clear, check them monthly.

If you have a mosquito infestation, get rid of standing water found in your garden. Standing water provides a place for mosquitoes to lay eggs and mosquito larvae to grow. Check spots around your house where standing water may occur, like flowerpots or near your foundation.

Read all the directions on the labels on pesticides before use. While it might seem that using more of a product will give you better results, that us not true. Often, when you use more, you endanger creatures other than the pests.

Carpenter ant infestations are almost always a sign of a bigger problem. Carpenter ants love wood that is wet; this might be a leak if you have them. Enlist the help of a professional to locate the problem so they can fix it.

Beetle and other insects that eat wood require your immediate attention. The right formula is found in stores and can get them off of your wood. You might have to replace your woodwork if their damage is too extensive.

Be sure to rinse containers thoroughly before you add them to your recycle bin. Many items like soda cans have sugar in them. Try to get out all the soda so you don’t add the container to your trash filled with a substance that will draw bugs.

Try using an electronic device for pests. Simply put one in an electric outlet in every room. It makes a soft buzzing noise that keeps rodents away. While humans cannot hear the sounds, they are perfectly safe. Rodents, on the other hand, aren’t fond of the sound, and will evacuate the area.

If you find evidence that pests have gotten into your food, get rid of the item immediately. Be sure the food is thrown away outside, and the bin is kept far from your home. By doing this, you can prevent them from reentering your home and reproducing, leading to more pests.

Do you find that you are battling ants in your home? Mix borax and sugar to eliminate them. Sugar attracts them and borax kills them. Make a trap by blending equal parts borax and sugar in a quart-sized jar. Sprinkle this mixture along the baseboards of your home, as well as the foundation.

Pest control and eradication is a lucrative business. Catching your pest problem early can really save you time and aggravation. The next time you encounter a pest issue, review this information. If you can take care of the problem early, you’ll likely not have to pay the cost of professional extermination. Stay on top of pest control practices, and you surely will be glad you did.

Click here

If you have pets in your home, keep tabs on any professional level baits for mice. Dogs must not access these stations. The stations use poisonous bait that can be very harmful to dogs.

Checking your plumbing is one way to get a hold on the pest population in your house. Check drains and sinks for any clogging. Pests like roaches and flies like the food stuff that accumulates in these areas. After you have initially cleared your drains, do this on a monthly basis.

Bombs are not monetarily practical when trying to get rid of pests. Bombs can actually make it worse since these are two completely different bugs. Find out the best treatment by calling a professional.

A natural method of getting rid of raccoons is to use mustard oil. Put the oil in the critter’s living area and look around for its point of entrance. Then make sure you put up some mesh wire so that it’s not able to get back inside.

Outdoor lighting is wonderful for entertaining and to divert strangers from your home, but these lights can attract pests. If you must have outdoor lighting, try using bulbs that are pink, yellow or orange in tint, as these tend to attract pests much less.

Lights outside can attract bugs. Therefore, these lights should be kept away from your home’s entrances. You can reduce the pests’ chance of entering by using orange or yellow lights since they aren’t as attracted to them.

Scan your foundation and walls for cracks. Older houses are sure to have cracks and openings all around the foundations. These cracks can serve as entry points for pests. Inspect the ceiling too. Pests get in through tiny cracks here as well.

A collection of recyclables can attract pests. To prevent this, the best choice is to store these bins outside of the house. If you can’t do this, rinse everything before throwing it in the bin. Seal up your recycling bins to keep pests away.

Rats and mice will be attracted to a lot of different types of food. Meats, peanut butter and cheese all work perfectly in rodent traps. You can also use spoiled food, as this works as well.

Do you find that you are battling ants in your home? Mix borax and sugar to eliminate them. Sugar attracts them and borax kills them. Make a trap by blending equal parts borax and sugar in a quart-sized jar. Sprinkle this mixture along the baseboards of your home, as well as the foundation.

In conclusion, you can get rid of pests for good. With that said, that does not mean that they have to become part of your daily life by any means. Follow the advice listed above to take back your home. Once you have gotten your pest infestation under control, you can begin enjoying your home again.

Click Here!

Secondly, I thought about writing about romantic literature and my opinion on it, and being in love and blah blah blah. Then I whipped on a TSwift song and thought “No Dina, you are not going to write some pretentious bullshit about romance. It’ll end up sounding like an cheesy love article on “Psychology Today”. I dodged a bullet. For the record, I think the only reason this idea came about was because I had just finished watching The Notebook. WHICH I REALLY DO NOT LIKE (the film or the book, oh and I was forced into watching in – family movie night).
Moving swiftly on, the next idea I had was to simply discuss that acting is very hard. But I guess this is only because I have recently been struggling with acting and felt rather angry with those (no one in particular, just people) who say “oh, it’s just acting, anyone can act”. No no no. There is no such thing as “anyone can act” just like there is no such thing as “anyone can sing”. These are mostly said by people who have never ever tried acting or singing. I have been one of these people before, though.

I think that concludes my list of thi – NO, one more, I have one more. After writing the blog post about why I don’t like what other people like, many many friends came up and declared the termination of our friendship. So I was going to piss them off even more by making the list longer and explaining in grave detail about why I didn’t like the stuff, all in a big blog post.

In other news… Margaret Thatcher died, I found an awesome theory for DW’s 50th anniversary episode, Michael Gove wants to make school days longer and researchers have finally found out how moth’s use their body to float. I guess this super short blog was just a way of giving myself a break from line learning. Umm, if you actually want me to write a post about one of the ideas listed above, drop me a comment. Oh dear, this post was clearly for my pleasure not yours. So don’t be too disappointed… because this is the end.

Hear John Pence, Julia Maher, & Jacob Morris (Moths) perfom at the April 2013 New Town Revue.

Hang by silk thread from spring trees

Geometer moths.

Art Prescription:  These little worms are hitch-hikers. Next thing you know you have an inch worm on your shoulder. Carefully remove them and place them on a nearby leaf. They are on a journey to become Geometer Moths. A huge family of moths, around 35,000 species, and their colors vary from flat greys to vibrant pinks.

Butterfly Rainforest Habitat at the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, April 2013

Two weeks ago, my son and I visited the fabulous Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, Gainesville Campus!  If you are a Lepidoptera lover, this is a place that I highly recommend that you visit!  In the entomology section of the museum there is a Butterfly Rainforest; a laboratory; caterpillar rearing exhibits; a pupae room; display cases of butterflies, moths, and other insects; nearly a three-storied high display of butterflies and moths in cases and/or photographs of them; models of butterflies and moths; and videos about butterflies that are presented. 

Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides) Getting Nourishment in Butterfly Rainforest Habitat at Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

The Florida Museum of Natural History includes a Butterfly Rainforest within a section that is devoted mostly to Lepidoptera – butterflies, moths, caterpillars, and pupae.  The Butterfly Rainforest is a tropically-styled habitat for butterflies and moths, and it includes many trees, plants, flowers, birds, fish, and turtles.  In the Butterfly Rainforest, we observed many different species of tropical butterflies, photographs of some of which are included in this post. 

Owl Butterfly (Caligo memnon or Caligo idomeneus) in Butterfly Rainforest Habitat at Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

To me, the most beautiful of the butterflies in the Butterfly Rainforest were the Morpho butterflies.  The large Morphos (Morpho peleides) in the Butterfly Rainforest Habitat have eyespots on the undersides of their brown wings, and have a beautiful, irridescent blue color on the upper side of their wings.  The striking, large Owl butterflies (Caligo memnon or Caligo idomeneus), also with beautiful eyespots, were also wonderful to view.

Paper Kite (Idea leuconoe) Butterfly in Butterfly Rainforest Habitat at Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

There were also several Paper Kite butterflies (Idea leuconoe) in the Butterfly Rainforest Habitat.  These butterflies may also be known as Rice Paper butterflies or Large Tree Nymph butterflies.  They butterflies are large, with a wingspan of about 4″-5″, and have black and white stripes on their wings.  They are slow and deliberate in their flight, and remind me of kites that are flying in the wind.

Brown Clipper Butterfly (Parthenos sylvia brown) in Butterfly Rainforest Habitat at Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

A couple of other butterflies that my son and I enjoyed observing in the Butterfly Rainforest Habitat included the Brown Clipper (Parthenos sylvia brown) and Blue Clipper (Parthenos sylvia blue).  This butterfly has two color forms - brown and blue – and is respectively native to the Phillipines and Malaysia.  Both butterflies are beautiful to behold.  They are fast fliers; and their stripes resemble those of tigers.

Blue Clipper Butterfly (Parthenos sylvia blue) in Butterfly Rainforest Habitat at Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

A very unique feature of the Florida Museum of Natural History, Lepidoptera and Entomology Section, is the Butterfly Wall.  This wall is nearly three stories high, and contains photographs of butterflies and moths, as well as display cases that show them.  It is extremely impressive!  Following are photographs of the Butterfly Wall, as well as certain sections of it.  Also to follow are pictures of the Pupae Room and Caterpillar Rearing Area.  Some of the photos may also include my son.

Section of Butterfly Wall and my Son in Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Large Section of Butterfly Wall in Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Section of Butterfly Wall in Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Pupae Room, and my Son, in Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville,
April 2013

Pupae Room with Exotic Moths, and my Son, in Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Silkworm Moth Caterpillars Being Raised in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Butterfly Caterpillars Being Raised in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Also included in the Museum were many display cases that presented butterflies, moths, and other insects.  Following are photos of a few of the display cases. 

A Butterfly Display Case in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

A Moth Display Case Showing Males and Females of the Same Species in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

An Exotic Moth and Butterfly Display Case in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

Videos educating visitors about Lepidoptera were also available for viewing at the Museum.  While my son and I were there, we watched a portion of a video about Monarch butterflies.  It was great to be able to explain to my son how Monarchs migrate and roost.

Video About Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus)) and my Son, at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, April 2013

All of the butterflies in the Butterfly Rainforest Habitat were a real treat to watch as they flew throughout the enclosure, with a few landing on their human observers.  In all, we spent about two hours at the Florida Museum of Natural History, also enjoying the Titanoboa Exhibit.  We had a really great time there, and wish we could have stayed longer!

Meanwhile, I am watching from afar because I have abandoned my lunch bag and my phone as Mothra is too close for comfort. I am terrified of bugs, particularly big bugs like this one, touching me. I knew if that thing smacked into me I wouldn’t be the same for the rest of the night.

Finally, the dumb creature either figures out that it can’t get into the light, or it has knocked itself silly and needs to take a break, because it lights on a sign and sits there quietly. Don’t know what happens after because I leave to get back to work.

I can’t help but wonder about why in the world moths are attracted to light so much. What do they want with it? They see it, they want it. What if they acquire it? What would they use it for? Do they want to BE the light? Do moths have emotions and do light bulbs make them happy?

I liken this observation to people and money. People want money. They see it, they want it. If they acquire it, they want to spend it on whatever. But ultimately, do they want to BE money, in a figurative sense? Does money make people happy? Things that make you say “Hmmmmm…”…

Last weekend I started preparing for storing my knits for the summer. This is the first year I’ve tried to be vigilant about it, after I found several holes in my knits last November. That was devastating, and most of the items have been repaired to a satisfactory level. The holes in my Still Light Tunic were too large to fix in a really nice way (according to my limited experience with knitting repairs in finished objects), but I will still wear it.

I don’t know if these holes were the work of moths. From the horrifying conversation that happened at knit night last week (all about moths) it seems like there should have been some kind of sticky residue on the item if it was moth-related, but nevertheless, I need to take some precautions.

You can see drawings my brother made as a kiddo.

This is the first year I’m storing things in a cedar chest. My mom generously let me have one of hers. I know I will soon outgrow this and have to thing of other storage options, but it’s good for now. I have taken the added precaution of rubbing lavender essential oil all around the very inside rim to further deter bugs. I’m unwilling to use moth balls. That smell isn’t worth it. I’ve heard good things about neem oil too, but I don’t know what that smells like.

I’ve read that it’s important to store clean items, because moths and other pests are more attracted to things that smell like humans. To save some sanity, I started putting my hand wash sweaters (pretty much all of them) in the washing machine just on the soak and spin cycle. I let them soak in Euclan no-rinse wool wash for about 40 minutes or so and then spin out the water. I read about this somewhere before (maybe Yarn Harlot?) and it seems to be gentle, but also an easier process for getting a lot of hand knits washed at the same time.

The drawback to this method is that I don’t have enough space to dry all of my sweaters flat in my less than 800 sq foot house. I use a drying rack and try to drape them in a way that will retain their shape as well as I possibly can. So far, in the couple of times that I’ve done this, the sweaters haven’t gotten out of their original blocked shape.

There are a few cold days left in the season, but I won’t be wearing most of these until fall. Sweet dreams, winter knits.

I’m waking this blog up (temporarily) to share some exciting news:

David Beadle and I will be doing a new Peterson moth guide, for southeastern North America! Many of the details are still being worked out, but it will be very similar to the northeast guide in format. It will contain about 1600 of the most common or flashy species from the region, and will cover the range shown in the map above – from North Carolina to Florida, west to Oklahoma and central Texas. Release date is TBD, but I suspect will likely be about summer 2016.

We’ll be working on the materials over the course of the next year and a half, including some travel and soliciting high-quality photos to obtain images of species we don’t currently have them for. I’m really looking forward to getting out to visit some of these areas this summer and perhaps next.

And in other developments:

I haven’t talked about it much, but in my spare time I’ve been writing novels. Over the last couple of years I’ve been working at getting better at the craft and writing a really strong story, and last week I finally signed with a literary agent! Rachael Dugas of Talcott Notch Literary read and loved my latest novel and offered to represent me and my work. To place your book with large publishing houses you need to go through an agent, and finding a literary agent is more like winning a place with one of the coaches on The Voice (they have to really fall in love with your work for them to offer representation) than it is hiring a realtor – so this was really exciting! Next up, she’ll be working to try to sell it to a publisher for me. I’ve been posting more about my writing journey at my writing blog.

Also, Dan and I are moving again! As last time, our landlord has decided to sell the house. We haven’t yet found a new place in the area that will work for us, but hopefully soon; in the meantime, we’ve been busy preparing to move, packing things, and that’s kept us pretty occupied the last little while, too.

A final note about the blog:

I’ve been quite busy working on various projects over the last year, and the novels have taken up a lot of my extra time. I ended up having to let something go, and that something was the blog – at 2-3 hours per post, even just a couple posts a week eats up a lot of time. Plus I’d already blogged about a lot of the common and easy stuff where we lived. I may yet come back to it – especially if I were to get a smartphone that I could take photos with and post easily – but I don’t have immediate plans.

I do, however, intend to post periodic updates on the status of the new guide. If you’re interested in hearing the latest you could check in from time to time, subscribe to the blog through an RSS feed reader, or by email (click the “Follow” button at the top, if you’re logged in to WordPress).

Surprise!
In the silent darkness
Sanctuary for tiny “flutters”
Eat their fill
Left only holes
Large and small
Hats, coats, scarves and mittens
Even the fringe
Stowaways in a poncho
From Peru

What evil lurks
Behind closed doors

Can damage cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower crops but in broccoli and cauliflower, the damage is indirect because they on

leaves and not on flower head.

Rain plays a major roll in control.

Shown on Florida Native Lepidium virginicum (VIRGINIA PEPPERWEED), an alternate host which may help protect your garden vegetables.

Learn: http://web.entomology.cornell.edu/shelton/veg-insects-global/english/dbm.html

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1957 edition. £12.99

1956 (first) edition. £29.99

1956 (first) edition. £19.99

1969 edition. £12.99

1957 (first) edition. £34.99.

If the answer is ‘yes’, that’s a sure sign that you are either a book volunteer, should be a book volunteer or else you are one of the many collectors of this lovely series of books on natural history.

There are now over 100 titles in this series, published by Collins, from Number 1 ‘Butterflies’ to number 106 ‘Dragonflies’. William Collins, founder of the publishing House set out in the early 1940s to produce a series of books on the wildlife and natural history of Britain that would be written by eminent academics and be beautiful to look at. It was an early project to make science accessible. Over the years many of the titles have become classics.

Here are some of the books we found in the sorting room today. We have protected the beautiful dust wrappers.

As you can see from this valuation list, collectors of these titles will probably be spending  quite a lot on their collection.

(Update: ‘Moths’ had been on the shelf for about 10 minutes before it was bought by a very lucky customer. ‘The Sea Coast’ has also been sold)

From Wildlife Extra:

Lydd Airport approval is a disaster for bugs

Conservation charities dismayed by Lydd airport expansion plans

April 2013. Wildlife charity, Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust is extremely disappointed that the Government has approved the expansion of Lydd Airport in Kent. The neighbouring site at Dungeness is known to be home to a number of rare and endangered invertebrates including the Sussex Emerald moth.

Alice Farr, Buglife Planning Manager said “We have opposed these plans for a number of years due to the impact of the airport on Dungeness, a habitat of international importance. This decision is a clear signal from the Government that the environment is of low priority and could be an indication of future decisions on development that are still to be taken”.

Internationally important as the largest shingle foreland in Europe

Alice said “Dungeness is internationally important as the largest shingle foreland in Europe. The area is of national and arguably international importance for invertebrates; including the Medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis), the Sussex Emerald moth (Thalera fimbrialis) and significant bumblebee populations including the UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority Brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis). Developing the airport so close to this site will have a detrimental effect for invertebrates”.

Several other Biodiversity Action Plan species are present on the site, including the White Spot moth (Hadena albimacula) and Toadflax Brocade moth (Calophasia lunula).

Kent Wildlife Trust dismay

Kent Wildife Trust has also expressed dismay at the decision by the Secretary of State to grant planning permission for the extension of the runway and enlargement of the terminal buildings at London Ashford Airport, Lydd in Kent.

Sue Young, the Trust’s Head of Conservation and Policy, said: “We are dismayed at this decision on many levels. The unique wildlife at Dungeness could be damaged irrevocably. The area is internationally important for the huge populations of breeding and wintering birds and supports a tremendous number of rare plant and insect species, some occurring nowhere else in the world.

Highly vulnerable

“The fragile shingle and open grassland habitats and the species they support are highly vulnerable; and whilst we are pleased to have secured agreement that the impacts of the airport development on these habitats will be monitored, we remain concerned that the damage will be irreversible.”

The Trust will now review the decision documents and work with partners to consider its next steps.

Related articles

• Go-ahead for Kent airport expansion angers green lobby (independent.co.uk)
• Lydd airport given permission to increase capacity (guardian.co.uk)
• Stop bee-killing pesticides, British parliamentarians say (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Wind turbines, a new airport and an atomic plant threaten historic wetlands (guardian.co.uk)
• UK – Planning advice is ignored over building near nuclear sites (nuclear-news.net)
• London museum gets wildlife garden roof (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Planning advice ignored over building near nuclear sites (guardian.co.uk)
• Birds, bees, aquatic life killed by neonicotinoids (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)