02 August
Sunny weather, moderate to strong winds and 24.3°C (10:30 AM). The early morning hours were unusually cool with just 12°C.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+ | Maniola jurtina | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris napi | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Zone II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Polyommatus icarus | Yard | Adult | | | | (dead) | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Vanessa atalanta | Yard / Zone II / III | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
Unfortunately it appears that this season will end in late August due to lack of nectar plants and there's little point in focusing on P. rapae and V. atalanta, the only species hardly affected by the drought and drastic temperature shifts.
The dead P. icarus was located in a spider web next to one of my windows. This male was visibly starving and its abdomen crooked. It probably was searching for nectar plants in front of my home which had been mowed just right after the first heat wave to ensure that absolutely nothing can grow anymore, thus making this discovery even more tragic. I already caught several insects being so desperate for nectar that they confused flower blinds and wallpapers for actual flowers and stuck to them. Only a single A. urticae last week primarily searched for a cool spot to hide in.
As the weather is set to remain the same for at least another week, most species that should be active now are unlikely to recover from this, as the remaining alfalfa soon will be harvested. The streams also hardly carry any water.
/oblog/