02 & 10 July
Even though I've been on a break and just wanted to pick some flowers for my grandmother's upcoming birthday, I had to (reluctantly) document a bunch of species on 02 July.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+ | Aglais io | Mixed Fiels / Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenonympha pamphilus | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Maniola jurtina | Yard / Mixed Field / Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Melanargia galathea | Mixed Field / Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Yard / Mixed Field / Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Thymelicus sylvestris | Yard / Mixed Field / Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Enallagma cyathigerum | Zone I | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
I'd have sat this one out if it wouldn't have been for E. cyathigerum making a surprise appearance right in front of me.
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Due to another heat wave approaching, I had to pause my break from my observations. With cloudy conditions, weak winds and 21.2°C (11:02 AM), the weather's still ideal for my body but perhaps not so much for most insects.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+ | Aglais io | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Araschnia levana | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Maniola jurtina | Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Melanargia galathea | Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris napi | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Yard / Mixed Field / Zone I / | Adult | | | II / III | | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Polyommatus icarus | Zone II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Thymelicus sylvestris | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Aeshna cyanea | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenagrion mercuriale | Zone II | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
The drastic weather shifts are taking a toll on both flora and fauna. Despite the rain more parts of Zone I in particular dried out between 02 and 10 July, leaving big brown patches that can be seen from afar. Thistles are almost completely absent everywhere and M. galathea, which love greater knapweed like no other species, have begun to avoid their favorite nectar plant. One butterfly which resembled I. lathonia was spotted in Zone but could not be properly diagnosed.
The only good news is that no species seems to feel disturbed by the ongoing road work. Parts of the bike path will remain closed to tourists until the end of month; only villagers are allowed to use it to get to their fields. On the other hand, I haven't seen "David" since our brief chat a few days ago where he expressed his disapproval of a tiny section of his field to be declared part of "Via Natura 2000". I talked about this in my recent gemlog and also finally made my decision to quit my research at the end of this season public.
/oblog/