The Coronavirus containment/suppression measures are affecting and will continue to affect most aspects of everyday life over the next months.  I have already posted some preliminary information about the group’s proposed Glow Worm project. We think that the proposed project should go ahead – and we hope you agree. If successful it should provide information useful in the conservation of species other than our own.

The emphasis for this year will be on recording (with a simple methodology) as many sites as possible in the county.  We want to know the sort of habitat where glow worms survive and even thrive. I will be posting more information about this in the weeks and months to come, as the time to survey for glow worms approaches (June and July). Recording them has the challenge that it needs to be done after dark, but not many of the insects that you’re trying to record helpfully light up.

As I mentioned previously we will also be promoting recording of sitings of the Forester Moth, as it is feared to be in significant decline.  In the meantime I’d like to bring to your attention a scheme called “Common or Garden” being promoted by the West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre (WWBIC).  Below is taken from the WWBIC website:

“We are launching a project to record six common species that you may see in your gardens and around West Wales. Our common species are often our most under recorded species. For example, the common toad only has 396 records reported in the past ten years. We need your help to record our underappreciated species!

We have chosen six species which are included in the Section 7 list the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.   This is a list of the living organisms that are of key significance to sustain and improve biodiversity in Wales. Help us gather more information about these species in order to determine whether their numbers are increasing or decreasing.“

The six species tchosen are: Blood-veined moth, Brown hare, Bullfinch, Hedgehog, Slow worm, and Common toad.  To record a siting visit the WWBIC website:

https://www.wwbic.org.uk/wildlife-recording/common-or-garden-sightings/

and just click on the appropriate photo and then you can see how to record sightings of these species online.  If you have a smartphone, you can use the Local Environmental Records Centres Wales phone app (LERC Wales App) to send in your records, it’s available from the WWBIC website:

https://www.wwbic.org.uk/wildlife-recording/lerc-wales-app/

It’s very quick to use when you our in the garden or walking and makes it much easier to record your location and include any photos you’ve taken using the smartphone.

As the Coronavirus situation evolves, we will keep monitoring the situation and let you know via email, the website or on facebook when we can safely arrange outdoor events, site visits, activities such as green hay or seed exchanges, and eventually future indoor events such as the Spring meeting that was postponed.  Despite all the upheaval in our human lives, yellow rattle, clovers, trefoils, plantains, cat’s ear and lots of other grassland plants are stirring.  Bees are foraging on lesser celandines and the first dandelions.  Spring is coming, virus or no virus.

Stay well.