Butterflies!!!

Everywhere you look this month, butterflies are coming out and enjoying the spring air.
The most common species found in Newham are the Large White (Pieris brassica), the Speckled wood (Parage algaria) and the beautifully colourful Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta).

Large White (Pieris brassica)

 

Most common around vegetable gardens and allotments and feeds on Brassica species (Cabbages, Brussel Sprouts etc). Caterpillars are a mottled grey-green with black spots and short hairs.

 

Speckled wood (Parage algaria)

Photography by Kathleen Maddams

 

Ususally found in woodlands and shady hedgerows, and likes damp places. They feed on aphid honeydew and lay their eggs on Cocksfoot and Couch grasses. The caterpillar is yellow-green with light and dark stripes.

 

 Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Photography by John Denton

 

Can be seen in gardens and other flowery places. It lays green eggs on nettle leaves. the caterpillar is dark, spiky and white speckled with yellow spots on its side.

 

 

Have you seen any other butterflies? Send in your pictures!

Breeding Frogs at Cundy Park

Spring seems to have sprung early this year, with the daffodils starting to bloom and the wildlife getting frisky!

At Cundy Park, in Custom House, the frogs can  be seen both in and around the pond pairing up.
The Common Frog (Rana temporia) returns to the water to breed, and relies on vocalization to find a mate. The male will hold onto the female and fertilize the eggs as she lays them.
She will lay up to 4000 eggs in a clump of spawn in shallow water.


Have you seen any frogs this year? Send in your pics and get them posted on the page!

I will be taking part in the Natural History Museum Open Air Laboratories National biodiversity survey this Wednesday (22/09/2010)

I'll be surveying in and around the pond in Beckton District Park (near Dunnock Road/Andrews Gardens) and anyone is invited to come and help out!