A Trawl Through The Uk Dailies – 11
Published by Jackie118 on June 17, 2010 in World Politics-
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Found a few interesting, interconnecting articles for you all today!
Last weekend I was planting some petunias in the garden when I discovered a small hole in the soil, just big enough for a mouse. As it was quite close to my house I decided to close it up lightly (just enough to annoy the mouse but not enough to bury him!) and hoped he’d dig another one a bit further away but, while I was down on my hands and knees digging with my trowel, a couple of bumble bees “bumbled” along and started digging in that particular spot. I stood back and watched them for a while and it was then that I discovered it wasn’t a mouse hole but was a bumble bee “nest” so I left them to it.
I know many of you out there would chide me for allowing these annoying, horrible, buzzy little insects to reproduce and cause havoc for poor unsuspecting sunbathers in the latter months of the summer, but in actual fact, bumble bees are gorgeous little creatures and haven’t got the killer instinct of wasps. Despite continuing to work just a few inches away from them they made no attempts whatsoever to attack me. They just went about their business (or should that be buzziness!), pollinating my marigolds and popping in and out of their nest. Hopefully this little colony will be big enough by next month to help me keep down the aphids etc on my veg and flowers!
So it was therefore with great interest that I came across this link. The photography is fantastic.
Following that I discovered a related article. A fossil which was discovered on the Isle of Wight back in the 1920s has come under closer scrutiny by modern day researchers and shows that wasps haven’t evolved for around 34 million years!
The link was particularly interesting to me bearing in mind my partner spent part of last weekend planting up a fig to grow against the sheltered south facing wall of our house and wasps apparently play a very important part in pollinating them.
Now we stay, very loosely I hasten to add, with natural history and move on from insects to mammals!
A medieval copper badge has been discovered in Warwickshire which clearly shows England’s “three lions” emblem!
England v Scotland 1872
This could turn out to be a good omen or a bad one for the England World Cup football team: they could end up winning the cup this time around or, more likely, end up being buried and forgotten for 800 years!
Still on the mammal/sporting theme, many of you will know that this week is Ascot Week. It’s basically when all the “toffs” don posh garb to attend the horse racing. It’s been a long standing tradition in England and I have to admit, at a time when so many of them are diminishing, I’m glad this one seems to be thriving.
George Stubbs – Lord Grosvenor’s Arabian Stallion with a Groom, c. 1765
Anyway, I digress, here’s a link which takes you to a gallery of the most fantastic photographs taken of Ascot Races from around about the beginning of the last century.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2010/jun/15/ascot-fashion-century
And finally …
From land to sea!
W. Scoresby – Dangers of the Whale Fishery (1820)
I found this article which tells us that, from recent research, it’s been discovered that sperm whale poo fertilises ocean plants which may then absorb CO2 from the air. This plant growth will help not only us land lubbers but will of course provide much needed protection and food for sea life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10323987.stm
Let’s hope that us humans can leave well alone and let the sperm whale go about his good works but what’s the betting we’ll have to poke our noses in, to the detriment of the planet once again!!
Just a quick link -
For those of you in the UK are interested in astronomy!! FOR ONE WEEK ONLY – green comet wil be visible!!
Great write. Thanks for the post
Some interesting snippets Jackie, although i am pretty sure that bees do not eat aphids – they are good to have in the garden though!