What’s our wildlife doing in October?
As the days become shorter, a huge change is occurring around us, although we rarely stop and think about it. Most of us notice the bird movements during autumn - many migrant birds have already left us, often bound for southern Europe or Africa. This is because they are insect-eaters, so they must travel to warmer climes to avoid starvation due to the lack of flying insects in Britain from now until spring. Other bird species arrive here from northern or eastern countries to overwinter in a milder climate and find food, often either seeds or berries, or molluscs and other invertebrates in our coastal locations, depending on the bird species.
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Hide AdLess noticeable are the insects, what are they doing? Some species of butterfly, for example the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock, hibernate in sheltered, dark places. But many other species spend the winter as either eggs, larvae or pupae. Meadow Browns, who during July and August were flying joyously around areas of long grass, have now died, and it is their offspring who need to survive the cold and wet of winter as caterpillars, hiding dormant down in tussocks of grass. Other insects synonymous with summer, such as grasshoppers and crickets, will also die before winter. Their eggs, which were laid in soil, tree bark or plant stems, will hatch next spring to continue the cycle of life.
There are still some hardy insects which are active during the autumn months. Moth species flying in October often have wings coloured in shades of orange or yellow to keep them camouflaged amongst autumn leaves whilst they rest during the day. Dragonflies may be seen hunting small gnats and flies on sunny days, and butterflies such as the Small Copper will still be out and about when the temperatures are warm enough for them to fly. Ladybirds often appear in large numbers when the sun comes out, but they are busy looking for suitable places to hibernate and will disappear into hollow plant stems and cracks in tree bark as soon as it gets cold.
Leaving leaf litter under plants, plant stems intact and hedges untrimmed in your garden is hugely important to the insects trying to make it through to next year. Please consider their fragility before you “tidy up” your garden!
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