Apart from the glorious flowers, there’s lots to enjoy outdoors this month, so for those of you who enjoy nature spotting or journaling here are a few things to look out for.
-As the nettles go into flower, the butterflies start to lay their eggs on the leaves. You should be able to see plenty of wriggly caterpillars on the nettles at this point in the year which is a good reason not to strim away or weed kill these important plants. You may also see the larve of the cinnabar moth on ragwort plants. The larve eat the plant and absorb the toxic qualities of the Ragwort making them less attractive to predators.
-If you are heading off to the coast this summer keep your eyes peeled for puffins, sea gulls, seals and even better seal pups! Seals give birth around June and July so hopefully you might get to see some.
- If your very lucky and very quiet on foot you might spot the common lizard. Females are currently carrying their eggs and like to spend time basking in the heat of the summer sun and so can be found on rocks or open ground warming their bodies. Their babies will be born in late summer.
-At some point during the next few weeks the black ant will begin to swarm. When the weather is just right ant colonys begin to take to the sky. The reason for this is due to the over expansion of the colony, and when there are too many ants in one the new queen will grow wings and fly off in search of a new home along with the winged males in an act called the nuptial flight. After this flight the queen will remove her wings and settle into her new home and lay her eggs.