by Rebecca Porter | Aug 22, 2025 | Wildlife Reports
A trip round the lakes focussing on small creatures can transport you to another world. Gymnastics on the log pile for example! With her long appendage, this Ichneumon wasp might look a bit intimidating but her focus is not on stinging humans but something far more... 
by Rebecca Porter | Aug 2, 2025 | Wildlife Reports
After the poor summer weather last year, it is a relief to see butterflies in large numbers around Sculpture by the Lakes this month. It will be interesting to hear the results of this year’s Big Butterfly Count which ends on 10th August. The Brimstones have chosen... 
by Rebecca Porter | Jul 5, 2025 | Wildlife Reports
To see all 59 species of butterfly in the UK would require a good deal of time and effort, travelling hundreds of miles west, east and north of Dorset. Yet, in one moth trap, at Sculpture by the Lakes, in June there were 56 moth species recorded. To add to that, the... 
by Rebecca Porter | May 24, 2025 | Wildlife Reports
Sculpture by the Lakes is a site for nature conservation interest (SNCI) particularly for its dragonflies and damselflies. Damselflies are the smaller species of this group of insects and sometimes end up as prey to the dragonflies. The first photo, heading this... 
by Rebecca Porter | May 15, 2025 | Wildlife Reports
Early spring is a perfect time to see our native trees not just come into leaf but also flowering. Our oak trees are also showing a multitude of oak apples. These are growths or galls caused by one species of gall wasp, Biorhiza pallida. Less obvious, are the marble... 
by Rebecca Porter | Apr 6, 2025 | Wildlife Reports
Insects suffered a triple whammy from the weather last year with a wet winter, cold spring and cool summer affecting all stages of their life cycle. This had a knock on effect on many of our birds that rely on insects to feed their young in the breeding season. It is...
