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Not a common butterfly in Otley – they prefer the warmer south of the country – but spotted on Ragwort in Alex Eve’s wilded garden on the east of town. Weather is a significant determinant of population size, and climate change is behind a northward spread. They are also known as the Hedge Brown, and look quite similar to the Meadow Brown, especially with wings closed. Fortunately, the smaller Gatekeeper tends to rest with its wings open, displaying (bird-deterring) eye spots

This angular, slender seabird visits Otley in the summer for the fishing at Knotford Nook and the Wetlands, though they will also eat molluscs, crustaceans and other invertebrates. They drink in flight, actually preferring seawater where available. They are also unusual in that they moult their wing feathers two or three times a year, with females judging the suitability of a partner by the freshness of these feathers. Not seen in Otley, but somewhat intriguing, is the tern b

These common, carnivorous beetles are sometimes used as a biological control agent, consuming aphids in greenhouses for example, and it was for this purpose that they were introduced into Australia. Like many ladybirds, their appearance can vary, and they have red and black forms, with the latter more common in the north where it helps absorb the sun’s heat. Their life cycle is of the egg-larva-pupa-adult variety. The larvae don’t resemble their parents, and bite their way ou

These noisy invertebrates can be seen in Otley’s fields and gardens from May to October. The sound, of course, is once again exhibitionist males, competing for female attention (see also: Wetherspoons, Friday night), but they do it in a somewhat unusual manner, by rubbing their legs against their wings. The resultant eggs are laid in the soil and will hatch from the following March. In the UK we have 30 of the 25,000 different species of Orthopteroids – the order of insects t

This brown butterfly has a variable number of small, yellow-rimmed eye-spots (the “ringlets”), but when it emerges its wings are velvety-black with white borders. The greyish caterpillar has a long dark stripe along the length of its back. Look for the butterflies on the edges of Otley’s woods, or in clearings in the Chevin forest. They have a penchant for blackberry bushes. Ringlets have a distinctive, bobbing flight, and can be seen even on those dull Otley days when most o

Young stoats born in spring are now splitting up to hunt for themselves, making this notoriously difficult to spot mammal, a little easier to see right now. Stoats live alone and are territorial. Stoats are closely relate to weasels but are easy to distinguish the two as Stoats are larger, have an orangey-brown back, a creamy white throat and belly, and a bushy black-tipped tail. Stoats also have a very distinctive bounding gait, arching their back as they move; weasels do no

Pupils at St Joseph's Primary created landscape and meadow art as well as sculptures to represent the town. They then created a gallery...

The European honey bee, now found worldwide, is known for its delicious honey and painful sting. While painful, most stings are harmless unless an individual has an allergy. The distinctive dark brown and bright yellow bands on the bee's body warn predators of its venomous sting, deterring attacks on the hive and the bees, food and wax contained within. There are over 20,000 species of bees in the world! The most common is the European honey bee, largely because they are one

Another insect-eating warbler that crosses the Sahara to spend the summer with us, adding its almost angry-sounding, “scratchy” song to our summer soundtrack. This song, along with the white feathers at the throat (less distinct in the female), and a hyperactive tail, make it easier to identify than some of our warblers. They are another bird where the males build nests for the females to choose. They arrive here roughly ten days before the females to start this process by es

BRIMSTONE MOTH: This beautiful moth has quite distinctive colouring: yellow with chestnut markings at the edges. You might even be able to spot one in your Otley garden during the day between April and October. When flying at night they are attracted to light. They over-winter as either a larva or pupa. The twig-like larvae feed on a variety of trees and bushes, including Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Rowan, and have a “horn” on their back. Their colour reflects their food-plant,

Whilst out walking with a friend recently, he asked me if a plant was edible, I said to him that most plants are ‘edible’ but if they are nutritious and tasty that is a much harder mark to hit. The plant he was pointing at was Wintercress, also known as Yellow rocket, which does meet both those criteria. It is rich in vitamins C and A, and was one of the anti-scurvy plants eaten in the days before vitamin C was readily available. It has a peppery flavour with a slight tang of

We are well into fly season, any sunny day from now on is going to be accompanied by swathes of flies. Whilst you are batting them away from your picnic though, remember that without them our incredible summer migrants, the warblers, swifts, swallows and martins probably would not bother to make the journey. There is a huge variety of flies to be found, it is thought that over 7000 species of fly live in the UK! Bluebottle flies are distinguished by their distinctive colorati