Friday, 21 September 2012

In the pink....

Another pretty new moth amongst the measly fare (and numbers) of Large and Lesser Yellow Underwings, Setaceous Hebrew Characters and Common Marbled Carpets - Pink Barred Sallow






Despite this being quite striking, it took a long time to find in the book as it was very very small compared to the (life size) illustrations - confirmation or otherwise greatly received.

The great bit about my job is that it is really undefined. Being a biochemist means that almost everything I do can be related to any living organism. I do tend to take advantage of this where possible as I am meant to be teaching Biomedical subjects. The chance to get out and look at some more interesting stuff is too attractive to give up easily! Thus, as part of the induction week for the new students, I organised some activities at Mt Edgcumbe in Cornwall to keep them amused. These were based around the OPAL surveys and included looking at Lichens, leaf litter inverts, aquatic inverts and worms. These surveys are designed for the general public and are easy and fun. If you haven't done one, I encourage you to do so. Why? Because you can contribute to a massive data set on water, air, soil or hedge quality that scientists could not do on their own. Have a look at the website for more details and to order a survey pack or to look at your local data - they are great for keeping children entertained as well!

Having asked a massive favour from OPAL to give me all of the survey packs, I find myself doing a Bioblitz at Pentillie Castle in Cornwall tomorrow - tough life!

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