BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

12 BBC Wildlife April 2020

WILDAPRIL

Oneofourmostdistinctive

gardenmoths,thispink-green-

and-brownbeautymimicsdead

leaves,withcurledwingtipsthat

heightentheillusionofshrivelled

foliage.Itslongflightseason

traditionallystartsinlateApril

orMay.ButtheAtlasof Britain

andIreland’sLargerMoths– the

recentlypublished‘mothbible’

basedonover 25 millionrecords

• showsthat,likemanyspecies
  withtwobroodsperyear,thefirst
  generationofadultsis emerging
  everearlier.Thisis probablya
  responsetoclimatechange.

FINDOUTMORE

Discovermoths:butterfly-

conservation.org/moths

3 |ANGLESHADES

Leaf lookalike

Cuckoo: Steve Round; moth: Genevieve Leaper; water vole: Drew Buckley

Aprilseesthe250thanniversaryofthebirth

ofWordsworth,whosecelebratedodetothe

cuckooincludesthisverse:“WhileI amlying

onthegrass/ThytwofoldshoutI hear/From

hilltohillit seemstopass/Atoncefaroff,

andnear.”Whatthenaturepoetcapturesso

beautifullyis thespecies’mercurialnature,

asif themalebirdis tauntingusashemoves

betweendifferentsong-posts.Cuckoosare

nowscarceinBritain:mostthatareleft

breedinlargewetlands,or in the uplands

ofWalesandScotland.

FINDOUTMORE BTOcuckoo tracking

project: bto.org/cuckoo

2 |CUCKOO

Hide and seek

INWORDSWORTH’S

FOOTSTEPS

Exploringtheromantic

poet’slifeandwork.

ONLINE