Aurora wash-out and 'Adopt-a-poplar'!

Last night at around midnight a huge coronal mass ejection washed over the Earth, creating the best auroral display for decades: the aurora would have been visible over the entire British Isles, except that - here at least - the sky was completely covered with dense rain clouds...

Regular readers will know that Linda and I like to help out at our local church (at an entirely secular level, of course!) The churchyard is surrounded by tall hybrid Poplar trees that shield the ancient structure from the worst of the winds: sadly some of these are beginning to show signs of instability. The reasons for this are complex: a combination of age and internal decay, possibly due to the large number of Hornet Clearwings that inhabit them.

Linda and I have 'adopted' five of the trees in order to monitor their health and level of infestation: inevitably some will have to be replaced. Having inspected 'our' trees today, we were astonished to see just how many moth exit holes each tree has - and yet I've never seen an adult during the numerous 'bio-blitzes' we've taken part in!