This weekend marks the halfway point of the year.

 

The Mid-Year Reset

2023 June solstice

Falling on 21 June this year, the event will mark the longest day of the year and signal the astronomical start of summer. 

A solstice isn’t a whole day. Instead, it’s a moment, when the sun is farthest north in our sky. In 2023, the solstice moment will fall at 15:57:14 on Wednesday, June 21.

Sources/Links:

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-june-solstice/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/nine-ways-people-celebrate-the-summer-solstice-around-the-world-180982398/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25UfPrgr7_s

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first ever ranking of beneficial garden biodiversity

 

first ever ranking of beneficial garden biodiversity

1. Lichens  

2. Native ladybirds

3. Pollinators

4. Solitary bees (aculeate Hymenoptera) 

5. Sulphur tuft fungi (Hypholoma fasciculare) 

6. Slime moulds

7. Rose chafer beetle (Cetonia aurata)

8. Ink cap mushrooms (Coprinoids)

9. Hoverflies (Syrphidae)

10.Social wasps (Vespidae) 

1. Topping the list are lichens, which can often be found growing on trees or shrubs. Lichens provide food for other garden wildlife and create new habitats by providing shelter for invertebrates and nesting materials for birds and mammals.

Lichens are often associated with good air quality. They carry out photosynthesis to capture atmospheric carbon, and certain lichens also absorb atmospheric nitrogen compounds, which are common pollutants. Lichens regulate water and humidity levels by soaking up moisture during wet weather and then slowly releasing it as water vapour.  

2. Ladybirds primarily eat aphids, so have long been considered a friend of gardeners. It is said that a single ladybird can eat 50 aphids a day, or around 5,000 in a lifetime!

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Sources/Links:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/articles/2022-beneficial-species

https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/ladybirds

https://www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife

https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/plant-health-in-gardens 

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