247 April 2015 - Gryffe Advertizer

CMRP Roundup
www.advertizer.co.uk april 2015
49 49
Pedal the Park is Nearly Here!
Join us at Castle Semple on Sunday 29th April for
Pedal the Park! There will be lots going on for all the
family at the Event Village like the fixed point challenge –
how far can you pedal in one minute? Take on your partner pal or parent!
Plus we’ll have a bicycle powered cinema, trade stands from Merida and
Moore-Large, skills courses, try a bike – trike, hand or mountain! All that
plus the main rides themselves 68km sportive, family ride treasure hunt ride
through Parkhill, hand bike time trail and mountain bike ride. Register online
now through British Cycling’s website or see http://www.clydemuirshiel.
co.uk/things-to-do/cycling/pedal-the-park/.
Easter at Clyde Muirshiel
Get the whole family out for some fresh air, visit a Centre or Country Park
and get some fresh air and exercise! There’s junior multi activity weeks
for 8-15 yr olds so they can try out new sports on land and water as well
as gain confidence and make new friends. Plus we have the lochshore
field challenge at Castle Semple and Easter quiz sheets at Muirshiel and
Greenock Cut!
Scottish Multi-Class Regatta
Entry forms are out and you can now be part of the Race 2 the Games
legacy event the Scottish Multi-Class Regatta on 20th & 21st June. See p63
for more info.
Crit on the Green – Clyde Muirshiel aids Paracycling Event
CM was at the Glasgow Riderz Crit on the Green event at the end of March
talking Pedal the Park and showing everyone our new accessible hand
bikes and trikes! Contact Castle Semple if you’re interested in them!
Duke of Edinburgh Programmes
Clyde Muirshiel is an approved activity provider to deliver Duke of Edinburgh
programmes. We’re currently working on new opportunities for 14 – 25 year
olds, no matter what their ability, to do their Duke of Edinburgh at Clyde
Muirshiel. There are new offerings contributing mainly to the skill, physical
and expedition sections of the award. Look on our website for details.
Ride 63 Club News & Ride Out Info!
A Community Cycle Group ‘Ride 63’ is up and running, next ride out on April 30th. More info on when
they’re going out on their Facebook. Email the Secretary at ridesixtythree@gmail.com to become a
member or email the Park at routes@clydemuirshiel.co.uk for more information.
Regular Events
Mondays (put not public holidays) - Lochwinnoch Community Walks meet 10.30am at The Cross,
Lochwinnoch; Weekly Volunteer Groups - Newcomers always welcome!; Thursdays Castle Semple
Conservation Volunteers, Adult group, from 12.30pm - 3.30pm; Saturdays Greenock Cut Conservation
Volunteers, Adult group, 10.30am-2.30pm; Sundays Castle Semple Young Volunteers, 12-18 yr olds,
10am-12noon.
Bridge of Weir Horticultural Society
Moths and Butterflies by Jo Davis
Moths are night flying butterflies, or so one might think, but, in fact, the reverse is true as butterflies are moths
that fly by day though there are day flying moths too. Thus began Dr Jo Davis’s fascinating talk about the world of
the Lepidoptera or scaly-winged ones. There are over 2,500 moths in the UK but only 58 different butterflies and
Scotland is ‘on the edge’ of the butterfly world with only about 35 species.
Before advising us on which plants to grow in our gardens to encourage moths and butterflies, Dr Davis gave
us an appreciation of the variety of moths and their caterpillars and their many strategies for survival. Moths and
butterflies produce huge numbers of eggs and we could see why when Dr Davis listed the parasites and predators
that threaten them. Apart from mice and bats representing mammals, birds, amphibians, spiders, wasps, hornets,
beetles, dragonflies and robber flies are all happy to feed on moths or their larvae. 20,000 caterpillars are required
to feed a brood of blue tits! Moths have evolved various forms of defence. The Camouflage Moth looks like a bird
dropping and the Cinnabar Moth caterpillar ingests poison from ragwort and it becomes poisonous as does the
adult moth. Sometimes warning colouration is exhibited alongside these defence mechanisms; the Cinnabar Moth
has yellow and black warning stripes. The fairly common black and red Burnett Moths are also poisonous and the
Buff Tip looks like a birch twig, employing camouflage for survival. Other moths exhibit Batesian Mimicry and look
like hornets or bees.
Many of us are aware that Buddleia, sometimes known as the Butterfly bush, is attractive to butterflies. Jo Davis
recommended Buddleia davidii as being one of the best species to plant. The Peacock, with its 4 eyes, Painted
Lady and Red Admiral butterflies can all be found on the flowers. Buddleia x weyeriana, a hybrid between B. Davidii
and B. Globosa also provides early Autumn flowers. Other flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants suggested for
encouraging butterflies and moths were ivy, lavender species, knapweeds (Centaurea spp.), marjoram, thyme,
Michaelmas daisies, scabious and valerian. Sedum spectabile, commonly called the ice plant, is particularly good
as a source of nectar for the Small Tortoiseshell. Useful larval food plants, in other words food plants for caterpillars,
include nettles, willow herb, oak, ash, birch, lime, hawthorn, brassicas, garlic mustard, broad-leaved dock, ivy
and ragwort. We were encouraged to record the moths and butterflies which we find in our gardens. Dr Davis’s
enthusiasm for his subject was infectious; he is much involved in Butterfly Conservation in the West of Scotland.