Did you know?
... that while during winter you might look forward to the first glimpse of a butterfly or await the friendly drones of bumblebees in the spring, then Hailey Park is a haven for overwintering insects and other invertebrates. Not all will make it or are designed to overwinter anyway but the park becomes important for many caterpillars and moths to spend the winter as pupae in a protective cocoon or hard shelled chrysalis, and those other insects that can reduce their bodily functions to a basic minimum and hibernate the winter cold away in hollow plant stems, among the long grasses, or among fallen logs. Piles of rotting logs around the park provide a home throughout the year for a huge list of creatures including wood boring beetles and their larvae, woodlice, spiders, worms, toads and slow worms. This is why we also leave fallen wood lying around the park as it is also vital for this wildlife to spend the winter too. Brimstone, small tortoiseshell, comma and peacock butterflies survive the winter as adult insects, tucked away among dried leaves or cracks in pieces of bark, whereas other butterfly species may spend the cold months as a tiny caterpillar (common blue) or a pupa (orange tip) trying to survive in whichever spot they have hibernated.
So if you think nothing is there when you walk through the park in autumn and winter may be stop for a second to ponder that so much wildlife is sleeping around you, waiting to be woken up when spring approaches.
So if you think nothing is there when you walk through the park in autumn and winter may be stop for a second to ponder that so much wildlife is sleeping around you, waiting to be woken up when spring approaches.
