This entirely new genus and species of cicada from southern China was discovered among specimens at the Institut Royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique in Brussels

Sinotympana incomparabilis is a new genus and species of cicada. Although from southern China, the new species was discovered among unidentified specimens in the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Brussels. Most insect songs, for example in crickets and kadydids, are produced by stridulation – rubbing two body parts together. Male cicadas, in contrast, “sing” by rapidly vibrating special ribbed membranes on their exoskeleton called tymbals. Their noise is unusually loud, as a result of amplification by internal resonance chambers, and can reach 120 decibels in some species. Both males and females hear the songs via another set of membranes called tympana. The life cycle of this Chinese species is not yet known, but most cicadas live two to five years. In the extreme case of certain periodic cicadas, synchronized broods emerge once each 13 or 17 years.

International Institute for Species Exploration, Arizona State University

Read the whole story on Environment: Wildlife | guardian.co.uk

Seventeen Madagascar pochard ducklings raised in captivity since Wildfowl and Wetland Trust took emergency action

Conservationists battling to save the world’s rarest duck have managed to almost double the bird’s population in Madagascar in just one month, it was revealed today.

Fewer than 20 Madagascar pochard were believed to be living on just one lake in the wild.

But a last-gasp conservation plan to save the birds has resulted in two broods totalling 17 ducklings being found and raised in captivity.

A third clutch of seven eggs were discovered earlier this week and are being incubated.

If they all hatch successfully the Madagascar pochard population will have more than doubled in the space of a few weeks.

The conservationists are looking after the ducklings in a hotel room due to the last-minute nature of their quest.

Peter Cranswick, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s (WWT) head of species planning explained: “In less than three months, we have taken an enormous step to save probably the world’s rarest bird.

“Back in August we knew emergency action was needed but we had no plans and couldn’t even be sure what was possible.

“Despite almost every conceivable obstacle, in just a few short weeks we have almost doubled the world population — albeit that half of them are in a hotel bathroom! It will be a long road to full recovery for the Madagascar pochard, but we have achieved everything we could have hoped for in this first step.”

The critically endangered duck is so rare that it was declared extinct in the late 1990s until scientists found a few of the birds by chance during a trip to Madagascar in 2006.

To stop the beautiful cinnamon-coloured diving duck slipping permanently into extinction a team of bird specialists known as “team pochard” devised a conservation plan that was due to be implemented next year.

They were hoping to collect some of the pochards’ eggs, incubate them and raise the ducklings via a conservation breeding programme.

But an emergency rescue plan was mounted ahead of schedule after a visit earlier in the summer revealed the situation was worse than feared – with just six females seen and evidence that last year’s young had died when only a few weeks old.

Last month the team embarked on a journey to the isolated and difficult to reach lake in northern Madagascar where the birds had been seen.

It is hoped that the conservation programme will result in enough ducks being born in captivity that sustainable numbers can one day be released back into their original habitat. Team pochard is made up of members of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the WWT, The Peregrine Fund and the government of Madagascar.

Read the whole story on Environment: Wildlife | guardian.co.uk

Warm weather means the UK is still seeing spectacular displays of native and migrant species as late as October – but this is not good news for butterflies in the long term

If you stroll along the South Downs or Beachy Head today, you might imagine it is August, not October. More than one-third of our 59 butterfly species are still flying at a time of year when you would normally only expect to see the odd hardy small tortoiseshell seeking out a dry cranny for hibernation.

Most spectacular of all has been an unprecedented late invasion of the beautiful clouded yellow. Up to 600 of these migratory butterflies have been counted close to the Sussex coast and they have also been seen in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Kent and on the Isle of Wight.

It follows one of the biggest migrations in recent memory of painted ladies – which are also still arriving on our shores, at a time when they would normally be departing and perhaps heading south to warmer climes – along with the late arrivals of red admirals and large whites from France and Spain.

As Martin Warren of Butterfly Conservation points out, these are migrants and do not necessarily mean our domestic butterflies are booming.

But the butterfly season has stretched on and on this year, thanks to still, warm weather in the south and an absence of night frosts that would usually kill butterflies off.

And more exciting than clouds of clouded yellows are rare native butterflies which have hatched out second or third broods during these benign conditions. On Tuesday, the latest ever sighting of the extremely rare and endangered heath fritillary was recorded in Blean Woods in Kent – three butterflies were seen that were part of an unprecedented second brood.

While two of our rare species, the duke of burgundy and the small pearl-bordered fritillary also produced unusual second broods this summer, the most graceful of our woodland butterflies, the white admiral, has also enjoyed a second brood this year. Since 2002, it has produced a second brood in the south east every summer and lepidopterists have no doubt this is linked to climate change.

“Midsummer butterflies like the white admiral are coming out earlier in June and getting an earlier start so there they are managing to cram in extra broods,” says Neil Hulme, chair of Butterfly Conservation in Sussex. “These are exciting times.”

There are two caveats: if you want to see the 21 species of British butterfly still on the wing, get out there now because the weather is going to change for the worse.

Secondly, all these second broods may not be good news for butterflies in the longer term. Late broods may not get time to produce new generations before the weather turns cold and extra broods of caterpillars may eat the food plants that their species of butterfly will need in spring 2010 to produce next year’s generations. Bust tends to follow boom in the butterfly world.

Read the whole story on Environment: Wildlife | guardian.co.uk

One of the most endangered butterflies in Britain has reappeared for a second generation this summer for only the third time in more than a century.

The short-lived Duke of Burgundy usually appears only in spring but a second brood is now flying at Rodborough Common, Gloucestershire, the furthest north a second generation has ever been recorded.

The appearance is a rare conservation success for the delicate butterfly which has endured a catastrophic decline in recent decades.

According to Matthew Oates, conservation adviser for the National Trust, which owns and manages Rodborough Common especially for the butterfly, a second brood of Duke of Burgundies may become more common in the future with global warming.

“This is a really significant moment for one of the Duke of Burgundy strongholds. Second broods for this splendid butterfly are fairly common in southern Europe but extremely rare in the UK,” Oates said.

“The flight season for the Duke of Burgundy butterflies has gradually been getting earlier every year. This means that it’s becoming increasingly likely that we’ll see more second broods in the coming years as our climate gradually gets warmer, providing conservation efforts to keep this little gem in the UK are successful.”

There had been no second broods recorded in the UK since the “exceptional” summer of 1893 until the last four years, with butterflies recorded in late summer in Selbourne, Hampshire, in 2005 and again at the same site in 2007.

Originally called Mr Vernon’s Small Fritillary, the Duke of Burgundy was driven to extinction in most of Britain’s native woodlands, the loss of traditional grazing accelerated its decline.

The species managed to survive in rough downland that was not well grazed and benefited from the impact of myxomatosis on rabbits, but declined as rabbit numbers bounced back.

The second brood now poses a challenge for conservationists, who have to ensure grassland is grazed at precisely the right time to ensure the survival of this fussy butterfly and its caterpillars, which feed on cowslips.

The insect’s second generation might have some unexpected consequences in the natural world as the small butterfly is a “little spitfire” with strongly territorial males flying at anything that enters their airspace, Oates said.

Its surprise appearance demonstrated its adaptability, which is encouraging, he added. “We are forever underestimating butterflies.”

Read the whole story on Environment: Wildlife | guardian.co.uk