#Wildlifewednesday: The #Comma butterfly was once quite a rare find in Britain, however it has surged in numbers and sightings over the last 40 years. This is most likely due to climate change and increased temperatures as they thrive when basking in the sun. The caterpillars are brownish black with a large white marking along its back near its rear end and it is covered in numerous branching spines. Adult comma butterflies are orange-brown with darker markings and an unusual wing shape with irregular edges that mimic a dead leaf up to 6 cm in length. Their namesake ‘comma’ pattern is white and located on their underwing. Commas that emerge in early summer tend to be paler in colour to those that appear later in the year. The paler commas will then have a second brood, but the darker commas overwinter as adults instead. They feed on wild flower nectar as well as blackberries and fallen fruit to fatten up for their winter hibernation. 📷 jggrz (fb)

The final River Pant & Blackwater Restoration Plan is now available to read: Blackwater & Pant Restoration Plan | EssexSuffolkRivers! Our team at Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust, with support from Essex and Suffolk Water, the Environment Agency and the North Essex Farm Cluster, has now completed their restoration project plan for the River Pant and Blackwater (a river that changes its name along the course). Targeting the Pant and Blackwater will help restoration and climate change resilience for the area. This project will also address the heavily modified river aspects of the river, its poor score for biological factors and the flow of its course into the important Blackwater Estuary site. An initial fluvial audit was carried out in 2024, which informed the comprehensive restoration plan that was produced by our team earlier this year. Having been refined from public feedback, the final plan is now available to read: https://www.essexsuffolkriverstrust.org/projects/blackwater-pant-restoration (fb)