Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies - a new breeding species for Hertfordshire?
The new five-year atlas survey of dragonflies and damselflies in Hertfordshire is only in its first season, but is already producing exciting records. These include the first verified sightings of Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura pumilio) in the county for 74 years (photo © Barry Reed)
New HNHS 'climate change' photo gallery
Photographs of scorched Aspen at Broxbourne Gravel Pits at the end of July tell their own story of the increasingly severe effects of this summer's record temperatures and drought.
2022 HNHS Award nominations
Do you know an outstanding Hertfordshire naturalist or someone who has made outstanding contribution to natural history in our county? If so, consider nominating them for one of the HNHS's prestigious Awards this year.
Mammal, Amphibian and Reptile survey – staying focused for the last six months
Covid restrictions have twice postponed the final year of the Hertfordshire Mammal, Amphibian and Reptile Atlas (Herts MARA) project. But it's been full steam ahead in 2022, with a strong focus on under-recorded parts of the county during the closing months.
Beane Valley Spindle stripped bare by caterpillars
Spindle bushes along Hertfordshire's Beane Valley are being stripped bare of leaves by a spectacular eruption of caterpillars.
HNHS member Harry Bott was astonished by the sight of a bush smothered in the silken webs protecting thousands of feeding caterpillars on his farm at Bennington, near Stevenage. As he puts it: "The most extraordinary sight that I have never seen before in 60 years of farming here."