PEOPLE are being asked to keep an eye out for a new colonist on its way to Ireland. The ivy bee was first recorded in the south of Britain, in 2001, having crossed the English Channel. It is continuing to move northwards and, according to experts, it’s only a matter of time before it crosses the Irish Sea.

TWO birds we remember from days in the bog, many years ago, we rarely see now. 

THE culprit is so small that it’s difficult to see, but it can strike with deadly effect. Cases of Lyme disease are increasing in Britain and people here are again being urged to take precautions.

OUR lives these days seem to be run on batteries — laptops, mobile phones, toys and numerous electrical devices. 

A reduction in the number of farmland birds in some European countries is being attributed to insecticides which are also claimed to have caused massive bee deaths globally, according to new research.

A SONG by the Clare minstrel, PJ Murrihy, about an old threshing mill brought back memories of days growing up in rural Ireland when the whine of a threshing machine echoed around the countryside. In those times, grain was harvested much later than now.

MOST people will, at some stage, have seen the common lizard which is regarded as an important animal in Ireland, being our only native reptile species.

SIGHTINGS of the great spotted woodpecker were once rare in Ireland. However, there’s now clear evidence that the bird is not only breeding here, but is spreading around the country from its original base in the east coast.