P-O Naturally – Test your Knowledge!
With Lesley McLaren
This edition we’re taking another quizzical look over the region’s flaura and fauna. Have you been paying attention to the flying, crawling, slithering, blooming all around you?
Will you be the POL teacher’s pet or rather the class clown? (Answers at the bottom of the page)
Good luck!
A : MAKE YOUR CHOICE
1. How do male grasshoppers create their song?
a. By rubbing hind legs together
b. By rubbing wings together
c. By rubbing hind legs against their wings
d. By rubbing hind legs against their abdomen
2. How much does a Pipistrelle bat weigh?
a. 3-8g
b. 5-10g
c. 10-15g
d. 15-20g
3. What is this big moth called?
a. Ghost-head Hawkmoth
b. Death’s-head Hawkmoth
c. Skull-head Hawkmoth
d. Devil’s-head Hawkmoth
4. The rare, semi-aquatic Pyrenean Desman is related to which other mammals?
a. Mice & rats
b. Moles & shrews
c. Voles
d. Coypu
5. For how long does a damselfly or dragonfly live as a nymph underwater?
a. 1-6 months
b. 6-12 months
c. 2 years
d. 1-3 years
6. What bird is this?
a. Rock Bunting
b. Rock Sparrow
c. Rock Finch
d. Rock Warbler
B : TRUE OR FALSE
- Cicadas are a type of cricket
- Octopuses have 2 hearts
- 2024 was the planet’s first year above 1.5C of global warming
- In winter, Siskins (see below) may visit garden bird feeders more often on wet days
- The only wolves seen in the P O in recent years are lone females
- Another word for signs left by an animal is “spoor”
C : DON'T YOU JUST KNOW IT
1. What is this sea creature?
2. What is the French word for a young marmot?
3. La Fête de l’Ours takes place in February. Why February?
4. What’s going on here?
5. What tells you this snake is venomous?
6. Which tree makes a popping sound when you remove the bark?
The Warblers
Lesley McLaren is one of “The Warblers”, a group of natural history enthusiasts based in the P-O.
For more blogs and photos, or if you’d like to contact them, visit www.mediterraneanpyrenees.com
You can also follow them on Twitter @66warblers
All photos by “The Warblers”, unless otherwise stated
Answers
A : MAKE YOUR CHOICE
- c) They rub hind legs against their wings
- a) They weigh no more than a 1-euro coin!
- b) Death’s-head Hawkmoths are nocturnal & have a wingspan of 80-120mm
- b) Moles & shrews
- d) 1-3 years, depending on the species & environment
- a) Rock Bunting
B : TRUE OR FALSE
- F Cicadas are related to aphids & leaf hoppers
- F Octopuses have 3 hearts! 2 to pump blood to their gills & 1 to circulate it around their body
- T 2024 was the hottest year on record since the pre-industrial period
- T Pinecones close in the wet, depriving Siskins of their favourite seeds
- F The 4 recorded have been lone males
- T Spoor can refer to animal tracks, scents & droppings
C : DON’T YOU JUST KNOW
- Mottled Sea Hare – a type of sea snail (harmless)
- Un marmotton
- February is when brown bears first leave their winter dens (tanières) & marks the return of spring. Sadly, the last time a bear was spotted in the P O was 2019.
- A spider-hunting wasp has caught and paralysed a wolf spider & is dragging it back to its nest, where an egg will be laid inside it.
- The vertical pupil & head shape. It’s an adder
- A cork oak 🤣