This field trip started sunny and with a slight breeze, only to end with the clouds beginning to cover more than half of the sky and the wind picking up. Still, 18°C (1:01 PM) and with temperatures set to rise further, the weather is ideal for the first species to kick off their respective mating seasons.
Pieris napi has started to appear and already engages in mating especially in Zone III. P. nymphula also is making its earliest appearance to date.
Zone II is set to see its worst season since 2022 due to David's fields hosting nothing but potatoes and wheat on his two largest fields. The largest field, now covered in wheat, used to be a lacy phacelia field in 2022 and 2023, and unused in 2024. This is bad insofar as the amount of farmers switching to wheat at the same is increasing sharply, with area "Mixed Field" already being 50% smaller and its only insects hotspot having been destroyed already and all current signs pointing to a drought worse than that of 2018, as both streams carry at least 50% less water than usual.
On the other hand, the amount of insects inhabiting Zone III continuously increases, with P. c-album making its very first appearance next to the pond. If current predictions remain correct, Z III may become the most important spot for many more insects during this year.