El nino

[Ken Adams]

A comment on effects in South Africa. Parts of the country have had 
"normal"/good rains. However, here in Eastern Province it has been 
very dry. Our main rains are supposed to over our summer months- like 
now, but rainfall since October has been less than an inch, compared 
with our usual six or so inches
We have also had a hot summer so high evaporation. Result on plant 
growth has been devastating- there hasn't been any, the grass has 
remained brown and burned up and failed to green up absolutely.

Last year by contrast was cool and comparatively wet. The 
significance of which for leps was that there were very few because 
it was too cool and wet. this year by contrast there have been very 
few leps around possibly because it has been too dry to support plant 
growth. Butterfly counts have produced yeilds roughly equivalent to 
those of late winter. I also operate a moth trap (uv) here. Yeilds 
again have been abyssmal like three or four moths per trap night.
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Ken Adams
Zoology Department
University of Fort Hare
P Bag X1314
Alice, SOUTH AFRICA

Phone (W) 0404-2337
Fax (W) 0404-31669, 0404-31643
e-mail adams at zoo.ufh.ac.za
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