Spotted here in Thurles on Monday last, the first Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) of the season. Native to Ireland and indeed Europe, Cinnabar moths are daytime-flying moths, with distinctive pinkish-red and black wings.
Cinnabar moths measure about 20mm (0.79in) in length with a wingspan of some 32–42mm (1.3–1.7in) and acquires its named from the red mineral Cinnabar, because of the red patches on its predominantly black wings.
Interesting to note that this moth has been introduced into New Zealand, Australia and North America to control Ragwort (latter poisonous to horses and other livestock), on which its larvae feed. This Ragwort diet, eaten by their pale yellow and black striped larvae, leaves them unpalatable to their would-be predators. Females can lay up to 300 eggs, in batches of 30 to 60 on the underside of Ragwort leaves and their caterpillars being voracious eaters; a large population can strip entire patches of ragwort clean, within a very short period of time.
Though not considered very rare in Ireland, the Cinnabar moth remains, annually, in grave danger due to the Noxious Weeds Act of 1936, which makes it an offence for the owner or occupier of lands not to prevent the growth and spread of Ragwort. In 2020, some 52 “notices to destroy” were issued to land owners, by the Department of Agriculture, for the presence of Ragwort being on their property and in 2021, some 22 such notices were also issued. Many caterpillars will starve if their food runs out before they are fully grown, so as competition intensifies the caterpillars become more aggressive and may even turn to cannibalism in their quest for calories.
Beyond Books – How Public Libraries Support Learning, Inclusion & Community.
This upcoming Webinar “Beyond Books – How Public Libraries Support Learning, Inclusion & Community”, may be of interest to educators and parents.
Join the LINC Team (Leadership for INClusion) and Ms Dervla Dunne; latter Librarian and member of the management team at Wexford Town Library, for an insightful webinar on “Beyond Books – How Public Libraries Support Learning, Inclusion & Community”.
In this webinar, Ms Dunne will provide an overview of public library services, with a special focus on supports available to parents, educators and children.
Note Please. Date: Thursday, 1st May 2025 Time: 7:00 PM
Readers will be aware of previous discussions regarding the “One Hundred Million Trees Project”, sponsored by Allied Irish Bank(AIB), situated on Liberty Square, in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Hereunder, please view a video, taken on the day of the planting, featuring so many of our local secondary school pupils.
This ambitious initiative, which deployed a novel planting technique perfected in Japan, known as TheMiyawaki Method, is well on course to plant 550,000 trees across Ireland at hundreds of sites, by May of this year. The project’s ambitious aim is to densely plant between 1,000 and 2,500 native Irish trees at a time across small areas of land using this ‘the Miyawaki method’, named after Japanese Botanist, Professor Akira Miyawaki. This method of overplanting trees has been successful in creating over 1,700 forests worldwide, including three established forests here in Ireland. By planting excess trees together, they grow considerably faster, denser, are more biodiverse, and most importantly create a very rapid carbon sink. This inexpensive approach requires significantly smaller planting areas and can be conducted on unused or fallow land across Ireland. Dense areas of afforestation can also actually play a role in reducing the impact of forest fires, while at the same time provide excellent areas of biodiversity. Thurles.Info will be returning to this area within the next few weeks to observe at first hand the progress made, following the planting of these trees.
FSAI recall a batch of Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream due to chemical smell and taste from the product.
Alert Summary dated Friday, April 4th 2025.
Category 1: For Action Alert Notification: 2025.17 Product Identification: Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream tub; pack size: 1 litre; approval number: IE 1065 EC Batch Code: L24356B; best before date: June 2026 Country Of Origin: Ireland
Message: The above batch of Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream is being recalled due to some customers experiencing a chemical smell and/or taste from the product. Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in Lidl stores.
Action Required: Consumers: Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batch.
Note: At the best of times, according to the independent YUKA App. the above product, when scanned by Thurles.Info, contains Mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids, latter a high risk texturizing agent which provides consistency, maintains or modifies the texture of this product. This additive we are informed, could in cases of high consumption, increase the risk of developing cancers and cardiovascular diseases. It is also suspected of disrupting gut flora , which could lead to an increased risk of autoimmune and allergic diseases, as well as inflammatory diseases.
This product also contains Locust bean gum; Guar gum and E415. These additives/texturizing agents used as emulsifiers are believed to also alter gut microbiota. A recent Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale(INSERM) study, [latter the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research], found that such emulsifiers may be associated with the development of breast cancer. However, it is also accepted that further studies are required with regards to this latter claim.
Now comes the questions: (1) With this research knowledge readily available; why are Irish manufacturers allowed to use these additives/texturizing agents in such products? (2) Why are Shops/Supermarkets continuing to sell such products? (3) Could the removal of such additives/texturizing agents from our food, reduce hospital overcrowding and patient waiting time for beds?
We have forwarded these three questions to the Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Mr Martin Heydon TD. (martin.heydon@oir.ie) and to the Minister for Health, Ms Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD (jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie); seeking early replies.
EPA announces funding of €6.6million for targeted new research projects to address environmental, climate and sustainability challenges.
The EPA today announces funding of €6.6million for new research that will address environmental, climate and sustainability challenges in Ireland.
Funding will support targeted research projects that address specific needs from across the policy community, with a focus on shorter projects to provide timely outputs.
Proposals are invited under 29 individual topics, including how we can enhance the reuse of water in Ireland, assessing methane emissions and exploring the impact of global megatrends on achieving environmental objectives.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced research funding of up to €6.6 million for new environmental research. The EPA is inviting proposals from the research community for innovative projects under 29 topics that will contribute to the development and implementation of environmental policies in Ireland.
Announcing the EPA funding call, Dr Eimear Cotter, (Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment) said: “The EPA’s continued investment in research underscores its critical role in addressing knowledge gaps and supporting effective policy responses to the challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation. In 2024, we were delighted to see an 80 per cent increase in applications to the EPA research call, highlighting the significant opportunity that researchers see for their work to contribute to environmental and climate policy development, and we hope to see a similarly strong response to our 2025 call.”
Research topics to be funded include:
assessing the performance of policies on achieving our climate targets;
examining how Ireland’s infrastructure can be resilient to population growth and climate change in the future;
exploring the impact of global megatrends such as artificial intelligence on environmental objectives;
how we can enhance the reuse of water in Ireland, and
analysing methane emissions from natural sources and human activities in Ireland.
Dr Darragh O’Neill, (EPA Research Manager”), stated, “The EPA is inviting proposals across 29 topics to address specific knowledge gaps. To strengthen the connection between research and policy, the EPA will support the successful research teams in working closely with the policy community to deliver impactful research outcomes. We particularly encourage early career researchers to apply and to consider the relevance of their research to the environment, climate and sustainability.”
The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative, funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Applications are accepted from across the island of Ireland, including from higher education institutions, research performing organisations, private companies and non-governmental organisations. Under this year’s call, the EPA is delighted to be partnering with Met Éireann, the Office of Public Works and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to co-fund projects in areas of mutual interest.
Further details about the 2025 EPA Research Call and how to apply for funding is available on the EPA Website.
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