Eye On Nature

I was walking beside the river Suir in Clonmel in mid-September and was most surprised to see a very small bat flying around, as it was mid-afternoon with very bright sunshine. The area has a number of large derelict buildings and dark arches, and sightings of bats are common. However, I have never seen one in mid-afternoon on such a bright day.

Arthur Prendergast, Ballyboden Road, Dublin

In the cooler weather of spring and autumn, there are not so many insects flying at night, so bats are forced to feed during the day. Bats avoid flying during the day because it is much more dangerous as they are clearly visible to predators. They also run the risk of overheating, as the sun strikes the bare skin of their wings.

Many years ago, I put one of the planarian flatworms (the small, black one about 15mm long) from a farmyard pond on to my palm to examine it more closely. To my surprise, it lost its shiny black colour and shrivelled and dissolved before my eyes in the space of less than a minute. Then from the remains crawled a pure white, smaller replica of the original which was not troubled by the lack of moisture. I tried this experiment again and again over the years, and demonstrated it to my friends, always with the same result.

Frank Partington, Dingle, Co Kerry

Dr Julian Reynolds, zoologist at TCD, says planarians are very susceptible to desiccation. He suggests that, when the worm disintegrated on your palm, what was left was the tube-like pharynx, which is protruded to eat prey. As it is muscular, it could have moved, but the organism was dead.

In mid-September, while we were driving near the causeway at Cleggan, an animal like a stoat but larger and coloured black, appeared out of the undergrowth at the side of the road. I did not think there were any black stoats or mink or polecats.

Jim Vale, Clontarf, Dublin

It was a mink. They are larger than the stoat and in the wild are either dark brown or black.

Edited by Michael Viney, who welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo. E-mail: viney@anu.ie Observations sent by e-mail should be accompanied by postal address.