rain pain

Dwindling count

If this year’s summer in the United Kingdom isn’t warm enough, chances are that the country’s butterfly population is going to diminish further. Information from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme show that the numbers of as many as eight species of butterflies hit an all-time low due to excessive rainfall in Britain in 2007. More than average rainfall hinders chances of species like the Common Blue to eat or breed. Species like the High Brown Fritillary and the Duke of Burgundy have gone through a bad year and the situation is grave enough to threaten some species to extinction. There is another problem: experts believe that some species have such a low population that they might get wiped out completely. Butterflies are important to the ecology as their population indicates changes in climatic conditions in a certain area.

trendsetter

Diver dog

Mondex, a five-year- old chihuahua, has won a canine fashion show held in Manila, Philippines. Dressed in scuba diving gear with a four-legged wetsuit, an air bottle, four little flippers and goggles, Mondex looked ready to take the plunge. The contest was held at a mall and Tucker, another chihuahua, dressed as a cowboy was his biggest rival. Hope Mondex gets a taste of real diving some day, and enjoys it as much.