Gan mlynedd union yn ôl, ar 7 Mai 1915, cafodd y llong Brydeinig y Lusitania ei tharo gan dorpido Almaenig oddi ar arfordir Iwerddon, wrth iddi ddychwelyd o Efrog Newydd i Lerpwl. Fe suddodd mewn ugain munud. O’r 1,959 o deithwyr ar ei bwrdd – yn cynnwys plant a’r criw – bu farw 1,198. I nifer, roedd hon yn ‘drosedd yn erbyn dynoliaeth’ gan yr Almaenwyr, a chyhuddwyd y Kaiser Wilhelm II o ‘lofruddiaeth fwriadol ar raddfa eang’. Yn yr Almaen, cafodd medal ei chreu i gofio’r digwyddiad, ac mae gennym gopi ohoni yn y casgliad.

Ymysg y cannoedd a fu farw roedd Cymro o’r enw Owen Ladd. Ganwyd Owen ym 1882, yn fab i William a Phoebe Ladd o Eglwyswrw yng ngogledd Sir Benfro. Aeth i Ysgol Fwrdd Llantwyd cyn mynd yn brentis i wneuthurwr watshys yn Aberteifi. Bu hefyd yn rhedeg siop yn Pentre, y Rhondda, am naw mlynedd.

Ym 1911, gadawodd Gymru i ymuno â’i frawd, David, oedd yn gyfrifydd yn Winnipeg, Canada. Mewn dim o dro, daeth yn aelod amlwg o’r gymuned Gymraeg yno – roedd yn drysorydd Cymdeithas Dewi Sant, yn aelod blaenllaw o Eglwys Fedyddwyr Nassau Street, ac yn beirniadu mewn eisteddfodau lleol o bryd i’w gilydd.

Ym 1915, penderfynodd Owen ddychwelyd i Gymru – roedd ei rieni’n oedrannus ac roedd yn ystyried ymuno â’r fyddin. Yn anffodus, bu farw ar fwrdd y Lusitania cyn cyrraedd adref.

Ar 12 Mai 1915, roedd adroddiad ar suddo’r Lusitania yn The Haverfordwest and Milford Haven Telegraph yn crybwyll fod Owen Ladd ymysg y rhai oedd ar goll. Yna ar 20 Mai 1915 cafwyd adroddiad llygad-dyst ym mhapur wythnosol gogledd Penfro,

, yn sôn am farwolaeth Owen.

Ym 1977 daeth rhai o ddyddiaduron a llythyrau perthnasau Owen i law’r Amgueddfa. Mae’r dogfennau yn cynnwys dau lythyr a yrrwyd gan Owen o Winnipeg ar 8 Mawrth a 15 Ebrill 1915.

Mae’r casgliad hefyd yn cynnwys telegram, gafodd ei yrru gan ei frawd David o Winnipeg ar 8 Mai 1915 yn holi os oedd Owen yn iawn, ac ateb a yrrwyd yn hwyrach y diwrnod hwnnw gan Cunard’s yn Lerpwl, yn datgelu dim. Mae yma hefyd lythyr a yrrwyd ar 14 Mai 1915 i un o frodyr eraill Owen, Hugh Ladd o Eglwyswrw, gan ‘The Cunard Steam Ship Company Limited’, Queenstown .

Mae casgliad Owen Ladd i’w weld arlein yng nghatalog Casgliadau’r Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf.

Our expedition has now drawn to a successful close. Our collections of several thousand specimens have (mostly) been successfully exported from Ecuador and initial analysis of them has started. Entomological expeditions to remote areas are great fun of course. However the less glamorous but harder work comes later, involving months or years of detailed study during which new species are described, evolutionary trees constructed, and ecological or biogeographic conclusions etc. are developed.

In the field there may be great excitement about finding a particular insect but to a scientist, the level of excitement can only grow as the real significance of the finding is revealed subsequently through painstaking study and reference to our already extensive collections. Already we have glimpses of results that might tell us more about how the insect fauna of the upper Amazon Basin came about. For example the unexpected presence of Cladodromia (a classic ‘Gondwanan’ genus) suggests there has been immigration from Patagonia whereas the high diversity of Neoplasta (which is essentially North American) hints at a south-bound migration along the Andes. On the other hand, an almost complete absence of Hemerodromia puzzles us as it is widespread in the lower Amazon so why didn’t we find it higher up? We suspect that the answer may be that it has only recently arrived in South America and is still spreading to Ecuador. Then again the unseasonal rains (due to a strong El Niño this year) may be a factor. Investigations continue.

In the field, our successes were often hard-won; difficult slogging through trying terrain, inclement weather, frustrating officialdom and many other factors sometimes worked against us it seemed, and intermittent access to the internet made writing these blogs challenging at times. We have been very fortunate in that our expedition was entirely and well-funded by the Brazilian Government as a part of their noble and ambitious efforts to understand the biodiversity of the Amazon. Our own exertions will plug one significant hole in knowledge and contribute to greater appreciation of Amazon biodiversity.

To read all of Adrian's entries, go to our Natural History Blog

Bydd Amgueddfa Cymru yn dyfarnu Tystysgrifau Gwyddonwyr Gwych i cant o ysgolion ar draws y DU eleni, i gydnabod eu cyfraniad i Ymchwiliad Bylbiau’r Gwanwyn – Newid Hinsawdd.

Llongyfarchiadau anferth i bob un o’r ysgolion!

Diolch i bob un o’r 5,539 disgybl a helpodd eleni! Diolch am weithio mor galed yn plannu, arsylwi, mesur a chofnodi – rydych chi i gyd yn Wyddonwyr Gwych! Bydd pob un yn derbyn tystysgrif a phensel Gwyddonydd Gwych, ac fe fyddan nhw’n cyrraedd eich ysgol tua canol mis Mai.

Diolch yn fawr i Ymddiriedolaeth Edina am eu nawdd ac am helpu i wireddu’r holl  broject!

Enillwyr 2015:

Diolch i’r tri enillydd wnaeth anfon y nifer fwyaf o ddata tywydd.  Bydd pob un yn derbyn trip ysgol llawn hwyl i atyniad natur.

St. Brigid's School - Wales

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School - England

Winton Primary School - Scotland

Yn ail:

Betws Primary School

Carnforth North Road Primary School

Corsehill Primary School

St. Laurence Primary School

St. Michael's Primary School

St. Paul's Primary School

Wormit Primary School

Clod uchel:

Balcurvie Primary School

Carnegie Nursery

Coleg Meirion Dwyfor

Coleg Powys

Eastfield Primary School

Fairlie Primary School

Freuchie Nursery

Gibshill Children's Centre

Greenburn School

Howwood Primary School

Keir Hardie Memorial Primary School

Kilmory Primary School

Maes-y-Coed Primary

SS Philip and James CE Primary School

St. Ignatius Primary School

St. Peter's CE Primary School

Wildmill Youth Club

Ysgol Bro Eirwg

Cydnabyddiaeth arbennig:

Bancyfelin

Bickerstaffe CE Primary School

Binnie Street Children's Centre

Brodick Primary School

Carstairs Primary School

Coppull Parish Primary School

Dallas Road Primary School

Dyffryn Banw

Euxton Church of England Primary School

Garstang St. Thomas' CE Primary School

Guardbridge Primary School

Henllys CIW Primary

Kirkton Primary School

Llanharan Primary School

Morningside Primary School

Newport Primary School

Orchard Meadow Primary School

Pittenweem Primary School

Rhws Primary School

Rivington Foundation Primary School

Sacred Heart Primary and Nurseries

Skelmorlie Primary School

Stanford-in-the-Vale CE Primary School              

St Athan Primary

St Mellons Church in Wales Primary School

Trellech Primary School

Woodlands Primary School

Ynysddu Primary School

Ysgol Bryn Garth

Ysgol Deganwy

Ysgol Hiraddug

Ysgol Syr John Rhys

Ysgol Clocaenog

Ysgolion i dderbyn tystysgrifau:

Abbey Primary School

Albert Primary School

Arkholme CE Primary School

Baird Memorial Primary School

Balshaw Lane Community Primary School

Chapelgreen Primary School

Christ Church CP School

Chryston Primary School

Colinsburgh Primary School

Darran Park Primary

Fintry Primary School

Glencoats Primary School

Hafodwenog

Kilmacolm Primary School

Kings Oak Primary School

Llanishen Fach C.P School

Mossend Primary School

Our Lady of Peace Primary School

Preston Grange Primary School

Saint Anthony's Primary School

Silverdale St. John's CE School

St. Nicholas CE Primary School

St. Philip Evans RC Primary School

Swiss Valley CP School

Thorn Primary School

Tongwynlais Primary School

Torbain Nursery School

Townhill Primary School

Ysgol Bryn Coch

Ysgol Glan Conwy

Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn

Ysgol Nant Y Coed

Ysgol Pencae

Ysgol Rhys Prichard

Ysgol Tal y Bont

Ysgol Treferthyr

Ysgol Y Plas

Glyncollen Primary School

Rougemont Junior School

Da iawn, rydych chi wedi gwneud gwaith ANHYGOEL.

Athro'r Ardd

Back to civilization again - the regional capital of Loja, a small town nestled under forested Andean slopes and home to the regional Ministry of Environment where we must go once again, to obtain permission to move the samples we have collected back to Quito.

Unlike our previous brush with officialdom in Tena (our samples from there still have not been released!... but we have some local support to ensure that they eventually will be), the officials in Loja were helpful, polite and efficient! We had allowed 2 days to process the permissions in Loja, but in the event, we received our permits within 30 minutes, leaving us the best part of 2 days to explore the town and sample the local culture and cuisine.

Meanwhile, here are some more photos from our time in the field.

To read more about Adrian's travels, go to our Natural History blog page

Mae nifer o eitemau diddorol wedi cyrraedd y casgliadau diwydiant a thrafnidiaeth eto’r mis hwn. Yn y ffotograff isod, a dynnwyd ar 22 Gorffennaf 1926, gwelwn griw o 29 chwarelwr llechi. Mae’r lleoliad yn anhysbys ond mwy na thebyg taw yn chwarel Dinorwig neu’r Penrhyn y tynnwyd y llun. Os allwch chi helpu i leoli’r ffotograff, neu’n adnabod rhywrai o’r dynion, cysylltwch â ni.

Dyluniwyd a chynhyrchwyd y tri darn cerameg yma gan yr artist George Thompson, crochenydd yn byw yn Amlwch, Ynys Môn. Mwynfeydd copr mynydd Paris yw’r ysbrydoliaeth.

Plac cerameg gyda slip ocr coch a gwydriad copr.

Pot cerameg a stand mewn clai crank pinc gyda gwydriad graffit a copr.

Powlen gerameg gyda slip graffit, ocr coch ac ocr oren.

Yn y ffotograff isod gwelwn weddillion tŷ injan troslath a simdde ym mwynglawdd copr Parys, Ynys Môn, 1964. 

Gwnaed y model hwn o fwynglawdd copr mynydd Parys oddeutu 1967, ac mae bellach yn rhan o gasgliadau Amgueddfa Cymru.

Mae’r fedal hon yn coffau torri’r dywarchen gyntaf yn Noc y Brenin, Abertawe. Ar 20 Gorffennaf 1904 cyrhaeddodd y cwch pleser Brenhinol, Victoria & Albert, Fae Abertawe. Wedi cyrraedd Doc Tywysog Cymru, esgynnodd y Brenin Edward VII a’r Frenhines Alexandre a dewiswyd yr enw Doc y Brenin er anrhydedd iddo. Wedi’r seremoni, teithiodd y Brenin na’r Frenhines drwy strydoedd Abertawe mewn cerbyd agored. Agorwyd y Doc yn swyddogol ar 20 Tachwedd 1909, ac mae’n dal i gael ei ddefnyddio heddiw. Yn 72 erw i gyd, dyma brif ddoc Harbwr Abertawe.

Ffotograff yn dangos tagfa longau (hwyliau a stêm) yn Noc y Brenin, oddeutu 1910. Trafferthion traffig yn y dyddiau cynnar.

Golygfa arall o Ddoc y Brenin. Tynnwyd y llun gan y ffotograffydd  John Eurof Martin ac mae’n dyddi o ganol yr 20fed Ganrif.

Mark Etheridge
Curator: Industry & Transport
Follow us on Twitter - @IndustryACNMW