Tag: Common Vetch

Posted in Allotment, nature

Blossom Watching

Posted on by BITM

Warm sunny weather has finally replaced the wet conditions we seemed to be stuck in all May.

As I write this, meteorological summer has begun so the change in weather is rather fitting.

It has been fascinating to follow the seasons so far this year; paying particular attention to the timing of tree blossom arrival. After the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), the ornamental Cherries (Prunus) took over alongside the Crab apples (Malus). Then for the last few weeks Rowan (Sorbus), Horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) and Hawthorn (Crataegus) have been blooming and continue to do so.

More wild flowers are joining in the visual performance as Red clover (Trifolium pratense) and Common vetch (Vicia sativa) started putting on a show too.

  • Delicate Common vetch flowers

Even on the allotment, the Lacy Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) has begun to bloom alongside the vibrant Geums, which is a great combination.

  • Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) visiting the Phacelia

The bees have been enjoying their nectar and pollen, along with a Hairy shield bug (Dolycoris baccarum) who came to visit on them Saturday (see photo below).

We do have blackthorn hedges nearby so I guess it had been overwintering on those.

I’ve noticed that the Chive flowers are particularly loved by worker Red tailed bumblebees (Bombus lapidarius); this isn’t too much of a surprise as I know they have short tongues, plus once they have found a good food source they will repeatedly visit the same plant.

Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) numbers are increasing on allotment too. Plus one Female Wolf spider (Pardosa amentata) carrying a blue egg sac was spotted.

It is always a joy to share my plot with beneficial insects, as I don’t use insecticides.

It was nice to have a long weekend, it gave me a chance to walk through the local woodland park which I hadn’t done for a few weeks. Lots of butterflies were flitting about, including one Speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria).

Posted in nature

🐝Beeing Happy in the Sunshine 🌞

Posted on by BITM

The warmer weather this week brought with it many bee sightings, including Honey bees (Apis mellifera). The plants where they were most abundant were the Californian Lilac (the Ceanothus seen in the first photo) and the Cotoneaster in the second photo. Both Shrubs, full of small flowers, are loved by Honey bees. In fact there were so many bees on them that the amazing buzzing sound filled the air.

There were also lots of Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) on the Cotoneaster too, as shown below.

This hasn’t been the only time I noticed Tree Bumblebees this week. This the weekend I was walking around a local charity allotment when I saw a bird box being occupied by bees. This is a commonly used structure for Tree Bumblebees.

I was also lucky to notice three female Hairy-footed flower bees (Anthophora plumipes) while weeding a border. These are solitary bees who care for their own young; however they can live within close proximity to one another. The three that I noticed had nests in the bare earth about 10cms apart. The females are black with yellow legs. Unfortunately I was not able to obtain a decent photo of them for this post.

Other observations this week have included more Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata), Holly blue butterflies (Celastrina argiolus) and Orange-tip butterflies (Anthocharis cardamines).

I have also managed to go on a couple of short walks this week and discovered more wildflowers blooming. These were;

– Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare).

The Ox-eye daisy flowers were originally used for the ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ petal plucking activity.

* Dog-rose (Rosa canina). The hips from this plant are enjoyed by blackbirds (Turdus merula), Redwings. (Turdus iliacus) and Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus). They are also used to make syrups and jellies to be used in winter (due to the very high vitamin C content). The hips from this rose also contain irritating hairs which can be used as itching powder.

-Smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)

– Common Vetch (Vicia sativa). This plant is a member of the Legume family so it causes nitrogen fixation in the soil therefore it can be used as a soil fertilizer.

On my way home from one of my walks I manage to capture this Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) on a photo too.

This weekend I saw this Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica) as I enjoyed a coffee.

I couldn’t resist adding this photo, sadly it doesn’t do it justice. When the sun shone, the green and purple neck feathers where incredibly vibrant and against the unusual white; I thought it was beautiful.