Tag: insects

Posted in nature

Bring me Sunshine 🦋

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The last few weeks have been opposites in terms of the weather. A wet previous week turned into the hottest of the year so far (with no relief overnight). Although too hot for my comfort, it was perfect weather for butterflies, and a great start for the Big Butterfly Count. Finally I was beginning to witness an increase in the amount of butterflies. I was getting worried this years reduction in butterfly sightings (due to the cold spring and wet summer experienced in 2021 up to this point) would continue. However by the end of the first week, I saw a Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) and a Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni). Then, while on a walk around my local woodland park (early on the following, sunny and very warm, Sunday morning) I witnessed lots of butterflies making the most of the sunshine.

In one open area of the park, the grass had been allowed to grow, with many species of wildflower blooming amongst it. One of the plants I saw was Common centuary (Centaurium erythraea) which blooms between May and October. Overshadowed by the other wildflowers and grasses, initially this shorter plant was difficult to spot; in fact had it not been next to a mown walkway, I may not have seen it. Thankfully it’s pink and yellow colouration stood out enough, from the more muted colours surrounding it, as I wondered past trying to identify butterflies.

Common centuary represents delicacy and felicity in the Victorian Language of Flowers.

This plant is found in a many places, from heathlands and woodlands to cliff tops and quarries. A natural meteorologist, the flower closes when the weather is dull and damp to reopen once the weather brightens up. While I’m not sure this is a practical weather indicator to use (when a simple observation of the sky, in that moment, will give you the information you require) it’s a pretty cool reaction to weather conditions.

There were many butterflies flitting about on that Sunday morning. Most prominent were Gatekeepers (Pyronia tithonus), Small skippers (Thymelicus sylvestris)

A small skipper visiting some Knapweed (Centaurea).

and Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) butterflies; probably due to the grass being allowed to grow fully. All these species of butterfly are associated with grassland and their caterpillars feed on grasses.
Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) caterpillars also feed on grasses while the adults feed on many purple coloured flowers, including knapweeds; so it was lovely to see one of these butterflies flying around the meadow too.

Another plant that was growing amongst the long grass was Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). This is a favourite nectar source of the Gatekeeper butterfly, along with other plants including Bramble (Rubus fruticosus), Wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare) and Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia).

Ragwort is great for many pollinators, including these Small heath butterflies.

I also got to see another insect with a strong connection to Ragwort, a caterpillar of the day flying moth, the Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae).

This wasn’t the only caterpillar I noticed. Earlier in the week, I saw a caterpillar of the Knot grass moth (Acronicta rumicis), seen below on a bramble leaf.

This caterpillar will be part of this years second brood, the adults of which appear in August and September. The Caterpillars have a varied diet, eating a wide range of herbaceous plants; this one clearly eating out (and pooping on) bramble. The photo of the adult moth can be seen at Uk Moths.

Posted in nature

Understated Beauty

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It was nice to notice a moth last week after a long absence, especially as Moth Night was held between 8-10th July in 2021. Each year Atropos, the Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology organise a citizen science moth recording event while celebrating these wonderful beautiful creatures. More information on Moth night can be found at Moth night.

With a wingspan of 18-25 mm, the moth I saw on Tuesday was a Garden carpet moth (Xanthorhoe fluctuata).

This common moth can be found from April to September, in many areas of the UK but particularly in gardens and allotments. Although this moth flies during the night, as with my sighting last week, they can be discovered at rest on buildings during the day.

The caterpillars of the Garden carpet will eat through Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Shepherd’s-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), wild Horse-radish (Armoracia rusticana), Hairy Bitter-cress (Cardamine hirsuta) along with cultivated cabbages amongst other plants.

A useful moth ID app that I use a lot is ‘What’s Flying tonight’ produced by the Butterfly Conservation, UK moths and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Posted in Allotment, nature

Witnessing the Solstice Dawn Arrive

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On the eve of the Summer solstice I love to go to sleep early with my curtains open so I can wake up naturally and see the sunrise; it helps me align with the seasons and appreciate nature in a different way. This year I awoke at 3:50am and immediately opened the window so I could enjoy the dawn chorus. Initially the predominant birdsong was that of Blackbirds (Turdus merula), occasionally punctuated by the calls from a Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), a murder of very vocal Carrion crows (Corvus corone), along with a male Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) in the distance too. The crescendo came around 4:10am but it wasn’t until finally at 4:42am, when things had quietened, that I heard a few more birds singing. There was a lone Dunnock (Prunella modularis) and then a Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) at about 4:50am; followed much later by Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) which I observed in the Rowan (Sorbus) tree nearby.

It’s interesting to notice an order to the bird song. Blackbirds are the first to be heard, almost like they are an alarm call for the other songbirds; clearly eager to catch the worms.

I also learnt another birdsong last week, heard around midday on Thursday. Hidden somewhere amongst the treeline next to a field, was a Common Whitethroat (Curruca communis); the song can be heard here on the RSPB website.

This warbler visits the UK from Southern Africa (from countries south of the Sahara) between April and October. Once the males arrive on these shores, they will establish territories and build nests for prospective partners (approximately ten to fourteen days before the females arrive).

These birds are about the same size as Great tits (Parus major) and named after the white plumage on their throats. Males can be differentiated from female due to their grey heads. They feed on insects as well as fruit and berries later in the year.

After being concerned that I wasn’t seeing many butterflies and ladybirds the previous week, last week
it finally became warm and sunny enough for them to venture out once again. It was lovely to witness a couple of Small tortoisehell butterflies (Aglais urticae) along with some bumblebees visit a Scabious plant in one garden.

Plus there was a loveliness of Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) at the allotment, hunting down on all the aphids which also appeared.

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The Mystery is Finally Solved

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At the beginning of the second lockdown I started walking different routes to explore my local neighborhood further. On one of these investigations, I came across a large tree that I didn’t recognise. I was intrigued as seed pods had remained on the branches throughout winter. I suspected that it was from the legume (Fabaceae) family and determined to eventually discover what tree it was.

Every so often I would check on its development, then about a month ago leaves began to appear but it was only in last week that the mystery was finally solved. On route to the allotment I noticed that beautiful scented flowers were hanging from the tree and the sound of lots of bees buzzing all over it was incredible. Finally I could identify it as a False acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), a large hardwood tree which at full height can reach 25 meters.

The magnificent tree in full bloom.
The close up photo of the False acacia bark.

Named by Carl Linnaeus, Robinia was in honour of two Royal gardeners to Henry IV of France; Jean Robin (1550-1662) who was also a botanist, along with his son Vespasien Robin (1579-1662). Pseudoacacia was given to the tree because of the similarity of the leaves and spines (thorny growth on the shoots and young branches) to those of an Acacia; Pseudoacacia literally translates as False acacia.

The spines just about visible on the branch in the foreground.

The lime green pinnate leaves (containing 3-11 pairs of leaflets) will turn yellow in autumn, so the tree has interest later in the year too.

Close up of the aromatic flowers against the pinnate leaves.

However that is where the similarity stops as Acacias are part of the Mimosa (Mimosoideae) family. In fact this tree, as I suspected, is from the legumes (Fabaceae) family. The flowers and seed pods resemble those of peas and beans plus the roots have nitrogen fixing nodules. In some countries, like South Africa and Australia, suckering roots can lead it to become invasive.

The scent coming from the flowers was similar to orange blossom and very obvious from a distance as I walked towards it. The White Flowers, with a hint of yellow at the base hang down in groups (racemes) and appear in May and June.

One if the many visiting bumblebees enjoying the nectar and pollen from this tree.
Posted in Allotment, nature

Time to Make Daisy Chains?

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It was encouraging to witness dragonflies zipping about and mating over the past week; another sure sign of summers arrival for me.

Down at the allotment, it’s been wonderful to see the addition of a pond on a neighbouring plot. I’m excited to see what inhabits it; hopefully some beneficial wildlife will find it soon, perhaps some dragonflies of our own.

The predominant flowers on on recently mown grass are still daisies (Bellis perennis) although White clover (Trifolium repens) and Bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) have begun to bloom alongside them.

My White clover and Bird’s-foot trefoil seedlings, down at the allotment, are coming along fantastically; I look forward to eventually transplanting them to my wild flower patch. Unfortunately, the Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) seeds didn’t take.  Perhaps the weather earlier on in the year wasn’t conducive to their germination so I’ll try to obtain plants in autumn instead. Ideally I need them to control the grass so the other wild flowers have a chance to thrive.

I love seeing daisies everywhere. I love their simplicity, abundance, cheerful yellow center along with the fact they open during the day and close at night. Seeing them always brings back memories of making daisy chains as a child, which makes me smile. When I doodle flowers, it’s the daisy shape I always begin with before venturing onto others such as dandelions and foxgloves.

I even mend clothes with daisies after the inevitable holes in my work tops appear, mostly thanks to roses.

Therefore, I also enjoy seeing Oxeye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) join in the grassland mix as well which they did last week. When the grass on the verges is left to grow long for pollinators, it is these taller daisy flowers that can be seen looking upwards towards the sun.

Other tall wildflowers that began to bloom in the unmown grass last week were Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Common  mallow (Malva sylvestris) and White campion (Silene latifolia). These plants are also great for pollinators, especially the latter whose might time scent is a temptation for moths. In fact this flower was added into Elizabethan pot pourri due to its clove aroma.

Posted in Allotment, nature

Blossom Watching

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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).

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Amazing Auburn Beauty Spotted

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Annual honesty (Lunaria annua), Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) and Hedge garlic (Alliara petiolata) were all blooming last week, which is great for the increasing numbers of pollinators I saw flying around.

Some flowers began to open up on a Crab apple (Malus spectabilis) I saw in in one garden too.

As alluded to above, more insects were prominent throughout last week compared to earlier in the month. I saw my first male Orange-tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) and undisturbed Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) of the year.
Yet more species of bee were buzzing about too; I observed female Early bumblebees (Bombus pratorum) one Hairy-footed flower (Anthophora plumipes) bee queen, along with several female Red-tailed (Bombus lapidarius) bumblebees.
A great Bumblebee ID guide can be viewed at Blooms for Bees; this website also includes ways to encourage bees into your garden.

Then on Thursday, as I was clearing wildflower seedlings from a path, I noticed a beautiful redhead resting next to me.

This photo doesn’t do the vibrant colouration of this bee justice.

I recognized it was a bee but was initially unsure of the species. Upon further investigation, via Google lens, I discovered it was a female Tawny mining bee (Andrena fulva).

Given the place I saw the bee, I was unable to locate it’s nest, in fact it may have flown in from another garden anyway. Their burrow is usually located in lawns (sometimes flower beds); identifiable from a mound of earth with a hole at the top for the entrance. Often described as having a volcano like appearance it can be differentiated from ants nests which are flatter and have no distinguishable hole at the summit. After several weeks these mounds are no where to be found, so they can be left undisturbed without any worry of damage to lawns.

These solitary bees (which do not sting) can be seen between April and June in gardens and parkland as well as along the edges of fields and orchards.

The appearance of these beautiful bees coincides with the flowing of Cherry (Prunus), Pear (Pyrus), Hawthorn (Crataegus), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Maple (Acer), Willow (Sallows) and Apple (Malus) trees, along with other plants such as Buttercups (Ranunculus) and Dandelions (Taraxacum). Nectar and Pollen from these blooms is collected for the bee larvae that develop in the nest beneath the ground. Once the young become pupa, they continue to hibernate through winter to eventually emerge the following spring.

Males are smaller than the female Tawny bees and are a dull brown colour. They do not take any part in creating nests or rearing the young, the females will undertake these jobs alone.

Posted in nature

Tuesday was a School Day

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The lovely sunshine we’ve had on and off recently has encouraged lots of wildflowers to start blooming over the past week. Amongst the Daffodils were Daisies (Bellis perennis), Snake’s head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris),

Snake’s-head fritillary has become naturalised in the lawn of this woodland area of the garden.

Dandelions (Taraxacum),

Perfect for pollinators, especially bees but also butterflies.

Cowslip (Primula veris),

Primroses on my allotment adds a little colour at this time.

Green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) and Forgot-me-nots (Myosotis). Even brave Tulips were beginning to open up.

Last Tuesday I learnt another plant, the Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris).

This particular plant was in a raised water feature made from an old rectangular metal container which replicated it’s natural growing conditions. In the wild, Marsh marigold grows in damp conditions such as ponds, marshes and wet woodland and flowers from March to July. It’s common name ‘Kingcup’ is a reference to the large buttercup like flowers resemblance to large golden cups (therefore cup of the kings); Even the latin Caltha means goblet.

A wonderful addition to ponds in gardens, this perennial provides shelter for amphibians as well as nectar for pollinators (Bees, beetles and flies).

However, one word of warning, the sap can be an irritant as it contains glycoside protoanemonin, especially in the older growth.

Magnolias and Ornamental cherry trees, including my Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ on the allotment, joined the wonderful display of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) blossom.

Sunny blue skies are the perfect backdrop to this huge Magnolia and Ornamental cherry (see below).
Along with the Cowslips, this ‘Kojo-no-mai’ cherry provides some pollen and nectar on my allotment.

I also noticed that Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) trees were showing evidence of flower development alongside recently unfurled leaves; although they won’t bloom until May.

Will it be a good year for playing Conkers?

With all these flowers appearing, it was wonderful to see more bees take advantage of all the pollen and nectar available. On the sunniest days I even caught glimpses of the first Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and Peacock (Aglais io) butterflies of the year; venturing out of hibernation when it is warm enough too.

Posted in Allotment, nature

A Spring into New Beginnings

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The first of March, meteorological spring along with St Davids day all took place last Monday. Even the first grass cut of the season took place last week (albeit only a high cut to level off uneven growth).

Blackthorn was fully blossoming and spring flowers still bloomed as the birds, amphibians and insects continued to become more active. There were a few new observations; I noticed a single Two-leaf squill (Scilla bifolia) growing in a lawn and, in the same garden, saw a male Ring necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) strutting his stuff.

Things are moving on at the allotment. Sweetpea and Vegetable seedlings are doing well as are the seeds sown for cut and wild flower areas on the plot. The beds are ready for direct sowing which I hope to undertake within the next few weeks and I wait for Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) and Bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) to germinate. I also hope to get the shed painted, install a water conserving system and build a bigger greenhouse sometime in the future.

While I am looking forward to the new growing season to begin in earnest I am also mindful to enjoy this moment; to stop, observe, reflect and plan and allowing nature to dictate the speed when things need to begin.

Aubergine and Chilli seedlings
Kale seedlings
Tithonia, Scabious and White clover seedlings (Trifolium repens)
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As Snug as Three Bugs in a Tree Peony Seedhead

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The photo above proves the importance of being careful when tidying gardens so hiding insects don’t become injured.

It’s best to leave cutting down perennials until spring if you can; not only do insects, like these Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata), shelter amongst them but they provide food for birds too.