SUMMER LEFT-OVERS

On a walk today I saw several cheery flowers defying winter.  Some Ox-eye daisies.

One of the hawkbits

Hogweed seems to go on all through cold weather.

 

NOVEMBER MOTH

You may see the odd Comma butterfly or a Red Admiral but most butterflies are overwintering now either as adults, pupae, larvae or eggs.  

Several moths, however are on the wing and the obvious one to look out for is the November Moth.  They fly at night in October and November but you may see one in the day, perched on a tree trunk or somewhere else where it can melt into the background.

The November Moth is quite variable in colour and has a few close relatives that look a bit similar but spotting any moth at this time of year is heartening.

Here are two photos showing different colouration, from the Butterfly Conservation website, kindly donated by members.

photo: Peter Maton

photo: Ian Leach

There is also a December Moth but you are unlikely to see it unless you have a light trap.  It's dark brown, almost black, with a few white lines.

A GREY DAY CAN BE GRADE A

Wild Clematis becomes Old Man's Beard in autumn.  Nothing wrong with old grey men !

Grey is a dignified colour so what is this small forest of grey stems ?

The feathery remains of willow herb seedheads.

Female ash trees are heavy with ash keys.

Next year's seeds hang like bunches of keys.

Which key is the right one?

 

METELLINA SEGMENTATA

Also known as Meta segmentata, this spider is most numerous in autumn.  You can tell she's a female because she is nice and fat and lacks the clumpy palps of the male, which are held like boxing gloves in front.  

 Metellina is very variable in colour but always has a patterned folium like an oak leaf on her back.  

It is the commonest orb web spider species in northern Europe.

HOLLY IS JOLLY

Holly berries ready for Christmas already

Unfortunately (for us) the birds will have gobbled them all by then.

So enjoy them now before the birds do.

 

WHITE DEAD NETTLE

Pure snowy white, flowers of the white deadnettle defy the cold weather.   

 

TEASELS

Food for goldfinches and such, these teasels were at Oldbury-on-Severn.

The prickly seedheads follow green and blue flowerheads.

Watch out!  The stems and leaves are prickly too.

Next year's teasels are flat rosettes of warty green leaves with prickles on the underside.