SCABIOUS

Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis) is a late summer flower supplying pollen and nectar to bees and butterflies.  The stamens project out of the flower so it is sometimes known as 'ladies pincushion' or 'pins and needles'.  It's one of my favourites.

It used to be thought that the juice would cure scabies, hence the name.

 

WHITE TAILED BUMBLE BEE

Bumbler on marjoram.  

Pretty sure it's a white-tail.

Turn round!

Show us your tail!

Ah that's it I think.

 

BEES ON TEASEL FLOWERS

Teasels produce a halo of blue flowers . . .

. . . and bees love them.  

I see a whole lot of different bees but find the ID guides not too helpful.  Is this a white-tailed bumble bee or a buff-tailed bumble bee.  I need to go on a bumble course with the Field Studies Council.

Anyway one can enjoy the bees and the teasels and never mind what they are called.  But do beware of the spines on the backs of the leaves

  

WHO'S BEEN PEELING MY APPLES

About this time of year apple trees shed some of their smaller apples to allow the bigger ones to grow.  It used to be known as the 'June Drop' but continues into July.

When I was raking up some of these fallen fruits

 I came across several that had been neatly peeled.  

The skin had been removed by a series of little mouthfuls . . .

. . . leaving the stem and the tail end intact.  The main flesh of the apples was not eaten.

There were several of these.  I wondered who was doing it.  A squirrel, a mouse, a vole, a hedgehog?

 

HAZEL HARVEST

These hazel nuts were cracked in half by squirrels.  Mice, voles and dormice all nibble holes to get at the kernel. 

Hazel is recognisable by its multiple stems 

as well as the nuts and shells beneath at this time of year.

 

ST JOHN'S WORT

There are many species of Hypericum, St John's Wort.  (Remember 'wort' is pronounced to rhyme with 'Hurt' or 'Bert', not 'wart').  This one is the Perforate St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum).

Each flower has five petals arranged like a golden star and the leaves are smooth-edged, not raggedy like the ragwort which flowers at the same time.

  

 

CHEWED RAGWORT

Ragwort is a cheery flower with an orange centre and yellow petals all round like the sun's rays.

This one has been largely defoliated by something.

Looking more closely you can see the culprit. 

Caterpillars of the cinnabar moth feed almost exclusively on ragwort.  They will also take groundsel if the ragwort supply runs out.

After pupating this black and yellow caterpillar will be a small, red and grey moth.

A colourful character!