Butterfliesand moths

One of the advantages of having a conservatory is that you see a great variety of insects who fly in during hot weather and get trapped.  Unfortunately a lot of them die before we can rescue them.  But we do get a chance to look at them close-to.

So for example you can see the club-ended antennae of this small white butterfly

and we can clearly see why this little bundle of moth is called the Silver-Y 
from the mark on its underwing.

Berried treasure

 The season of berries is upon us

The Haws on the Hawthorn will turn to a richer reddish brown as they ripen, colouring the whole bush.  

Excellent food for blackbirds, thrushes and woodmice in winter.

Rosehips rich in vitamin C.

Berries of the Wayfaring Tree are not spherical but slightly flattened

 They will turn from green through almost white to red and eventually black - nature's traffic lights - - - sort of.

And Elderberries. 

 

Cooked with apples they make a delicious jelly

Leaf cutters

The picture below is of some leaves on a Norway Maple in my garden.  Can you notice the large number of semi-circular scallops cut out of the leaf edges?

I'm sorry I wasn't quick enough to photograph the artist.  In a few seconds, before my very eyes, a leaf-cutter bee cut out a neat piece of leaf and flew off with it.  She was obviously finding the thin leaf of the Norway Maple just right to make the sausage shaped tubes to lay her eggs in.  Leaf cutter bees often use pieces cut from rose leaves.

I waited for her to come back for more but in vain.

This video on the link below is American but shows leaf cutting bees at their nests and in the act of cutting, though they are on flower petals rather than leaves.  

Just as I noticed in my garden, when the bee gets to the end of cutting the piece out it can no longer balance and falls over before zooming off.  Very entertaining to watch.  Thank you Pat R, whoever you are.

Leaf cutting bee in action

Blackberries ready

With a drop of rain to make the berries swell and some sun to ripen them, the bramble bushes are offering up their harvest.  Make sure you pick yours before October when the Devil spits on the fruit and turns it sour.

It was on September 29th, St Michael's Day or Michaelmas, that the Archangel Michael defeated Lucifer who fell from Heaven and landed on a thorny bramble bush in Hell.  Now, as the Devil, he was so cross that he spat on the fruit.

Apparently he does it every year so get and pick your blackberries as soon as they are ripe.

Here be dragons

Alan sent me this email with several photos of an impressive dragon fly.

'While I was raking down the woods this afternoon I was accosted by a hawker. Not one trying to sell something but a rather splendid dragonfly that I think is a male Southern Hawker (blue form) (Aeshna cyanea).

It circled me a few times then headed towards the hedgerow near post 19 where presumably being worn out by chasing around me it perched on a convenient stalk and had a rest in the sun.

It has amazingly big eyes which seem to touch each other on top of its head and I think it kept looking at me.'

It uses its legs as a sort of basket to catch other flying insects.  You can see the spines on the legs and the beautiful venation of the wings.  What a creature.

Syrphus ribesii

The Common Banded Hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii), also known as The Summer Fly, is around from March to November, during which time it passes through several generations.  There ae over 270 species of hoverfly in Britain and this one is one of the easiest to identify with its waspy jacket - but that's only for disguise; it doesn't sting.

The adults do a lot of hovering and feed on nectar 

especially from umbellifer flowers like this Hogweed.  

The larvae feed on aphids and are thus the gardener's friends, 

although rather less attractive than their parents.

Here's one with a doomed aphid nearby.

Photo from flickr

Some more flowers at Filnore

 This is Betony, a close relative of hedge woundwort.  It was widely used as a medicinal herb by monks in the middle ages. 

Here are some Greater Willowherb flowers with some Wild Clematis behind.

And here is a closer look at the pretty but understated flowers of Wild Clematis, also known as Traveller's Joy or Old Man's Beard.

And then there is this.  Not sure what it is, though it's a bit like a form of purple loosestrife.  I think it must be a garden escape that found its way to Filnore.  Very pretty anyway.

These flights have not been cancelled

Two butterfly species currently on the wing (in fine weather), photographed by our lepidopterist Alan Watts:

The Gatekeeper, so called because they are often found sunbathing in the short grass near field gates.

And the Painted Lady, a frequent immigrant from France, but this year flying across the North Sea from Scandinavia.  There are therefore lots in Northern Britain for once - they love it.

Where do butterflies go in the rain?

 Stop press.  Just had to add this photo of another gatekeeper from butterfly whisperer Alan

Yarrow

 Easy to overlook, this is the wild Achillea, or Yarrow

The foliage is very divided and fern-like.  

The individual flowers are clustered in bunches at the top of the stem.

Coloured varieties of this plant are very popular for gardens.  

You may also find the ferny foliage in your lawn.

Green shield

The common green shield bug flies around from tree to shrub to undergrowth, sucking out plant juices.  Notice the overlapping transparent wings showing at the end of the body.

   Far from modest, these two carried on on the back of my hand.  Really!  I had to look away!

Mauve flowers

Three species flowering now at Filnore:

Beloved of butterflies the Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis)

Each flowerhead is made up of up to 50 tiny flowers - short ones in the middle and long ones round the outside.  The male stamens stick out, which earns the plant the name of 'lady's pin cushion'.

Rather more common are the flowers of the Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense).  Seen here amongst the grasses and willow herbs, this is what produces the thistledown now blowing across Filnore Woods.  Thistles spread by seed and also with their creeping roots.

But the flowers are great for butterflies, and goldfinches love the seeds.

Our third mauve butterfly flower is the Greater Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa).  

Like the scabious it has shorter florets in the centre and long ones round the edge.

Mammal signs

The favourite branch of wildlife watching is birds.  Birds helpfully are about in the day and make a fair bit of noise.  More people express an interest in them than flowers or insects or trees.  Next come mammals but unfortunately they are mostly rather elusive and frequently nocturnal.  To study mammals you have to look for tracks, poos and other traces.

I was lucky the other day to startle a fox at Filnore.  It rushed off before I could take a photo.

A couple of weeks ago somebody's dog helpfully unearthed a dead shrew.  Apparently shrews taste rather unpleasant so whoever killed it decided not to eat it.  You can tell it's a shrew from the long snout.

More visible from underneath

We have grey squirrels which get rather active and vocal in late summer.  One clear sign of their presence is hazel nut shells cracked in half.  Other rodents make holes in the shell and eat decorously but squirrels just rip the nuts apart.

Somebody has been scraping the soil to get at plant roots.

A closer look shows that it is rabbits' work.  

We have not had many rabbits for a few years.  This was probably due to Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 2 (RVHD2) which arrived in the UK in 1992.  

If they are making a comeback it is a mixed blessing:  on the one hand they are an attractive wildlife species to watch and they help to keep the grass short;  on the other hand they strip the bark of young trees, and they are not welcomed by our farming neighbours because of their liking for arable crops.

Wild Flowers at Coaley Peak

  On a recent trip to Coaley Peak in Gloucestershire we saw loads of beautiful blooms.  

Here are some flowers which we don't yet have at Filnore.

 Tall Melilot

Tufted vetch

Hemp Agrimony

 Meadow cranesbill

Yellow Rattle

Viper's Bugloss

And in the woodland on a fallen oak trunk, these magnificent Dryad's Saddle fungi.

Visit Coaley Peak now if you can.  There is a breathtaking view and the remains of an iron age tomb for added interest, and you can round off your visit with a coffee at the Thistledown Cafe nearby.