PICNIC BENCH

Our picnic bench has arrived, delivered today by Richard Jessop all the way from Wales near Abergavenny.  It took four of us to unload and position.

We tried a few places and eventually settled on this location near the oak tree but not under it to avoid compacting the roots.  We haven't bolted it down so that we can relocate it when the grass wears out.

 The bench is all recycled wood and Richard's logo (RJ in the centre of some tree rings) is on both ends of the bench.  You can see the impressive range of his products on Richard's website

Try it out for a picnic and let us know what you think.

SPECKLED WOOD

You can meet speckled wood butterflies from now until October in the dappled shade of a woodland clearing or along leafy lanes.  

 

Photo: Alan Watts

They feed on aphid honeydew up high in the tree canopy rather than flowers but the males often sunbathe on a leaf waiting to drive off rival males in search of a female.  The two males make an entertaining aerial show, spiralling up in the air trying to intimidate each other. 

Eggs are laid on several species of grass.

Speckled Wood butterflies have been badly affected by unusual weather conditions this year, so if you see one rejoice.

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SIX-SPOT BURNET

 These day-flying moths ae included on the 'Big Butterfly Coumt' checklist (Still time to join in).

Photo: Nikkan Woodhouse

They discourage predators such as birds, by being poisonous, emitting hydrogen cyanide if attacked.

Unsurprisingly their name comes from the fact that they have six red spots on each black wing, but the ones nearest the body are only separated by a thin vein so it looks like five spots.  And sometimes the outer spots are fused.

But the six-spot is the commonest burnet moth and it is flying now, and nectaring on thistles and knapweeds.

The caterpillars feed on birdsfoot trefoil and other leguminous plants.

THREE COMMON FERNS

In the Valley Wood at Filnore the shady conditions favour ferns.  

These three species were growing together when I snapped them in early June.  They're a bit bigger now. 

The easiest to identify is the Harts Tongue Fern

On this one the fronds were still unfurling at the tip.

The largest British fern (not counting Bracken) is Male Fern, which makes large, lusty shuttlecock rosettes.

The pinnules (divisions ) on the frond (leaf) are simple (very 'male' ! ) with no frills or further sub-divisions.

And a slightly later developer is the Soft Shield Fern

The pinnules on this one are a bit more complex. When fully grown they have two distinguishing features (a) a soft seta or bristle on the end of the pinnule and (b) a sort of 'thumb' on each one, making the pinnule resemble a mitten.

You can remember which one this is because a mitten is soft and is a shield against the cold so a 'soft shield'.

 

MEADOW BROWN

The Meadow Brown is one of our commonest butterflies and obligingly can be seen on the wing even on dull days.

Photo: Alan Watts

The males, who are darker, flit around visiting flowers and searching for females, while the females sit around waiting to be found.  

As you can see from Alan's photo, when they perch the underside of the wings is greyish brown with a bit of orange and a black spot with a single white dot in the centre (Gatekeeper butterflies have two white dots and have more orange on the wings).  

And if you look exceedingly carefully you may be able to see a few tiny BLACK dots like full stops on the underside of the hindwing (Gatekeepers have irregular white dots). 

The eggs are laid about now and the caterpillars feed on grasses before hibernating through the winter till the following May.  So we need to leave some long grass for them.

GATEKEEPER

The Gatekeeper, aka Hedge Brown, likes to sunbathe on hedgerow leaves and even on open ground such as gateways.   This one seemed to think Alan's hand was a good sunbed.  It's a female.

Photo: Alan Watts

The male, shown below, is a darker orange and has brown diagonal patches on his forewings  These 'sex brands' have special cells which produce pheremones, scents to attract females. 

Photo: UK Butterflies

You might confuse it with the Meadow Brown, which is bigger and less colourful. 

If you can get close enough you will see that the Gatekeeper has two white dots in the black spot on the forewing while the Meadow Brown has only one.  And on the underside of the hindwing the Gatekeeper has tiny white points and the Meadow Brown has black points.  

Photo: Alan Watts

When at rest though, the Meadow Brown closes its wings over its back so you only see the underside, while the Gatekeeper often sits with its wings open - except for the gatekeeper in the above photo.

And here is a very unusual view of a Gatekeeper.  You can see its undercarriage and legs because Alan photographed it on the inside of a glass container  -  before releasing it outside.

Photo: Alan Watts

 

HEDGE WOUNDWORT

Inconspicuous till you get up close, the Hedge Woundwort's foliage has a rather unpleasant, smell.

The tall spikes of purple flowers are a welcome sight on hedgebanks and in other shady places.

 

SKIPPERS

Small, orange butterflies busily flying among long grasses could be the Small Skipper or the Essex Skipper (first recognised as a separate species in Essex in 1889).

The main difference is the colour at the tip of the antennae  - orange or brown for the Small Skipper and black for the Essex Skipper.  In the photos below I would guess the tip is black but I'm not quite sure.

When perched and especially when feeding, Skippers separate their forewings and hind wings.

This is another butterfly whose caterpillars rely on some grass being left long through the winter.

 

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Up above the pylon at Filnore Woods is an area we call the top meadow. 

We are trying to encourage perennial wild flowers but at the moment there are still a lot of coarse grasses and other vigorous plants like hogweed and creeping thistle that threaten to take over and obliterate the smaller flowering plants typical of a hay meadow.

So we are mowing part of it in the time-honoured way with scythes.

Once it is cut it then has to be removed in order to reduce the fertility.  Grass left on the ground would rot down and act as a fertiliser.  Even if it is just left uncut it will fall over and form a thatch that is difficult for plants to seed into.

The action of scything is a rhythmic slicing back and forth at ground level.  The swishing sound is rather hypnotic.  Here are some of our labourers exercising their skill.

Jim is a practised mower

Andy has a prodigiously high work rate

It was the first time with a scythe for Nick but he is clearly a natural.

Mowing is half the job.  Once cut, the grass has to be raked off.  

Then it is carried by pitch fork, sledge (picture 4), barrow, or dumpy bag (picture 1) to one of our stacks.  

This will probably result in a strong growth of nettles as the grass rots down but hopefully the rest of the meadow will benefit.

Without mowing, the field would be overwhelmed with plants like Dock, Hogweed, Brambles, Thistles and Mugwort as in the picture below taken near the field gate.

Then hawthorn and oak trees would germinate creating scrubby woodland, leading eventually to high forest. 

IN THE MONTH OF JULY CAN YOU SPY A BUTTERFLY

Some butterflies are around in spring and autumn but mid-June till mid-August is the peak time.  Up at Filnore Woods there are a few that you can spot easily.  I've mentioned some of them already but this is a quick guide to who is on the wing at Filnore NOW.

A mottled white butterfly in the grassland - MARBLED WHITE

Dark brown flitting feebly in the grass - RINGLET

Pale brown, rather drab, with some orange - MEADOW BROWN

Chocolate and orange, sunbathing on hedgerow leaves and on sunny patches of ground - like gateways, rather smaller and more orange than the meadow brown - GATEKEEPER

Small and bright orange - SMALL SKIPPER (or maybe one of the other skippers)

Very fast, vigorous flier, often on thistles - PAINTED LADY

Brown with cream splashes on wings, preferring dappled shade - SPECKLED WOOD

I've not mentioned the Orange Tip, or the Brimstone which are spring butterflies, nor the Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Holly Blue and Large or Small Whites, which you may see in your garden.

If you want to help butterflies, the organisation Butterfly Conservation is running the annual Big Butterfly Count from 16th July till 8th August.  Here is the link.

JACK-G0-TO-BED-AT-NOON

Among the long grass at Filnore Woods are these extra large seedheads like outsize dandelion clocks.  They belong to Goatsbeard (Tragopogon pratensis) also known as Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon.

You can see two or three buds alongside the 'clock' in the picture above, but to see the flower you will need to be up there on a sunny morning.  

The flowers close up at midday and open the next day as those goatsbeard seedheads.

As well as in grasslands it can be found on roadsides and waste ground.

 

MARBLED WHITE

Here they are, the marbled white butterflies.  They are only around from mid-June till mid-August so hurry up to Filnore Woods to see them flitting amongst the grass, sunbathing with open wings in the early morning and late afternoon or feeding with their wings held together.

They overwinter as caterpillars in the long grass which they feed on when they wake up in spring.

This is my photo - the MW is in the middle of the picture but didn't hang around when I got closer.

And the 'slightly better' photo below was taken by Derek Hore at Charfield.

 You can see not only the marbled white feeding on ragwort nectar but also a soldier beetle.

AARON'S ROD

The bright yellow spikes of Agrimony or Aaron's Rod  (Agrimonia eupatoria) Are appearing now among the tall grasses and beside the paths.

It can be overlooked as in dull weather you might mistake it for a sort of grass.

The five-petalled flowers open at the base of the spike first and slowly spread upwards.  

It is one of those species that produce seeds with little hooks to catch in animal fur or your socks.  This is how it spreads.

Photo: wikimedia commons

Notice the saw-toothed leaves below the flower spikes.  They are food for the caterpillars of the Grizzled Skipper butterfly and the Snout moth.

In pre-Christion times it was known as Fairy's Wand or Fairy's Rod but the early Christians popped Aaron in to replace the fairies.

It is used in herbal medicine and can produce a bright yellow dye.

When gifted in a bunch of flowers it represents gratitude.