The Pimpernels

21 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers

Tags

Anagallis arvensis, Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina, Anagallis tenella, Blue pimpernel, Bog pimpernel, British flora, Lysimachia nemorum, pimpernel, Scarlet pimpernel, Yellow pimpernel

For Floral Friday this week I bring you the Pimpernels.

170721 Scarlet pimpernel

First, the pimpernel flower many of you will be familiar with, Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), also known as Old man’s weathervane and Poor man’s weatherglass due to its habit of shutting its petals when the weather becomes wet or dull. (I imagine they will be very firmly shut against today’s wind and rain!) The flower also functions as a timekeeper as it opens its petals around 8am and closes them at 2pm, even when the weather’s fine.

170721 Blue-flowered Scarlet pimpernel (1)

170721 Blue-flowered Scarlet pimpernel (2)

I only learned quite recently that the Scarlet has a subspecies, the Blue pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina). This is supposedly quite rare and mostly found in southern England, though the one in my photographs is growing in my friend Hilary’s south Wales garden.

170721 Bog pimpernel

As its name suggests, the Bog pimpernel (Anagallis tenella) prefers watery places, marshy areas and soggy peat bogs. Its delicate pink flowers sprinkle the ground like petals under a blossoming cherry tree.

170721 Yellow pimpernel

There is also a yellow-flowered pimpernel – you guessed it, the Yellow pimpernel (Lysimachia nemorum) – that is commonly seen in established deciduous woodland and alongside shaded streams. Although it carries the name pimpernel, this lovely little plant is actually a separate genus and is more closely related to plants like Creeping-Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) and Yellow loosestrife (L. vulgaris).

How many of these lovely pimpernels have you managed to see?

Not so Common darters

20 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

British dragonflies, Common Darter, dragonflies, dragonfly, National Dragonfly Week, Sympetrum striolatum

170720 Common darter (1)

I haven’t been seeing a lot of dragonflies this year – probably just me not going to the right places, rather than an actual scarcity – but I have seen two Common darters (Sympetrum striolatum) in the past week. Although I blogged about these beauties around this time last year, I thought I’d share these latest images to celebrate National Dragonfly Week, which is happening right now.

170720 Common darter (2)

I had a bit of luck this week as I finally managed to photograph one of these lovely creatures in flight. It’s not the sharpest of shots but I’ll take it.

170720 Common darter (3)

Aliens in a Cardiff park

19 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, plants, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

alien flora, alien plants, Canadian Fleabane, Fennel, French bartsia, Himalayan Balsam, Himalayan blackberry, Hoary mustard, Large-flowered evening primrose, Mary Gillham Archive Project, Small-flowered evening primrose, Tansy, White mignonette, Wild radish

On Sunday the Mary Gillham Archive Project teamed up with the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society to replicate a walk that Mary Gillham had participated in many moons ago, looking for aliens in Cardiff. Of course, I don’t mean the little-green-man type of alien – these were alien plants, though the definition of alien in this case seemed quite diverse. They may have been non-native plants that had arrived in Cardiff in the sand that served as ballast in the days of sailing ships, like Canadian Fleabane (Conyza canadensis).

They may arrived in shipments of imported grain or bird seed or perhaps in bales of wool, like Hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana) and White mignonette (Reseda alba). Or they may have initially been decorative plants, like the Large-flowered evening primrose (Oenothera glazoviana) that was introduced from North America in the early 17th century and has since become naturalised.

As well as those plants named above, we also saw the following aliens: Small-flowered evening primrose (Oenothera cambrica) (introduced to cultivation in Britain in 1775); Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) (a garden escapee); French bartsia (Odontites jaubertianus) (mode of introduction unknown); Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. raphanistrum) (presumed to have spread as a weed of cultivation); Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) (probably introduced by the Romans); Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) (an escapee from cultivation); and, of course, the notorious Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) (introduced as an ornamental garden plant in 1839).

The aliens are among us and they’re thriving!

Much of the information about the origins of these plants came from the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora.

A tale of three bindweeds

18 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

bindweed, Bindweed flower, British flora, British wildflowers, Field bindweed, Hedge bindweed, Large bindweed

170718 Bindweed (3)

There are, in fact, five species of bindweed in Britain but I’ve only encountered three so far. One, the Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) is, I think, the easiest to identify: it’s quite small, and its flowers are a delicate swirl of pink and white (as shown below).

170718 Field bindweed

Then there are the two bindweeds that have large white flowers, Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) and the aptly named Large bindweed (Calystegia silvatica). To my untrained eye, these two look remarkably similar but I have recently learnt how to tell them apart so I thought I’d share that little snippet of knowledge. My wildflower key tells me that Hedge bindweed has an epicalyx of 2 bracteoles that don’t (or scarcely) overlap, whereas the Large bindweed has strongly inflated, overlapping bracteoles. Okay, so you might now be thinking, “Huh?” Well, the photos below show the difference: Hedge, left, and Large, right. Easy now, right?

Oh, and one more thing I found out while looking at all those bindweeds. The flowers often look like a little fairy has come along and snipped pretty patterns in their petals with miniature scissors. A fanciful idea I admit, but it’s almost true – these have been created by bees and other insects desperate to get at the sweet nectar inside so they cut their way into the flower bud before it opens.

Birding at Goldcliff Lagoons

17 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Buzzard, Common Gull, Glamorgan Bird Club, Goldcliff lagoons, Little egret, Newport Wetlands, waders

170717 Goldcliff reen

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Goldcliff lagoons and Newport Wetlands with my Glamorgan Bird Club buddies this week. As their names suggest, these sites are perfectly suited to water birds and waders so in the two photos below the birds include Black-tailed godwits, Dunlins, Ringed and Little ringed plovers, Black-headed and Herring gulls, Oystercatchers and Turnstones, Lapwings and Shelducks.

170717 Waders (1) 170717 Waders (2)

Apparently, 67 species were seen (or heard) though my personal list only totalled 44 – this is because the birds are mostly quite distant at these sites, and I don’t have binoculars, and I can only see so far with the 300mm lens on my camera, so some birds just elude my eyes.

I did, however, manage to grab a blurry shot of a water vole that a fellow birder spotted, and saw some lovely butterflies and moths, and my sightings did include my first ever Knot and Common gull, so I was happy.

Two more leafhoppers

16 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British bugs, British insects, British leafhoppers, Cicadellidae, Eurhadina cocinnia, Eurhadina loewii, leafhopper

I’ve been leaf-turning again and one thing you’re almost sure to find if you turn over enough leaves is a leafhopper. These are two recent finds, their identities now confirmed by the national recorder. Both are small – around 4mm long when adults, and both can be seen from around June to September.

170712 Eurhadina cocinnia

Eurhadina cocinnia
These little guys have a preference for oak trees but can also be found on other deciduous tree, and are common throughout Britain.

170712 Eurhadina loewii

Eurhadina loewii
E. loewii prefers Sycamore trees and, occasionally, Field maple, and lives in most English counties and in south Wales, but hasn’t yet crossed the Brecon Beacons.

The two photos below are interesting, I think. The one on the left shows E. loweii in its larval form and the photo on the right shows an empty skin, after the larva has gone through one of several moults between its emergence from an egg until the time it’s ready to pupate.

End of the day

15 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Corvus monedula, flock of jackdaws, jackdaw, Jackdaw flock, jackdaws roosting

It’s 8pm and I hear them before I see them, squawking, arguing, flapping furiously. And then they arrive, all at once, circling and swooping and jostling, each trying to grab the best vantage point on the steeple, finials and rooftop of the church across the road. I’ve counted at least 40 but there are many more on neighbouring building roofs, chimney stacks and tv aerials. They don’t stay long, perhaps 10 minutes, and off they fly, to roost for the night.

170715 Jackdaws (2)

They’re jackdaws (Corvus monedula), members of the crow family, sociable, curious, intelligent, and devoted to their partners. I am particularly attracted to their bright blue eyes.

170715 Jackdaws (1)

Fireweed, Bombweed

14 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers

≈ 16 Comments

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Bombweed, British flora, British wildflowers, Chamerion angustifolium, Fireweed, Rosebay willowherb

170714 Rosebay willowherb (5)

It takes a while to learn the differences between the different willowherbs (and the ease with which they hybridise doesn’t help!) but this, the Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium), is probably the one most people know best. It was a garden escapee originally, first recorded growing in the wild in 1769, and was considered quite scarce until World War I, when the plant took advantage of woodland areas where timber had been felled (and the area burned) to assist the war effort. Rosebay willowherb’s liking for areas that have been burned is the reason for its common name of Fireweed and is why, during World War II, it thrived in London’s bomb craters, thus earning the plant its other common name of Bombweed. Some people curse it for its invasive tendencies but, for me, there is no prettier sight that a stand of Rosebay willowherb glowing in the bright summer sunshine.

A little hoverating

13 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British hoverflies, hoverflies, hoverfly, Leucozona glaucia, Leucozona laternaria, Merodon equestris, Xylota segnis, Xylota sylvarum

I admit to not taking as many photos of hoverflies this year as last. This is partly due to an overwhelming fascination with everything, meaning I tend not to focus on one family for long (I’m sure this will pass once I’ve lived in Britain a few more years and have seen a lot of the more common species of everything), but also because the area where I now live has less hoverfly-friendly habitats. Still, I do photograph them when I see them, especially any newbies. Here are a few …

Leucozona glaucia and Leucozona laternaria
These are not hoverflies I see very often but they are quite distinctive and that makes them easy to identify, not something you can say about many invertebrates. They’re woodland species but can often be found grazing on the hogweed flowers that frequently grow along woodland rides and edges. The two species are almost identical, except for the colour of their front legs (not always easily seen) and their scutellum (much easier – that’s the half moon shaped bit on their backs between their wings). The scutellum is yellow in Leucozona glaucia (above left) and dark in L. laternaria (above right).

170713 Merodon equestris

Merodon equestris
This medium-sized hoverfly looks a lot like a bumblebee, but the shape of its head and its large eyes are easy ways to tell that it’s not. In their top-notch field guide Britain’s Hoverflies, Stuart Ball and Roger Morris note that Merodon equestris is ‘believed to have been introduced into Britain in daffodil bulbs imported from Europe around the end of the 19th century’. That’s because the larvae of this hoverfly develop inside bulbs and have a particular liking for daffodils.

Xylota segnis and Xylota sylvarum
These are just two of the seven members of the Xylota genus – I have yet to see the others. With their lanky legs, they look a bit like sawflies and they also prefer gathering pollen and honeydew from leaves rather than flowers, so they’re not your run-of-the-mill hoverflies. I find these quite difficult to tell apart but X. segnis has a black bottom (above left) whereas X. sylvarum’s is yellow (above right) (not easy to see when they’re resting and covering their bottoms with their wings, as in my photo).

A 10 lepidoptera day!

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Common blue, Gatekeeper, Large skipper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Small skipper, Small white, Speckled wood

It’s Monday. I’ve had a meeting about a forthcoming fungi presentation, followed by a busy morning on the computer and feel I need a blast of fresh air so decide to do one of my local walk circuits, taking in one side of Cardiff Bay and Penarth Marina. And I’m so glad I do ’cause the air is alive with butterflies and moths. They are common enough species but I am amazed and delighted to see such a variety and so many in just a 2-hour walk.

There are Comma (Polygonia c-album), Common blue (Polyommatus icarus), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus), Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus), Six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Small white (Pieris rapae), and Speckled wood (Pararge aegeri). This is my idea of heaven!

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