Leafmines: Phyllonorycter platani

01 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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British leafmines, leaf mines, leaf-mining moth, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafmines on Plane trees, Phyllonorycter platani, Plane trees

Another #LeafmineMonday, another new leafmine discovery – new to me, that is, not to science or Wales.

Top of leaf on the left; underside on the right

This is another mine that’s created by the larva of a moth, the rather handsome micro moth Phyllonorycter platani, whose larvae feed on the leaves of Plane trees. This moth only appeared in Britain 30 years ago – as it can be found in many countries around the globe, it’s not possible to say where it came from or how it got to London but, since 1989, it has colonised much of southern Britain. Of course, no one knows how it’s managed that either, though I did read some speculation on Twitter that, as the first Cardiff records were noted very near the main car and coach parks, the moths could well have hitched a ride on passing vehicles. As I’ve sometimes seen small moths on trains, I can quite believe that possibility.

More late autumn wildflowers

31 Sunday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, October wildflowers in bloom

Despite last week’s surprising total of 31 wildflowers still in bloom, I knew when I posted last week’s video that I hadn’t photographed all the flowers I’d seen that week so, during this week’s meanders, I’ve been keeping an eye out for more. By the end of Friday, I’d found exactly 31 more still in flower, and made my video.

Then, on yesterday’s walk, I found 4 more: Barren strawberry, Tormentil, Yellow corydalis and, astonishingly, several Oxlips. And I know I’ve missed some of the smaller plants along the back lanes, like Shepherd’s-purse, Chickweed and Petty spurge, as well as ignoring some of the yellow-flowered Dandelion lookalikes, so my total of 66 wildflowers in bloom over these two weeks is actually an underestimate.

211031 barren strawberry 211031 tormentil 211031 yellow corydalis 211031 oxlip

The seed taker

30 Saturday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, nuthatch

With the changing of the seasons, some of the regulars who walk the fields and woodland at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park have started to leave food again for the birds, and this Nuthatch was just one of the many happy to take advantage of their generosity.

211030 nuthatch

Dothidella ulmi

29 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi, leaves, nature, trees

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British fungi, Dothidella ulmi, fungi on Wych elm, spots on Wych elm leaves, Wych elm

Fungi come in an amazing variety of forms and colours. Here’s one I found for the first time a week or so ago.

211029 Dothidella ulmi (1)

You’re probably familiar with Sycamore tarspot (Rhytisma acerinum), which makes black spots on the leaves of Sycamore trees. Well, this is superficially similar, though not as widely recorded in Britain: it’s Dothidella ulmi, a fungus that develops under the epidermis of leaves on Elm trees, in this case Wych elm, then erupts in a mass of grey blisters.

211029 Dothidella ulmi (2)

Peachy

28 Thursday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, Black redstart, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding

She may be called a Black redstart but the female of the species is a mostly non-descript little grey bird, though she does have the characteristic peach-coloured bottom indicated by the ‘redstart’ name (the Anglo-Saxon phrase for red tail, red steort, morphed into the word redstart).

211028 black redstart

This particularly bird was first noticed on Cardiff Bay Barrage a week ago but eluded all efforts to re-find her (by several birders, not just me) until, much to my surprise and delight, I found her again in the same location Tuesday morning. And, since then, she’s disappeared again – she’s small and can easily flit into the gaps around the huge boulders of the outer Barrage and has, perhaps, half a mile of rocks to forage amongst, so it’s really not surprising. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Wild word: pod

27 Wednesday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in plants, wildflowers

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dried seedpod, plant seeds, pod, seed pod, seedpod

Pod: [Oxford Dictionary] An elongated seed vessel of a leguminous plant such as the pea, splitting open on both sides when ripe.
And, below, some examples, to show the huge variety in size and shape, colour and form.

211027 pods

The Godzilla of hoverfly larvae

26 Tuesday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, trees

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British hoverflies, Dasysyrphus larva, hoverfly larva, hoverfly larva eating an aphid, hoverfly larva on Sycamore

The highlight of Friday’s walk was marvelling at this hoverfly larva catch an aphid. The larva sat, perfectly camouflaged on its Sycamore seed, waiting for an unsuspecting aphid to tootle past. Though these larvae are blind, they can obviously sense movement, as this one rapidly twisted its body towards any approaching larvae. As I watched, it missed the first one but the next larva to chance its luck was grabbed and was in the process of having its life juices sucked out when I moved on.

211026 hoverfly larva (1)

Geoff, a hoverfly larvae expert I consulted on Twitter, was able to confirm a species but not a precise identification: ‘The Godzilla of hoverfly larvae! Certainly Dasysyrphus sp. probably albostriatus. Need a dorsal view of the rear breathing tube to be certain.’ Yes, you read that right – not only is the larva blind but it also breathes through tubes in its rear end!

211026 hoverfly larva (2)

Leafmines: Coleophora badiipennella

25 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Case-bearing moth, Coleophora badiipennella, leaf-mining moth, leafminer, leafmines on Wych elm, Pale elm case-bearer

This might not look like much but I’ve been looking for one of these for perhaps a year, at least during the months when it was around to be found. And if I hadn’t been looking closely at the leaves of this Wych elm, I could so easily have missed it. These are the leafmine and the case of Coleophora badiipennella, the Pale Elm Case-bearer (click on the link here to see the adult moth on the UK Moths website).

According to the British Leafminers website, the larva:

initially forms a gallery along the midrib, which then goes out along a vein (see photo). The end of this gallery is then excised to construct the first case. It then feeds close to this and makes several small mines …

211025 coleophora badiipennalla (2)

If you look at my photo above, you can see where the larva has made a second mine below the first – you can see the tiny hole where it would have attached itself – before moving to the third mine where it was then feeding. I haven’t been able to find much information about pupation but I presume the larva remains in its case, falls to the ground either still attached to its leaf when the leaf falls or after detaching itself, and over-winters on the ground. It seems many of these leafminers are not very well studied … yet.

Late autumn wildflowers

24 Sunday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, October wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom

As this autumn has been very mild, the verges and paddocks, woodland rides and footpath edges are still full of blooming wildflowers. It’s a delight.

The entertainer

23 Saturday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Stonechat

A Black redstart was reported from Cardiff Bay barrage so off I stomped to try to find it. Despite much searching, scanning with my bins, and walking back and forth, I failed to find it (I was somewhat gratified to learn later that more experienced birders had also not found it). But there was a small bonus, in the form of this delightful Stonechat.

211023 stonechat (1)

It was very active, flitting frequently between shrubs and rocks and back again, quarrelling with one of the resident Rock pipits, and being told off by a stroppy Robin. Luckily for me, in the middle of this flurry of activity it came to rest quite close to where I was standing and I managed to get a few nice photos. It was very entertaining!

211023 stonechat (2)