Author Archives: sconzani

Pale toadflax

26 Sunday Sep 2021

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I seem to be seeing a lot of toadflax in flower at the moment – both Purple and Ivy-leaved are flowering in the lane behind my house, the former adorning the edges, the latter sprouting from niches in the old brick walls, and I spotted a lot of the yellow-flowered Common toadflax in bloom along the coastal path yesterday.

210926 pale toadflax (1)

And, during another of this week’s walks, along a route I’ve only visited once before, I found a new-to-me species – this is Pale toadflax (Linaria repens). (You can read more about it on the excellent First Nature website.)

Roesel’s bush-cricket

25 Saturday Sep 2021

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Many times in recent months, I’ve read of people hearing the characteristic song (or, more correctly, stridulation) of Roesel’s bush-cricket (Roeseliana roeselii). It’s supposedly ‘long, monotonous and mechanical’. And so I’ve gone to its usual habitat of coarse vegetation, marshy areas, field borders and scruffy urban wasteland to listen, but heard nothing (maybe, as I’m getting older, I’m losing that sound frequency).

210925 roesel's bush-cricket (3)

So, I was over the moon earlier this week when I just happened to spot this handsome beastie enjoying the sunshine on a mound of dirt amongst the long grass at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. I couldn’t get a very clear view, and didn’t want to get too close in case he jumped away, but I could see the distinctive ‘creamy border to the thorax’ so knew I’d finally found my cricket.

210925 roesel's bush-cricket (4)

Emerald damselfly

23 Thursday Sep 2021

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Last week I met a friend for a walk at Parc Penallta, one of the many colliery spoil sites that have become public parks and that are hot spots for biodiversity. And, as we explored, I was surprised and delighted to find this Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa), one I don’t see in my local area. As well as its distinctive colour, this damselfly can be identified by the way it holds its wings at a 45-degree angle to its body when perched.

210923 emerald damsefly

Tipsy Commas

22 Wednesday Sep 2021

Posted by in autumn, insects

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Soon, these gorgeous Commas will be looking for places to hibernate.

210922 comma (1)

But first they need to stock up on nectar, to increase their energy reserves to help them survive the cold winter months.

210922 comma (2)

Brambles are perfect, their berries plentiful, widespread, easily accessible, juicy, delicious.

210922 comma (3)

And, when the berries are very ripe and begin to ferment, butterflies like these Commas can become more than a little tipsy as they drink.

210922 comma (4)

A huddle of Parent bugs

21 Tuesday Sep 2021

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Seeing this huddle of final instar nymphs of the Parent bug (Elasmucha grisea) made my day!

210921 parent bug nymphs

I wasn’t sure what they were at first but, in case you’re not aware of it, the British Bugs website hosts a brilliant selection of photographs of all stages of British bugs, so a scroll through the shieldbug gallery quickly provided me with their identification. The website is particularly helpful for the less recognisable early instars of insects like shieldbugs.

Leafmines: Acrocercops brongniardella

20 Monday Sep 2021

Posted by in insects, leaves, trees

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Another Monday, another leaf-mining moth. This one goes by the tongue-twisting name of Acrocercops brongniardella and can be found on the leaves of Oak trees, mostly in southern parts of England, Wales and Ireland. The adult moth is a very smart-looking creature (see the photos on the UK Moths website).

210920 acrocercops brongniardella (1)

Fortunately, the larval leafmines are fairly easy to identify as they begin with a distinctive twist before broadening to a large blotch or blister.

210920 acrocercops brongniardella (2)

I found my very first Acrocercops brongniardella mines in a small area of woodland on 6 September and have since found more on a tree in a local park, both times on the evergreen Holm oak (Quercus ilex) and the latter rather abundant on leaves at the tips of lower branches. The mines can supposedly be found on all oak species, though I’ve failed to find them in the other local woodlands where I’ve recently been walking and there are not a lot of records for this species of Wales. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more.

210920 acrocercops brongniardella (3)

Bizarre larvae

18 Saturday Sep 2021

Posted by in insects, leaves, trees

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I don’t know about you but when I see a leaf with holes in it, I feel a compulsion to turn over that leaf to try to determine what caused those holes. And that’s how I discovered today’s rather bizarre-looking creature.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (2)

And once I realised that the holes it made were smaller than many of the other holes in the surrounding leaves, I looked for other leaves with similar sized holes. And so I found several more.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (1)

And then I looked at other Alder trees in the same park, and I found even more.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (3)

It took a bit of googling when I got home but I eventually found a name for my mystery creatures, and that identification has now been confirmed by a national expert. These are the larvae of a sawfly called Platycampus luridiventris, a rather non-descript fly when you consider the larva it develops from. You can see that adult fly and read the scientific information about this species on The Sawflies (Symphyta) of Britain and Ireland website.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (4)

Earthballs

17 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by in autumn, fungi

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It’s #FungiFriday, and even the earthballs are smiling!

Though there are several species of earthball fungi in Britain, I’m fairly sure these are Common earthballs (Scleroderma citrinum), as they were found in the typical habitat of ‘acid soils with deciduous trees, usually Oak, Beech or birches’ (Collins Complete Guide to British Mushrooms & Toadstools, p.278).