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~ a celebration of nature

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Category Archives: leaves

Jewels in the trees

21 Saturday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in leaves, insects, trees

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parasitic wasp, parasitoid wasp, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae, gem-coloured wasps, wasps on Oak leaves

Tiny specks of metallic green and red caught the light as the sun emerged from behind large fluffy clouds and touched the leaves of an Oak tree. But what were they? Even when I edged closer, I could barely make them out, so miniscule were they. Turns out these are parasitoid wasps belonging to the superfamily Chalcidoidea, and probably from the genus Eulophidae, but that’s as far as the experts online could go without microscopic examination of these startling creatures. An article on the Natural History Museum website begins: ‘Described as “gem-like inhabitants of the woodlands by most never seen nor dreamt of”, chalcidoids include some of the most beautiful insects on the planet’, and I think you can see why.

220521 Eulophidae parasitic wasp

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The return of Zorro

14 Saturday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Aproceros leucopoda, Elm zigzag sawfly, sawfly larvae, sawfly on Wych elm, Wych elm

If you’ve been following along here for a while, you might remember last year’s ‘first for Wales’ find, the distinctive marks on leaves of Wych elm trees of the Elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) (Zorro comes to Wales, October 2021). For the past couple of weeks I’ve been monitoring the trees where I first saw those marks and, yesterday, found them again, with the larvae that create them in situ, happily munching away on the elm leaves. In fact, following a good look around the area, I found larvae on six Wych elm trees (and there were other trees I couldn’t access), and then found a single larva on a Wych elm at Cosmeston, perhaps half a mile away. It will be interesting to see how quickly these creatures spread through the local landscape.

220514 elm zigzag sawfly larvae

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Z is for Zorro

31 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Elm zigzag sawfly, larvae on Wych elm, sawfly on Wych elm

And so we come to the end of my A-to-Z showcase of some of the highlights of my ‘wild life’ in 2021. There was only ever one contender for the letter Z, Zorro, my find of Elm zigzag sawfly larval feeding tracks on a Wych elm leaf, a first record for this species in Wales.

211231 elm zigzag sawfly

Thanks, everyone, for following along on my journey through the wildlife of south Wales again this year. I truly appreciate all your likes and comments that inspire me to continue seeking and learning. And I hope these posts encourage you to look more closely at and appreciate the amazing natural world around us.

I hope to continue my daily posts in 2022, though I already know there will be some changes to my personal circumstances in the coming year, which may affect my ability to post or, quite possibly, the location I post from. I’ll write more about this when things become clearer.

One immediate change takes effect today – to save money I’ve cancelled my personalised domain name. I’m assured this should automatically revert to a generic wordpress domain – fingers crossed! – but I don’t know how this will affect, amongst other things, links in prior posts. I’ll be checking.

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S is for Stigmella aceris

24 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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leaf-mining moth larvae, leaf-mining moths, leafmines, leafmines on Field maple, leafmines on Norway maple, Stigmella aceris

As the leafmine season draws to a close (though I do still have a couple of finds to share early in 2022), I thought I’d post an update on our progress of monitoring the spread of the moth Stigmella aceris in the wider Cardiff area, a moth that was first recorded in Wales in 2019.

211224 stigmella aceris on field maple

The map on the left below shows 1km squares where the moth’s larval leafmines were present as at 11 November 2020; the map on the right as at 29 November 2021. The red-coloured squares represent new finds during that year; the mustard-coloured squares are finds from previous years, i.e. in the left map, the mustard squares were finds made in 2019; in the map on the right, the mustard squares show the finds at the end of 2020. I am just one of several enthusiastic local members of Team leafmine who have been helping with this surveying, walking many miles to check each 1km square and, as the maps show, we have been able to confirm that Stigmella aceris has spread quite extensively in 2021.

211224 stigmella aceris maps

The moth’s presence, of course, does depend on the presence of its larval food plants, the trees Field maple and Norway maple, so blank squares can indicate an absence of trees, rather than a failure to find any mines. Where the moth has been present for more than a year, it can be prolific, with several mines on each leaf of Field or Norway maple, whereas in newly colonised places, I’ve often found just one or two mines from a whole tree load of fallen leaves. It will be fascinating to check this tiny moth’s progress again in 2022.

211224 stigmella aceris on norway maple

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Q is for Quercus

22 Wednesday Dec 2021

Posted by sconzani in leaves, trees

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galls on oak, moth larvae on Oak, Oak leaves, oak tree, Quercus species

When I began this alphabetical countdown, I thought I might struggle with some of the letters but Q was easy: Quercus, the Latin for Oak tree. The mighty Oak features often in this blog: its leaves for their autumn colours, for the galls they support, for the insect larvae they feed, for the birds that nest in the Oak’s branches, for the fungi that grow beneath this amazing tree … and so much more. This year, amongst other topics, we’ve had Oak leaf burst; a new gall I was lucky enough to find; and some mothy goodness. I’m sure the Oak will provide further wonders in the future.

211222 quercus

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Leafmines: Stigmella microtheriella

29 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, leaves, trees

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British leafminers, Hornbeam, leaf-mining moths, leafmines on Hornbeam, leafmining moth larvae, Stigmella microtheriella

Hornbeam is a tree that’s somehow escaped my attention but, at this time of year, when its leaves turn gorgeous and vibrant shades of yellow, I can’t help but notice how widespread it is and, while admiring its autumn colour, I’ve also spotted some leafmines on its leaves.

211129 Stigmella microtheriella (1)

Reading the mine description on the British Leafminers website, I thought I had found Stigmella microtheriella (egg laid, so mine starting, on or near a vein but not in the axil) but, as there was potential confusion with another moth, Stigmella floslactella, I checked with the experts. Rob, one of those behind the British Leafminers website, kindly confirmed that my identification was correct and also commented that ‘Although S floslactella is said to mine Hornbeam I don’t know anyone who has found it on that host. It’s a very doubtful record.’ Now I – and you, if you see mines like these – can record them as Stigmella microtheriella with confidence!

211129 Stigmella microtheriella (2)
211129 Stigmella microtheriella (3)

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Golden Ginkgos

28 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, trees

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autumn colour, autumn leaves, Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba, golden leaves, yellow autumn leaves

211128 ginkgos (1)

I simply can’t resist it – the gorgeous golden glow of Ginkgos in the autumn. Such magnificent ancient trees!

211128 ginkgos (2)
211128 ginkgos (3)

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Leafmines: Bucculatrix thoracella

22 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, plants

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British leafminers, Bucculatrix thoracella, leaf-mining moth, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafmines on lime

I found these mines on Lime leaves a few weeks ago but they will still be visible on the yellowing leaves, just not occupied any more. The tiny white tick shape is distinctive, making it easy to identify these as the mines of the little brown and yellow moth Bucculatrix thoracella.

211122 Bucculatrix thoracella (1)
211122 Bucculatrix thoracella (2)

After the ‘tick’ has been formed, the moth larvae graze beneath the leaves, creating small bare areas known as feeding windows. When they moult, the larvae retreat to cocoons – one of the leafmining experts calls them ‘cocoonets’ (shown below), but their final cocoons can be found either in the leaf litter below the tree or on the Lime’s trunk. I’ve yet to find one of those.

211122 Bucculatrix thoracella (3)
211122 Bucculatrix thoracella (4)

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Leafmines: Scrobipalpa acuminatella

15 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, plants

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British leaf mines, leaf-mining larvae, leaf-mining moth larvae, moth larvae, moth larvae in leaf mines, moth larvae on thistles, Scrobipalpa acuminatella

This week’s mines can be found on thistles, on species of both Cirsium and Carduus – in my case, the plant is Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense).

211115 Scrobipalpa acuminatella (1)

These mines have been made by the larvae of the moth Scrobipalpa acuminatella, the adult of which can be seen on the UK Moths website. As the website points out, these moths have two generations each year, so we get two chances to see the mines.

211115 Scrobipalpa acuminatella (2)

These moth larvae make their home in the midribs of thistle leaves, venturing out to eat during the night and making blotches as they do, then returning to the midrib to shelter during the daytime.

211115 Scrobipalpa acuminatella (3)

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Changing leaves

14 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, seasons, trees

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autumn colour, autumn leaves, autumn trees

‘And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves….’  ~  Virginia Woolf, To the lighthouse

211114 autumn colours

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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Recent blog posts

  • Up close with a Hornet May 23, 2022
  • First and second May 22, 2022
  • Jewels in the trees May 21, 2022
  • The Brimstone, the vetch and the ants May 20, 2022
  • Cool cats May 19, 2022

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