117/366 It’s Pea time

26 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

Tags

British wildflowers, Bush vetch, Common bird's foot trefoil, Common vetch, Grass vetchling, Red campion, Spring colour, spring wildflowers

You know the summer’s not far away when members of the extensive Pea family start to flower and, during this week’s exercise walks, I’ve spotted four Pea species newly come in to flower. The first were three of the vetches …

200426 Bush vetch

Bush vetch (Vicia sepium)

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) … and friends.

200426 Grass vetchling

Grass vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia)

200426 bird's-foot trefoil

And, also, one of my all-time favourites – possibly because it’s also a favourite with a lot of the butterflies and day-flying moths I adore so much, Common bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).

200426 Red campion

Oh, and this week’s new blooms also included one not-a-pea wildflower, the always lovely Red campion (Silene dioica).

116/366 A gall and its parasites

25 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, trees

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Chalcis wasp, Oak apple gall, Oak apples, oak galls, oak tree, parasitic wasp, Torymidae

This must be the largest Oak apple gall I’ve ever seen – it was at least 1½ inches across, and it had attracted the interest of several small wasps, though these are not the wasps that created the gall in the first place.

200425 oak apple gall

I assumed that they were parasitic wasps about to use their long ovipositors to inject their own eggs into the gall, and it turns out my assumption was correct. Thanks to the British Plant Galls account on Twitter (@BritGalls), and to another Twitter user’s tweet, I’ve learnt that the tiny wasp in the photo below is a member of the Chalcis genus of wasps, probably one of the family of Torymidae. They are ectoparasites: their larvae feed on the larvae of the Oak apple gall wasp that created the gall in the first place.

200425 parasitic wasp

115/366 Short but sweet

24 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Grangemoor Park, Wheatear

When out for my walk in Grangemoor Park yesterday, I had paused to watch a Whitethroat songflighting when I suddenly had the feeling I was being watched. And, indeed, I was, by this handsome Wheatear. It sat still for quite some time, perhaps exhausted from its migration journey, but then along came a dog-walking woman calling loudly for her wayward dog and off the bird flew. It was a delightful, if too short encounter.

200424 wheatear

114/366 Little and large

23 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Adela reaumurella, British butterflies, British moths, butterfly, Green long-horn, Large white, Long-horn moth, moth, Pieris brassicae

During yesterday’s exercise meander around Penarth, I found two lovely Lepidoptera in one of the few local parks that’s still open.

200423 green long-horn moth

The first was this amazing day-flying moth, the Green long-horn (Adela reaumurella). It may have a wingspan of only 14-18mm, but just look at those antennae (hence, the name ‘long-horn’). This is a male; the females have shorter antennae, which are half black, half white.

Then, to my delight, soon after seeing that stunning little moth, I spotted my first Large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) for 2020. And, compared to the moth, it really is large, with a wingspan between 63 and 70mm. This is also a male; the females have two grey-black spots on their upper wings.

113/366 Hairy shieldbugs

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British bugs, British shieldbugs, Dolycoris baccarum, Hairy shieldbug, shieldbug

You wouldn’t think an insect that looks like it’s wearing armour (hence ‘shield’ bug) could be hairy but the Hairy shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) is living proof. It’s difficult to see the hairs when you’re viewing them in full sunshine, as their shield-shaped backs are quite shiny, but if you can get a close view in a shady setting, you can see the hairs on their legs and, in my photo below, along the top of the shield.

200422 hairy shieldbug (5)

I found at least 20, probably more, of these handsome creatures in the scrub alongside a seldom-walked local path, and will be keeping an eye on this area to see if I can spot their offspring in the coming months, as it’s always interesting to see the different stages of growth. You can see images of these different instars, not only for the Hairy shieldbug but also for all the other shieldbug species, on the excellent British Bugs website.

112/366 The May tree

21 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, trees

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British trees, Hawthorn, Hawthorn blossom, May-tree, Spring blossom

It’s that time of year again, when the Hawthorn blossom scents the air with its distinctive perfume and carpets the ground with its snow-like blossom.

204021 hawthorn (1)

My Flora Britannica reminds me that Hawthorn, also known as the May tree, was ‘the ancestor of the Maypole, the source of May Day garlands … and one of the models for the foliage which wreathes the faces of Green Men carved in churches and inns.’

204021 hawthorn (2)

For lots more fascinating information on the Hawthorn, check out my previous post here.

204021 hawthorn (3)

111/366 It’s a bugs’ life

20 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British bugs, Coreus marginatus, Dock bug, Green shieldbug, Palomena prasina, shieldbug

First, the sunbathing – sometimes alone …

200420 green shieldbug

… sometimes with a friend.

200420 dock bug

Then, later, the sex!

200420 2 green shieldbugs

Credits: Today’s post has featured the Green shieldbug (Palomena prasina) and the Dock bug (Coreus marginatus).

110/366 Even earlier purples

19 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

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British orchids, Early purple orchid, native orchids, Orchis macula

I spotted 8 flower spikes of Early-purple orchid (Orchis macula) during my walk last Wednesday, 15 April, though not all the flowers were yet open.

200419 early-purple orchids (1)

This sighting was earlier than last year’s, which was on 23 April and which the locals told me was earlier than usual. It seems like climate change keeps changing the goal posts for these orchids.

200419 early-purple orchids (4)

109/366 Speckled Spring

18 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

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British butterflies, butterfly, Pararge aegeria, Speckled wood, spring butterflies

We’ve had much-needed rain and low-cloud gloom for the past two days but, earlier in the week, when the sun was warm and glorious and my walk took me along the coastal path, it felt like proper Spring. The bird song was almost deafening and – what clinched the Spring-ness for me – I counted 12 Speckled wood butterflies along the path, either perched sun-basking or patrolling their patch of scrub or – the males – engaged in spiralling dogfights over territory. Springtime magic!

108/366 Tawny miners

17 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 3 Comments

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Andrena fulva, British bees, mining bees, Tawny mining bee

Another day, another mining bee. You’ll recall we had the grey-haired Ashy mining bee on Tuesday; well, today we have the Tawny mining bee (Andrena fulva). And what a cracking colour it is! I’d love to have hair like this.

200417 Tawny mining bee (1)

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust website says these bees ‘can be found nesting in large groups and can be common in urban environments and garden lawns’ but I think that depends on location as the bees I see locally are usually singles, in less urban environments and, sadly, not as common as I’d like them to be, as their rich vibrant colour is very cheering.

200417 Tawny mining bee (2)

Unfortunately, just like the Ashy mining bees, the Tawnies can also fall victim to bee-fly predation. You can read more about that and the bees themselves on the BCT website here.