Category Archives: wildflowers

Eyebrights

07 Friday Sep 2018

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I’m not even going to try to put a name to this little flower except to say it’s an Eyebright, one of around 20 very similar (and 60-plus hybrid) species of Euphrasia. They’re pretty and very dainty little plants, though easily overlooked as they’re don’t grow very tall and so are often obscured by surrounding grasses and overwhelmed by other wildflowers.

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According to Richard Mabey’s Flora Britannica: ‘Their name and old medicinal use are a classic example of the Doctrine of Signatures. The flowers, like tiny violets in shape, are mottled with purple and yellow blotches and stripes, not unlike the colours of a bruised eye, and compresses and tinctures made from them were prescribed for all manner of eye disorders.’

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On the scabious

31 Friday Aug 2018

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180831 devil's-bit scabious (1)

Devil’s-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) has a beautiful flower that paints the wildflower meadows at Lavernock Nature Reserve in shades of purple lusciousness and provides some very welcome late summer nectar and pollen to a host of insects, particularly bees, flies and butterflies.

And that name? Well, the story goes that the devil was not pleased that the plant’s medicinal properties were healing the skin conditions of people suffering from bubonic plague and scabies so, in a fit of rage, he tried to kill off the plant by biting off the ends of the plant’s roots. Ever the party pooper!

Bumble- or humble-bee?

24 Friday Aug 2018

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180824 bumblebee (1)

Bumble: verb; move or act in an awkward or confused manner (Oxford Dictionary).
Personally, I think it’s a bit sad that the beautiful bumblebee is associated with confusion and awkwardness of movement, though I admit they can seem rather stupid when they fly in the open windows of my apartment and then bump repeatedly against the glass trying to get out again. Most other insects seem able to work out where the open window is.

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When it comes to finding nourishment though, they seem perfectly able to home directly in on the next delicious flower. And I’ve recently discovered that the bumblebee wasn’t always so named – it was originally the humblebee, not because it was considered modest or lowly but rather because of the humming sound it makes as it flies along.

What do ladybirds eat?

10 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in flowers, insects, ladybird, nature, plants, wildflowers

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I googled ‘What do ladybirds eat?’ today because I was trying to work out why there are so many ladybirds – about a 50 / 50 split between 7-spots and Harlequins – on the Wild parsnip plants at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. It turns out ladybirds are particularly keen on aphids and, as you can see in some of my photos, there are rather a lot of aphids on these plants. Good news for the ladybirds!

A family of Linnets

09 Thursday Aug 2018

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I went for a wander along the Ely embankment yesterday and was delighted to discover a family of five Linnets, two adults and three exceedingly cute juveniles, all feeding on Herb Robert seeds. They started off with Mum and Dad feeding the youngsters but the kids soon got impatient and wanted more food more quickly.

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Mum or Dad has just plucked one of the Herb Robert seed pods while …

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… youngster is watching to see how this food-gathering process works.

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“Now if I can just reach …”

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“Gotcha!”

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“Now I’ve got the idea, I can help myself.”

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Youngster looking rather pleased with itself.

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The flower of the moment is …

03 Friday Aug 2018

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The flower of the moment is Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) or, at least it is at Lavernock Nature Reserve.

180803 fleabane

I’ve read that Fleabane usually grows in ditches and damp meadows so, despite the recent drought conditions, I guess there must be water somewhere below the wildflower meadows at Lavernock, as they are currently awash with these bright golden flowers. And, at a time when most other wildflowers have dried up and died off, the Fleabane is providing a much-needed source of pollen and nectar for butterflies and other assorted mini-beasties.

One smart critter

14 Saturday Jul 2018

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The Swollen-thighed beetle (Oedemera nobilis) is very easy going when it comes to what nectar or pollen it eats. Judging by the number of different flowers I’ve seen it on, my conclusion is that it will slurp and snack almost anywhere, and this would seem to be a very good tactic for its future survival because the more specific the dietary requirements of an insect, the greater the chance it will suffer from changes to its environment and food plants. Being a generalist makes the Swollen-thighed beetle one smart critter!

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More crane’s-bills and a stork’s-bill

13 Friday Jul 2018

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It’s Floral Friday so I thought we’d take a look at a few more of the beautiful Crane’s-bill family and one of their cousins, a Stork’s-bill. I think you’ll agree that they’re all rather lovely.

180713 Cut-Leaved Cranesbill

Cut-Leaved Cranesbill (Geranium dissectum)

180713 Meadow Crane's-bill

Meadow Crane’s-bill (Geranium pratense)

180713 Pencilled crane's-bill

Pencilled crane’s-bill (Geranium versicolor)

180713 Common stork's bill

Common stork’s bill (Erodium cicutarium)