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Tag Archives: gorse

All the yellows

19 Sunday Apr 2026

Posted by sconzani in flowers, plants, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alexanders, British wildflowers, Broom, Cowslip, Creeping buttercup, dandelion, gorse, Lesser Celandine, marsh marigold, Meadow buttercup, primrose, Sea radish, Spring colour, yellow wildflowers

The splendid sight of road verges gleaming with the brilliant yellow of blooming Dandelions is fast becoming just a wonderful memory as the council tractors and strimmers once again destroy any wildflowers they see in the name of ‘neat’ and ‘tidy’, and this despite the loss of some devastating percentage (50%?) of our insect populations in the last couple of decades. I grabbed some photos before everything started to disappear …

Alexanders: in places like the coastal path the only plant in flower so currently feeding a lot of small insects.

Broom: this might survive as it was in a park surrounded by Brambles.

Cowslips: in a country park so surviving, and looking very lush.

Creeping buttercup: gone.

Dandelion and Lesser celandine: prime targets for destruction.

Gorse: these tend to survive until the flail gets used.

Marsh marigold: a small survivor from a more numerous population, where a volunteer group decided they would build a dead hedge. Make it make sense!

Meadow buttercup: gone.

Primrose: these tend to survive while they’re flowering, then it’s off with their heads!

Sea radish: on the Barrage so not strimmed but the many dogs like to pee on them.

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Gorse and its weevil

05 Sunday Apr 2026

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, plants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British weevils, gorse, gorse flower, Gorse weevil, Spring colour, weevil on Gorse flower, yellow flowers

Short and sweet today – just a Gorse weevil (because they’re tiny and cute and always busy) on a Gorse flower (because they’re so wonderfully golden and sunny and cheering, even on the greyest day).

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Just peas, no carrots

19 Sunday May 2024

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Black medick, British wildflowers, Broom, Bush vetch, Common bird's-foot trefoil, Common vetch, gorse, Grass vetchling, Pea family, red clover, Spotted medick, White clover

The challenge for the regular Sunday night 8-9pm Wildflower Hour (#WildflowerHour on most social media platforms) this week was to find flowering members of the carrot and pea families (#CarrotsAndPeas). I decided, for no particular reason, to stick with the peas, the Leguminosae, and here they are …

240519 birdsfoot trefoil and vetchling grass

Common bird’s-foot trefoil and Grass vetchling

240519 broom and gorse

Broom and Gorse

240519 clover red and white

Red and White clover

240519 medick black and spotted

Black and Spotted medick. These look very similar so you need to check the leaves: Spotted medick has splotches on its leaves, while the leaves of Black medick have no marks but have tiny points at their ends.

240519 vetch bush and common

Bush vetch (top) and Common vetch (bottom). I’m a bit confused about the white-flowered vetch in the centre – is it Bush or is it Common? I’ll ask the experts on tonight’s Wildflower Hour.

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A bug and its eggs

19 Tuesday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

British shieldbugs, gorse, Gorse flowers, Gorse shieldbug, Gorse shieldbug eggs, Piezodorus lituratus

The sunshine yellow flowers of gorse always draw my eye and I can seldom resist a quick sniff of their delicious scent (does gorse smell of coconuts or do coconuts smell like gorse?). This time, as I drew close to the flowers, I noticed a Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) enjoying the Spring sunshine.

220419 gorse shieldbug

And then, of course, I had to have a quick search for more. I didn’t spot any further adult bugs but I did find two lots of their distinctive black-and-white barrel-shaped eggs. Apparently, the eggs hatch within a week so I’ll have to revisit this plant soon to see if I can find the nymphs.

220419 gorse shieldbug eggs

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Shieldbugs on gorse

22 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

British insects, British shieldbugs, Dolycoris baccarum, gorse, Gorse shieldbug, Hairy shieldbug, Piezodorus lituratus, shieldbugs on gorse

I had expected to find Gorse shieldbugs on these glowing gorse bushes (the clue’s in the name) but, in fact, the most numerous were the Hairy shieldbugs (of which there must have been at least 20).

210422 gorse shieldbug
210422 hairy shieldbug (1)

The Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) (above left) looks very like a Common green shieldbug but its red antennae are a distinctive identification feature. The Hairy shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) (above right, and below) is a much more colourful character, a stylish combination of purple-brown and green, and it also has distinctive antennae, this time three white bands on a black base.

210422 hairy shieldbug (2)

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98/366 Social distancing?

07 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British weevils, gorse, Gorse flowers, Gorse weevil, mating weevils

Two’s company.

Three’s a crowd.

Uh oh!

Four’s … an orgy? The Gorse weevils I observed during yesterday’s exercise walk in a local park were blatantly ignoring the social distancing rules. Please don’t act like Gorse weevils!

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96/365 Gorse weevils and shieldbugs

06 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, plants, spring

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

British insects, Exapion ulicis, gorse, Gorse shieldbug, Gorse weevil, Piezodorus lituratus, shieldbugs, weevils

I got some strange looks today when I was out walking – nothing unusual about that really. This time it was because I had my nose in a gorse bush looking for its special critters – and I found them. First, I was delighted to spot two tiny Gorse weevils (Exapion ulicis). I’ve only found them once before and these two led me a merry dance, in and around the gorse leaves, not wanting to have their photo taken. One disappeared but I managed to grab a couple of pics of the other.

190406 gorse weevil

The other critters were much easier, at least ten of them, probably many more, hiding in plain sight – that’s how well camouflaged they are. These Gorse shieldbugs (Piezodorus lituratus) were also camera shy and the gorse thorns made a few holes in my hands as I tried to pull the gorse this way and that to get some photos. But it was worth every speck of blood!

190406 gorse shieldbug (1)
190406 gorse shieldbug (2)
190406 gorse shieldbug (3)
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My week in wildflowers

13 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barren strawberry, Bluebell, British flora, British wildflowers, Common Stork's-bill, Cornsalad, Danish scurvygrass, gorse, Grape hyacinth, Petty spurge, Ragwort, Red dead-nettle, Three-cornered leek

Though the weather has been pretty miserable most of this week, I have been seeing more and more wildflowers when I’m out on my wanders.

Barren strawberry

There will be no big fat juicy red berries from this little strawberry as this is a Barren strawberry (Potentilla sterilis) (it has fruit but they don’t become ‘fleshy and red’). I can tell which species it is from the top of the leaf that’s showing – the ‘terminal tooth’ is shorter than those on either side of it.

Bluebell

Last Sunday I saw my first Bluebells (Hyacinthoides sp.) of the year, almost certainly Spanish or hybrids rather than native Bluebells, but still beautiful to my eye.

Common stork's-bill

I think this is Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium), a nice surprise growing amongst the grass at Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve.

Cornsalad

Cornsalad is such a dainty little plant, with very delicate, pale blue flowers. I almost missed these growing by the path at Grangemoor Park and have since seen them in a couple of places. This is probably Common cornsalad (Valerianella locusta), but the only way to be sure it’s not one of the other four varieties is to check the fruit, which won’t be possible till later in the season.

Danish scurvygrass

This is Danish scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica), originally a seaside plant that has now become widespread by following the road-salting trucks along the roads of Britain.

Gorse

Gorse (Ulex sp.) never seems to stop flowering, though the truth is that there are two Gorse species and, when one stops flowering, the other takes over.

Grape hyacinth

These Grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.) have become naturalised in my local cemetery, probably spreading from one or two deliberate grave-top plantings, or from nearby home gardens. I love their blue.

Petty spurge

Petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus) is a very common little wildflower that’s often overlooked.

Common ragwort

Spotting this flowering Ragwort by the roadside near Cardiff Bay was a bright surprise. It’s probably Common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea).

Red dead-nettle

Red dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum). I’m a big fan of all the dead-nettles – the ‘dead’ in their name refers to the fact that they aren’t covered in stinging hairs!

Three-cornered leek

Allium triquetrum, the Three-cornered leek, is a pretty, if somewhat smelly flower but considered an alien invasive plant species here in Britain.

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This week in wildflowers

23 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#FloralFriday, British flora, British wildflowers, Colt's-foot, Daisy, dandelion, gorse, Groundsel, Lesser Celandine, Red dead-nettle, Speedwell, Three-cornered garlic, wildflowers

What a week it’s been weather wise! We’ve gone from a generous dumping of snow and temperatures hovering around -5°C last Sunday through occasional rain, sunny periods, UV factors up and down, zephyr winds and mustang gales. Is it spring or isn’t it? Well, I’m seeing increasingly more wildflowers so I guess it must be. Here’s a selection from this week’s wanders.

180323 colt's-foot

Colt’s-foot (Tussilago farfara)

180323 daisy

Daisy (Bellis perennis)

180323 dandelion sp

a type of Dandelion (Taraxacum sp.)

180323 gorse

a type of Gorse (Ulex sp.)

180323 groundsel

Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

180323 lesser celandine

Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna)

180323 red dead nettle

Red dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)

180323 speedwell

a species of Speedwell (probably Germander) (Veronica sp.)

180323 three-cornered leek

Three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrum)

 

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Weevil as biological controller

29 Monday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, plants

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Exapion ulicis, gorse, Gorse weevil, insects on gorse, weevil, weevil as biological control, weevil introduced to New Zealand

It was lunchtime on our Glamorgan botany group walk and, rather than get a wet bum from sitting on the damp grass, I was eating my roll and cheese while poking around the flowers of a nearby gorse bush. I was looking for Gorse shieldbugs, of which I found not a sign, but I did find this tiny creature and, after a bit more poking, a couple of its friends.

170529 Gorse weevil (2)

It’s a Gorse weevil (Exapion ulicis) and, as you can judge from its size relative to my finger, it’s tiny, only 2 to 3mm long. Its snout is (relatively) enormous, about half as long as its body, making it look like a cross between an elephant (without the ears) and a spider (those legs!). And that snout is its secret weapon – the weevil uses its snout to burrow into the stem and spines of the gorse bush to eat the soft tissue inside.

170529 Gorse weevil (1)

Apparently this little weevil was introduced to my homeland, New Zealand, back in 1931 in an effort to control the introduced (by British migrants as cheap hedging) gorse bushes that were thriving in New Zealand’s favourable climate. The weevil’s larvae live inside and eat gorse seeds, thus preventing the bushes from reproducing. The little gorse weevil has done its job well but it seems the scientists hadn’t banked on the fact that the weevil larvae only eat gorse seeds in the springtime and the gorse also flowers and seeds in the autumn.

170529 Gorse weevil (3)

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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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