Tag Archives: Oak

Q is for Quercus

22 Monday Dec 2025

Posted by in fungi, insects, trees

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As I know I’ve stated on this blog many times before, the various species of Oak tree (Quercus species) play host to a huge number of organisms of many types, forms, and colours. These are some I’ve been lucky to see this year: two species of fungus, the Oak mazegill (21 November) and Black bulgur (Fungi: Black bulgar, 24 October); several species of bug that have all featured in this update already (B is for bugs and beetles) but are worth another mention as they spend all or most of their lives on Oak trees: Cyllecoris histrionius, adult and nymph (12 May), Rhabdomiris striatellus (10 June), and Bug: Megacoelum infusum (12 September).

I also managed to find several Common quaker (Orthosia cerasi) caterpillars on a single Oak (included in Cool cats, 2, 5 June); the gorgeous lacewing shown above that has since been verified as Hemerobius micans and is found especially on mature oaks (Two lacewings, 4 September); the folded-over Oak leaf lobes created by a gall midge (Galls: Macrodiplosis pustularis, 2 June); and the stunning little Acorn weevil, shown below, that lives in Oak trees and lays its eggs inside acorns (Weevil: Curculio glandium, 1 August).

New location for Purple hairstreak

30 Tuesday Jul 2024

Posted by in insects, trees

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Since I discovered a Purple hairstreak, a couple of years ago, at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, where they’d never been recorded before, I’ve been convinced that these gorgeous little butterflies are more common than most people realise. It’s just that, because they’re very small and spend most of their time high up in the tops of Oak trees, nobody notices them. So, being an habitual leaf-starer anyway, I now spend 10-15 minutes at this time of year staring at Oak trees, just in case. Last week, my leaf-staring paid off once again, when I was exploring Cardiff’s Heath Park. There are lots of large old Oaks in the park so it seemed a likely location, despite there being no recorded sightings. And this was my reward – even better than I expected, as it fluttered down from the top of the tree to a lower branch and posed nicely while I got some photos.

240730 purple hairstreak

Q is for Quercus

22 Friday Dec 2023

Posted by in trees

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I read online recently, on the Woodland Trust website, that the English oak (Quercus robur) supports as many as 2300 species, 326 of which depend entirely on the Oak for their survival. The 2300 total includes 108 fungi, 1178 invertebrates and 716 lichens, as well as creatures like bats, butterflies like the Purple hairstreak, birds like Jays and Wood warblers. Where would our ecosystems be without the magnificent Oak?!

231222 quercus

41/365 Oak trees

10 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, trees

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190210 oak trees

I’ve been trying to find out how old these Oak trees are but haven’t managed it … yet. They grow on one side of the green that surrounds All Saints Church in Penarth’s Victoria Square. I did discover that the church itself dates originally from 1891, though it had to be rebuilt after being reduced to a burnt-out shell when 100 high explosives and 5000 incendiaries were dropped on Penarth during a bombing raid by the German Luftwaffe on 4 March 1941. I don’t know if the trees were also damaged in that bombing or whether they date from the 1890s … or even earlier. Whatever their age, they are magnificent.