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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Ragwort

Feeding on Ragwort

25 Tuesday Oct 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Goldfinch, Ragwort, seed-eating birds

Do you remember my plug for the beauty of a local field full of Ragwort (Seedheads: Ragwort, 11 September)? Well, as I expected that field is now alive with seed-eating birds, enjoying the bounty provided by the Ragwort. Numbers of Goldfinches and Linnets are increasing daily as the news goes out in the bird world that there is food aplenty. And, though it’s not such good news for the seed-eaters, the local Peregrines and Sparrowhawks are also benefitting from the increase in the small bird population.

221025 goldfinch on ragwort

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Seedheads: Ragwort

11 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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Tags

autumn colour, British wildflowers, Ragwort, Ragwort seedheads, seedheads, seeds

Over the summer, one of the local fields I regularly walk around was a sea of yellow, chock full of tall flowering Ragwort plants.

220911 ragwort

Now that it’s autumn, the landscape has changed to a rich brown, dotted with tiny spots of white, the fluffy Ragwort seeds. It would be easy to overlook this brown field but, when you look closely, the seedheads are quite lovely.

220911 ragwort seedheads

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257/366 Ragwort inspection

13 Sunday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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Tags

British butterflies, British insects, Common ragwort, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, importance of ragwort as food plant, insects on ragwort, Ragwort

My title says ‘inspection’ but I was tempted to invent a new word and write ‘insection’, as my inspection was really a personal challenge to see how many different insects I could find on the copious number of Common ragwort plants currently in bloom at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. All except three of these photos were taken during one 45-minute period on Wednesday – the Small copper and two flies were seen the following day. The broad diversity of species just shows how important Ragwort is as a late summer food plant for insects.

200913 bee buff-tailed bumble
200913 bee common carder
200913 bee honeybee maybe
200913 butterfly large white
200913 butterfly meadow brown
200913 butterfly small copper
200913 butterfly small white
200913 cranefly
200913 dock bug
200913 fly sp (1)
200913 fly sp (2)
200913 hoverfly eristalis nemorum
200913 hoverfly eristalis sp
200913 hoverfly helophilus pendulus
200913 hoverfly helophilus trivittatus
200913 hoverfly sp
200913 hoverfly Sphaerophoria sp
200913 hoverfly syrphus sp
200913 nettle tap moth
200913 spider

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198/365 Little and larger

17 Wednesday Jul 2019

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

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Tags

British moths, caterpillars, caterpillars on ragwort, Cinnabar moth, Cinnabar moth caterpillars, orange and black caterpillars, Ragwort

It’s time to check your local patch of Ragwort for these little critters, the caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

As adult moths, they’re bright red and black but as caterpillars they’re a striking combination of orange-and-black stripes, the patterns more visible the more they munch and grow.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

For some reason there’s quite a size difference in this little bunch – perhaps a combination of broods hatched at different times that just happen to have chosen the same Ragwort plant to chew on.

190717 cinnabar caterpillars (4)

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Six-spots love Ragwort

10 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British moths, Burnet moths, moths on ragwort, Ragwort, Six-spot burnet

Self-evident, really. Nom, nom, nom!

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(2)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(1)
180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(3)
180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(5)
180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(6)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(4)

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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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Wildflowers at Barry Docks

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barry Docks, British wildflowers, Common toadflax, Daisy, Hemp agrimony, Hoary mustard, Ragwort, Red valerian, scabious, Wild parsnip, wildflowers, Yellow-wort

I caught the train to Barry Docks last Friday, hoping to get a good look at an uncommon bird (a Great northern diver) that had been making itself at home there for the previous week or so.

171121 Barry Docks

Unfortunately, the bird spent most of the two hours I was there happily swimming and diving several hundred yards away on the other side of the dock, but it was a gloriously sunny day and I did find lots of lovely wildflowers still in bloom around the edge of the docks so I was happy.

171121 Bindweed sp
171121 Common toadflax
171121 Red valerian
171121 Yellow-wort
171121 Sow-thistle sp
171121 Ragwort sp
171121 Cow parsley
171121 Hoary mustard
171121 Scabious sp
171121 Hemp agrimony
171121 Daisy
171121 Wild parsnip

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Summer wildflowers

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Common comfrey, Common honeysuckle, Cornflower, Field bindweed, Fox and cubs, Hedge woundwort, Lesser stitchwort, Ox-eye daisy, Ragwort, White clover, Wood forget-me-not, Yellow loosestrife

As the summer progresses so, too, do the varieties of wildflowers that add colour to the roadside verges, beautify patches of waste ground, light up drab spots along hedgerows, adorn the edges of the trails I regularly walk, and sparkle in the conservation areas at my local cemetery.

These are some that have caught my eye in the past couple of weeks: Fox-and-Cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca), Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris), Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Wood forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica), Hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), White clover (Trifolium repens), Common comfrey (Symphytum officinale), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Common honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), and the last, I think, is Lesser stitchwort (Stellaria graminea).





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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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