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Tag Archives: Wild carrot

238/366 Midge galls

25 Tuesday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, nature, plants, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British galls, British insects, British wildflowers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, galls on wild carrot, Kiefferia pericarpiicola, midge gall, Wild carrot

I was looking around at the various wildflowers yesterday at Cosmeston, seeing what insects might be about, when I noticed these odd growths on some of the Wild carrot flower heads. I split one open with my finger nail and a miniscule orange blob fell out; turns out that was the larva of a midge with the long-winded name of Kiefferia pericarpiicola.

200825 Kiefferia pericarpiicola (1)

The galls start off green (below left), before turning pinkish and eventually brown. According to the Nature Spot website, these galls can be seen from late summer through to autumn, after which the larvae will leave the gall and drop down to the soil to pupate. The midge only occurs in southern parts of Britain at the moment – and I only found two previous records in the Welsh biodiversity database – but perhaps that will change as our climate continues to warm and the midge flies further afield. It’s also possible, of course, that this insect is under-recorded – it seems the midge itself is almost never seen, only its gall creations.

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The inedible carrot

10 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

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Tags

British flora, British wildflowers, carrot, Daucus carota, umbel, umbellifer, Wild carrot, wildflowers

I’m finally starting to get a handle on the various umbellifers to be found in this land and the progression of their flowering through the seasons. Here in Wales, one of those currently in full flower is the Wild carrot (Daucus carota).

wild carrot (1)

Its leaves smell of the edible carrot but I’ve read that the roots of this wild variety are ‘thin and wiry and bear little resemblance to the thick, orange tap-roots of the cultivated vegetable’ so that firmly rules out any foraging! I also read, in my copy of Richard Mabey’s trusty Flora Britannica, that edible carrots ‘were developed from a distinct subspecies, ssp.sativa, probably native to the Mediterranean, and brought to Britain in the 15th century’. Fascinating!

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wild carrot (7)

Meanwhile, the Wild carrots continue to grow straight and about 3 feet tall in my local wild places, to the delight of the hoverflies, sawflies, soldier beetles and other assorted insects that seem particularly to enjoy them. They have quite distinctive feathery leaves and often, but not always, a very tiny pinkish-red flower in the exact centre of their umbel. Also, when they’ve finished flowering, the umbels contract to a nest-like shape, which is why one of their common names is Bird’s-nest.

wild carrot (2)

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Sneaky

03 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British spiders, Daucus carota, Enoplognatha ovata, hoverflies, Pastinaca sativa, spiders, Wild carrot, Wild parsnip

I’ve got nothing against spiders: like all creatures they need to eat, but they can be rather cunning about how they ensnare their prey.

170803 Enoplognatha ovata sensu lato (1)

These Enoplognatha ovata, which come in several colourways, were taking advantage of the umbrella-shaped flowers of Wild carrot (Daucus carota) and Wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), lurking under the canopy created by the flower stems then darting rapidly through the gaps to grab hoverflies and other mini-beasties while they were feeding. Very sneaky!

170803 Enoplognatha ovata sensu lato (3)
170803 Enoplognatha ovata sensu lato (2)

 

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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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