We have placed a series of stepping-stones leading up to the compost heap and being an inquisitive person I lifted some in the hope of finding some ground beetles. Beetles were there none but a couple of centipedes were revealed. Most of us are familiar with the fast-moving bright chestnut Lithobius forficatus, common in our gardens and a formidable hunter of other invertebrates, but the two I had exposed are probably far commoner though their habitat beneath stones makes them less obvious.
The centipedes I had revealed were both specimens of Geophilus flavus. We often grumble about name-changes in both botany and zoology, but the former name for this species was Necrophloeophagus longicornis. I think we can all agree that this was a name change for the better! Species of this type, generally known as Geophilomorphids, probably feed on nematodes and other tiny soil-dwelling creatures. A curious feature of these creatures is the ability to move backwards as easily as forwards, making them quite elusive when being photographed.
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Geophilus flavus, a common centipede. Drayton Allotments, Daventry.
6 November, 2018
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Dozens of woodlice, 99% of which were Porcellio scaber, were beneath the stones and on fences there were a few flies. But at this point the sun chose to duck behind some clouds and the flies miraculously disappeared. I turned my attention to plants.
Many of the plot-holders were growing celery and most of the plants I checked were bearing blotches on their leaves. This is the work of a picture-winged fly, Euleia heraclei, or rather their larvae. Although the leaf-mines created by the larvae are common I only occasionally capture an adult.
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Celery leaves had been mined by Euleia heraclei. Drayton Allotments,
Daventry. 6 November, 2018
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So, forlorn though the plots appear there is life, if not in abundance at least there if you look for it. In the next two or three days I'll be making a sowing of broad beans and it will be a surprise if nothing of interest should be found.
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