Minefulness

We are more or less at the end of May. Insects have now been galling plants and creating leaf mines to the point where they are more obvious and the creatures responsible can be identified with some degree of confidence.


I went for a constitutional around Stefen Hill Pocket Park earlier today and the first thing to catch my eye was indeed a mine.

The larvae of Aulagromyza hendeliana mine honeysuckle leaves

and are very common. Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 30 May, 2019

It was on honeysuckle and the insect responsible was a fly, Aulagromyza hendeliana. Its mine, which generally hugs the leaf margin, is distinctive with grains of frass (poo) in the form of evenly distributed grains. Not a lot of people know that - nor, I am sure, do they particularly want to.


In fact, despite the title of today's blog, I failed to find many mines, but plant galls were more evident. Cecidology, the study of plant galls, takes in many disciplines. Some botanical knowledge is essential and the galls themselves can involve many groups of creatures: wasps and flies (entomology) and mites (acarology) are often responsible. Then there are fungi, particularly rusts, so theoretically mycology is involved too, although I admit that at the level at which I record galls it is not really necessary.


Oaks are galled by a particularly large number of creatures and the picture shows the work of a gall (Cynipid) wasp, Andricus curvator. Its galls can confusingly take several forms depending upon which part of the plant has been selected.

The cynipid wasp, Andricus curvator, is a common creator of galls

on oaks. Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 30 May, 2019

There was also the tatty but unmistakeable remains of a gall from last year. It was a Ramshorn gall, Andricus aries, caused by another cynipid wasp. I had to stand on tiptoe to photograph it, so apologies for the quality.

Andricus aries forms the distinctive Ramshorn Gall. This is a specimen

lingering on from last year. Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 30 May, 2019

Speaking of oaks, I had hitherto only found one specimen but today a spotted a second. It was not at all typical and I hesitate to put a name to it. It is rather like a White Oak, Quercus alba, a North American species sometimes planted for ornament, with leaves turning red in the autumn. And yet...

Quercus alba? I'm not convinced but if acorns form they may provide an

answer. Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 30 may, 2019

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it for acorns.

Ash trees are galled, but the example I photographed is the work of a psyllid bug, Psyllopsis fraxini. It causes the leaflet edge to develop a reddish coloured roll.

Few ash trees escape the bug, Psyllopsis fraxini. Stefen Hill

Pocket park, 30 May, 2019.

And that was about it. There were smallish galls on Field Maple which I won't bother the reader with, and the only other thing to trouble my camera was a tight ball of spiderlings.

A feast for birds! Spiderlings on a goosegrass stem.

Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 30 May, 2019

They were on the tip of a goosegrass stem and almost certainly were Araneus diadematus offspring. They will soon start to disperse and statistically only a couple should survive to replace their parents. This profligacy troubled Alfred, Lord Tennyson:


                             Are God and Nature then at strife,
                             That Nature lends such evil dreams?
                             So careful of the type she seems,
                             So careless of the single life.




Who would be a spider?

 

A Pocket Park Potpourri

I was in Byfield today and, with time to spare, had one of my irregular mooches around the pocket park. For late May the weather was disappointingly cool and insects were as rare as Philip Green apologies.


First up was a pair of tortoise beetles on a burdock leaf. We have eleven of these beetles in the U.K. The species I saw today was the Thistle Tortoise beetle, Cassida rubiginosa. The specific name 'rubiginosa' refers to the red liquid which can 'bleed' from around the head region when the beetle is alarmed.

Thistle Tortoise beetles on burdock. Byfield Pocket Park, 29 May, 2019

Despite being on burdock it is generally found on thistles, especially Creeping Thistle. This is common everywhere, but the pocket park also contains Spear Thistle and I photographed one of its beautifully architectural flowers in the pocket park only a few days ago.

Spear Thistle, Cirsium vulgare. Byfield Pocket Park, 26 May, 2019

Another tortoise beetle, Cassida vibex occurs in the pocket park and was recorded only about five days ago. It too feeds on thistles.

Yet another beetle was noted today, although to the non-enthusiast it was not obviously a beetle at all. Like butterflies, beetles also go through a 'caterpillar' stage and this curious creature is the larva of a Viburnum Leaf Beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni.

Viburnum Leaf  Beetle in its larval stage. Byfield Pocket Park,

29 May, 2019

It was on one of the Guelder Rose, Viburnum opulus, shrubs in the pocket park. The beetles are a serious pest across Britain, making a real mess of the foliage.

It is not welcome in gardens! Byfield Pocket Park, 29 May, 2019

Almost directly beneath this shrub was a mallow plant. It too was in a bit of a mess but this time no insect was involved. Instead it is a fungus - Hollyhock Rust, Puccinia malvacearum. As will be guessed, it is also a pest on garden hollyhocks.

Common Mallow afflicted by Hollyhock Rust. Byfield Pocket Park.

29 May, 2019

A hedge of Beech separates the pocket park from the village burial ground. Some of the beech leaves had curiously rolled edges and in this case the culprit is a mite, Acalitus stenaspis. It is very common but easily overlooked.

The rolled edges of these beech leaves betray the presence of the mite,

Acalitus stenaspis. It seems to do little harm. Byfield Pocket Park,

29 May, 2019

I was about to go when I took a casual swish with my net through the foliage of a birch tree and found I had taken a Birch Shieldbug, Elasmostethus interstinctus. This was hardly a surprise as it is common enough, but confirmation of its presence was pleasing.

A sweep of my net revealed the presence of Elasmostethus interstinctus

in a birch tree. Byfield Pocket Park, 29 May, 2019

So, cool conditions meant that few insects were on the wing, but my visit was far from boring. Even so, a spot of warm sunshine would be welcome.

Allotmenty things

Our allotment plot received a visit today: I put in a short row of a dozen spuds. Things seem to be progressing nicely but there is plenty that could yet go wrong.


Last year I grew a patch of Phacelia, Phacelia tanacetifolia, intending to dig it in as a green manure. In fact I allowed it to flower, not having had the heart to rob bumble bees of this bounteous source of nectar.


Inevitably a few plants self-seeded. I left them to develop and they have begun blooming over the past few days. The flowers of this North American annual form a raceme which curls over like the neck of a violin, giving it the name of Fiddleneck, although it is often simply called Lacy Phacelia or even Blue Tansy. Although 'tanacetifolia' means 'with leaves like Tansy', the two plants are unrelated.

Fiddleneck, Phacelia tanacetifolia, has self-seeded on our allotment, where

it is very welcome. Drayton, Daventry. 18 May, 2019

I was expecting it to attract bumblebees and indeed it has, with this Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, so furry that it looks way out of focus. This is the relatively small female worker; the queens are considerably bigger.




The Phacelia was attracting bees - as I had hoped.

Drayton Allotments, Daventry. 18 May, 2019...

A Red-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus lapidarius, was equally busy on the following day.



Red-tailed Bumblebees can have a yellow, rather than a red, tail.

I was not expecting to find shieldbugs visiting, but this Hairy Shieldbug, Dolycoris baccarum, was also present. Was it planning to take nectar? I'm not sure. It tends to feed on unripe fruits of various plants and I have never positively seen one nectaring.

...but had also attracted this Hairy Shieldbug (aka Sloe Bug).

Drayton Allotments, Daventry. 18 May, 2019

With many of the crops, such as lettuces, potatoes, and rhubarb flowering is unnecessary and in the case of the later any flowers should be removed as they divert energy away from the production of the leaves with their long, edible petioles.

No bees? Not a problem for the lettuce grower. Ours are doing nicely.

20 May, 2019

Broad beans, Vicia faba, are now coming into flower and I am hoping that the bees visiting the Phacelia will divert to the bean flowers. Last year we had a good crop so I am optimistic.

The broad bean was once known as Faba bona and as such gives its name to the whole of the huge Pea Family, Fabaceae. Oddly enough the Broad Bean is unknown as a wild plant and may somehow have evolved as an agricultural accident. It is not known from early Neolithic sites but is present in later Iron Age deposits. It seems to resemble maize, also unknown in the wild, in its evolution via agriculture although this American plant is found from more ancient archaeological sites in Mexico over 9000 years old.

 

Diversity

At Foxhill Farm Matt Moser is employing a variety of techniques to increase the diversity of wildlife on his land. The changes won't come overnight but already some of his efforts are bearing fruit.


Hedgerows over much of this region are basically hawthorn. It is cheap, grows easily, is subject to few diseases and with just a little effort can be made stockproof. But Matt is looking to enrich these hedges, a good example being the one on the western edge of the farm which forms the boundary between his land and the A361. Yesterday Chris dropped me off en-route to Byfield where she was meeting friends and I took a closer look.

Hawthorn is still the basis of the hedge and is, of course, excellent for wildlife. Spot the shield bug? It is centre-right on the photograph, a specimen of the Green Shieldbug, Palomena prasina.

A green shieldbug is halfway down on the right hand side.

Foxhill Farm, 23 May, 2019

Native shrubs have been included in the hedge, which was re-laid a few months ago. The treatment looks harsh but recovery is rapid. The Guelder-rose, Viburnum opulus, is flowering well and is very eye-catching.

I am always pleased to see Guelder-rose. Foxhill Farm, Badby, Northants.

23 May, 2019

Less obvious are the flowers of Spindle, Euonymus europaeus. Its season of glory will be the autumn, when the lovely, sealing-wax pink fruits will be attracting birds. At least three galls are known to occur on spindle. None is obvious without careful examination but I'll try to keep an eye open for them.

The simple flowers of Spindle are not obvious to us but small insects

 manage to find them. Foxhill Farm, 23 May, 2019

Scrambling through herbs around the base of the hedge grows Black Bryony, Tamus communis, our only native member of the Yam Family, Dioscoreaceae. (Black Bryony's alternative but little-used name is Dioscorea communis.)



The flowers of Black Bryony are even less obtrusive.

Foxhill farm, 23 May, 2019

 Like spindle its flowers are hardly spectacular and it too is most valued for its autumn fruits which take the form of scarlet berries.

Ox-eye Daisies. Always welcome along the roadsides.

Edge of Daventry, 23 May, 2019

All this is very encouraging. I was also pleased as I walked home to see how well Ox-eye Daisies, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, are flourishing at the side of the A361. As kids we always referred to them as moon daisies. I hope the authorities can resist spraying them for they not only look attractive but attract plenty of insect life too. Once roadsides are left unsprayed they are one of the first flowering plants to re-colonise these areas. They are one of the parents of the much-grown Shasta Daisies, Leucanthemum x superbum, of gardens.



Kentle Wood: doing nicely

I visited Kentle Wood earlier today and came away feeling just a little more optimistic about the future. It isn't perfect but since its planting as a millennium project it has been maturing nicely. Another thousand Kentle Woods and we'll be getting somewhere.


Insects abounded and this gathering of Dock Bugs, Coreus marginatus, was very unusual - at least, in my experience. I counted twelve, including five mating pairs. There must be something in the water.


Dock Bugs on - what else - dock (actually Broad-leaved Dock'
Rumex obtusifolius). Kentle Wood, 21 May, 2019



Several specimens of the red and black froghopper, Cercopis vulnerata, were seen on my walk. This species seems to be having a good year. The nymphs live underground where they feed on roots, but they aren't numerous enough to do much damage.



Red and Black Froghoppers were frequent. Kentle Wood.

21 May, 2019

I generally steer clear of sawflies. They form an interesting group but a comprehensive guide to their identification is unavailable. Having said that, certain species are quite unmistakeable, like this Tenthredo mesomela. Although it feeds on pollen and nectar it will often make small insects part of its diet.



One of the more distinctive sawflies, Tenthredo mesomela.

21 May, 2019

Craneflies such as Tipula species are conspicuous with their strong but bumbling flight. Relatively overlooked are the closely related limoniids. The photograph shows Limonia phragmitidis, easily recognised by the three spots on each wing and the stripe down the middle of the pale yellow thorax. It is very common in spring.

Limonia phragmitidis was abundant at Kentle Wood today.

21 May, 2019

With a few notable exceptions spiders tend to be unphotogenic and I only took one picture. It shows a common crab spider (they often shuffle along sideways), a female Xysticus cristatus. This specimen has a rather large abdomen and may be distended by eggs.

Britain has close on twenty species of crab spiders but Xysticus cristatus is

 perhaps the commonest. Kentle Wood, 21 May, 2019

Many beetles of the genus Cantharis have quite a bright red coloration or frequently they  are of the dull yellow-red colour referred to by coleopterists as testaceous. To us as kids they were all bloodsuckers. The fact that do not suck blood was irrelevant. However they are mostly predators and hunt among grasses and herbaceous plants. Cantharis rustica always has a dark blotch on the pronotum (the top of the thorax) but the form of the blotch is variable.




Cantharis rustica is variable but generally easily recognised - and very

common. Kentle Wood, 21 May, 2019

Kentle Wood has been in existence for under twenty years and the insect life, despite a limited range of flora, has proliferated amazingly. I have recorded 480 species and yet have barely scratched the surface, with few moths, no aphids, no snails, no ants and only a handful of bees, wasps and sawflies on the species list. We cannot (yet) bring back species from extinction but with public goodwill (which is developing fast) and government backing (sadly limited by interest groups such as those which control grouse moors) the ghastly destruction of the world's biosphere can be stopped and then reversed. The Knepp Estate re-wilding project shows how it could be done. 

But it must start soon.


Postscript


An examination of a green-eyed tephritid fly taken on Goat's-beard, Tragopogon pratensis, showed that it is the rather scarce Orellia falcata. A very pleasing record.

Fasciation

How often, as we queue at a Tesco checkout, have our minds turned to the matter of fasciation. Indeed, in Daventry we speak of little else. Well, perhaps I exaggerate a little, but it is a curiosity familiar to most gardeners. Fasciation is described in botanical works as  'a malformation of plant stems commonly manifested as enlargement and flattening as if several stems were fused.' Little is offered in the way of explanation for these odd distortions.


A Gaillardia with the flower head displaying fasciation.

Daventry market. 4 July, 2017

On Daventry market a while back a Gaillardia showed a distorted flower head, the normally round disk florets having taken up an oval shape. This was the result of the stem immediately below the flower being flattened.

More recently a walk in Daventry Country Park produced another example, this time involving Black Bryony, Tamus communis. The stems of this climbing plant (which, incidentally is the only British representative of the Yam Family, Dioscoriaceae) were distinctly flattened, although the plant itself appeared healthy.



Black Bryony with the stem displaying fasciation. Daventry Country Park.

19 September, 2017



In Stefen Hill Pocket Park today a dandelion was also displaying fasciation and again it was the stems affected. They were greatly flattened, looking very broad from one direction...

The stem of this dandelion is very flattened. Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

20 May, 2019

...but extremely thin from another angle. The flower head was also distorted , though less obviously.



From this angle the degree of flattening is obvious.



Fasciation is always a malformation affecting the stem. No other organs are directly affected but, as in the case of the inflorescence of the Gaillardia there may be some consequent distortion.

More Foxhall Farming

Recently I have been paying a lot of attention to sites such as Byfield Pool and Stefen Hill Pocket Park and the consequence has been a neglect of Foxhill Farm. Today I balanced things up a bit, but my return to the farm brought no spectacular results. For all Matt's hard work the flora and fauna are still limited but he has made a good start and future generations will reap the benefits. 


There are a few orchids at Foxhill Farm but I saw none today and it is still a little early for them. The plants I saw were predictable and perhaps a little mundane - but welcome. Pink campions welcomed me as I stepped through the gate and in damper parts of the meadow cuckooflowers were plentiful.

Pink campions were around gates and along hedgerows. Foxhill Farm,

near Badby, Northants. 16 May, 2019

Rather less commonly seen is Pignut, Conopodium majus, but there were plenty of these around, with their filigree leaves. Like the cuckooflowers this is a species which has declined with the drainage of many old meadows and has probably suffered rather more. Its tuber can be eaten but tends to be six inches or more beneath the surface at the end of a thin, easily-broken root. It was probably the 'fairy potato' dug up by Caliban in 'The Tempest'.

Pignut is still locally common but has suffered a drastic decline.

Foxhill Farm. 16 May, 2019

Yellow Rattle is another plant of old meadows but here the situation is rather different for I am 90% certain that this has been introduced by Matt to his land, the seeds being readily available from specialist dealers. As a hemi-parasite it weakens rank, dominant grasses and gives smaller species a sporting chance. In the Welsh border country it is known as rochlis, the death rattle. (John Lewis-Stempel, 'Meadowland - the Private Life of an English Field'.)

Yellow Rattle seems indispensable in the ecology of good meadowland.

Foxhill Farm. 16 May, 2019

The only other plant I photographed was Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys. Like other speedwells they were sometimes carried by travellers to provide good luck when setting out on a journey. This species, perhaps the commonest speedwell in meadows, can be recognised by lines of white hairs on opposite sides of the stem.

Germander Speedwell. A brilliant patch of azure in meadows.

Foxhill Farm. 16 May, 2019

I only took my camera to a couple of insects. One was very easily recognisable. Known as the Red-and-Black Froghopper, Cercopis vulnerata looks lather like a large but misshapen ladybird, but as soon as it jumps - which it does very readily to the frustration of a photographer - it becomes clear that it is quite different. It is a type of bug and soon becomes familiar to anyone visiting grasslands in the summer.

Red-and-Black Froghopper - or is it Black-and-Red Froghopper?

Foxhill Farm. 16 May, 2019

The other insect photographed was a caterpillar. Insects have six legs, and yet the the caterpillar appears to have more. Its six 'true' legs are at the front of the body; towards the rear end are four pair of so-called prolegs then finally a pair of claspers.

Brown-line Bright-eye (I think) Foxhill Farm. 16 May, 2019

This caterpillar was on grass and I'm reasonably confidant that it is a Brown-line Bright-eye, Mythimna conigera. Hardly exciting as it must be one of Britain's commonest moths. Its chestnut-coloured cocoon is often dug up by gardeners when weeding.

Galls and damsels

A spare hour - what to do? Predictably I strolled over to Stefen Hill Pocket Park, enjoying the warm sunshine. Time was when this weather would be welcomed:


              Rejoice! O English hearts, rejoice! O lovers dear!
              Rejoice! O City, town and country. Rejoice, eke every shire!
                For now the fragrant flowers do sprout and spring in seemly sort,
               The little birds do sit and sing, the lambs do make fine sport....




                                    The Knight of the Burning Pestle,  Beaumont and Fletcher


    
But now we worry. Is this going to be another scorching summer, another step down the road to planetary catastrophe?


However, this wasn't at the front of my mind as I worked my way along a hedgerow of hawthorn, field maple and dogwood. Only mid-May but the mite, Aceria myriadeum, was already causing a rash of  pimples on the acer leaves.

The galls of Aceria myriadeum seem to be found wherever Field Maple

is found. Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 14 May, 2019

This is extremely common and field maples are 'a martyr to it', as my gran would have said. Fortunately it seems to do no significant harm.

Damsel Flies were dashing around...

On the dogwood leaves  damselfly rested before dashing off with a potential partner. The Common Blue and the Azure Damselflies are very similar. In this specimen the blue stripes on the top of the thorax are narrower than the dark stripes and the dark markings on the second abdominal segment are forming a 'U' shape. I believe it is an Azure Damselfly, Coenagrion puella, but I am open to correction. It is not as abundant as the Common Blue but is nevertheless very common.

… and they appeared to be Azure Damselflies. Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

14 May, 2019

Having found a Mottled Umber, Erannis defoliaria, caterpillar yesterday I repeated the trickI once again beat one from a hawthorn bush but put it safely back on the foliage (where a hungry bird will doubtless find it).

And, once again, Mottled Umber caterpillars were munching through

hawthorn leaves.

The adult females are wingless and theoretically this could limit the distribution of this insect, but it seems to be found everywhere.

Barely an hour but I returned home well pleased with my haul. Being forced to check my facts regarding damselflies I felt somehow rather pleased to be still learning at my time of life. 

Kentle Wood: mid-May

It must be the best part of a year since I last visited Kentle Wood (a check later showed that it had been 19 months!). It looked in fine fettle and with the sun shining it was a good place to be.


Insects were basking on the foliage, this female Tachina fera being an eye-catching example.

Tachina fera. It seems to have no common name but perhaps it ought

to have one. Kentle Wood, 13 May, 2019

This insect is a parasite. It lays its eggs in a suitable place, where they hatch and lie in wait for a host, usually the caterpillar of a Noctuid moth. It latches on to the victim and...


The genus gives its name to the Tachinidae family.

Also apparently enjoying the sun was this little shieldbug. It is a Woundwort Bug, Eysarcoris venustissima, and it feeds on Hedge Woundwort, of which there is plenty in Kentle Wood.

Woundwort Shieldbug, but here on a cherry leaf. KentleWood,

Daventry. 13 May, 2019

From the front it appears to be wearing a pair of dark goggles, much needed in the dazzling sunshine.

After sweeping some shrubs beside the ride I found this 'looper' caterpillar in my net. These loopers are members of the Geometridae, a very large and economically important family.

Hardly an exciting find. Mottled Umber larva swept (probably) from oak.

Kentle Wood, 13 May, 2019

As I have often mentioned, butterflies and moths are not my thing but even so, I am happy that this is the Mottled Umber, Erannis defoliaria. This is an abundant moth whose larvae are found on a wide range of trees and shrubs. The damage it inflicts to trees can be guessed from the specific name.


Once again I'll be putting in a few hours working my way through the many specimens of fly I gathered. Well, someone has to do it.

Return to Bradlaugh Fields

Twelve years ago Chris and I lived a stone's throw from Bradlaugh Fields and it was my regular 'patch', but today was the first time I had visited it for some three years. The occasion was a meeting of the Northants Diptera Study Group, a small (but highly select!) band whose gatherings are generally organised by John Showers. John was there of course as was my old friend Kevin Rowley. Kevin's main interest is limnology but he is a very competent dipterist too.


Bradlaugh Files, named after a famous radical Northampton M.P., has been created - or rather has naturally developed - after the abandonment of the golf course which once occupied the site. It is managed of course, but as little as possible.




We gathered in the car park of the adjacent Morrison's supermarket and, after exchanging pleasantries, set off. I got no further than a birch tree at the entrance to the fields before my camera came out.

A group of bugs, or rather 2 x 2, were gathered on a leaf, busy with reproductive matters. They were Parent Bugs, Elasmucha grisea. Predictably rather, because birches seen to be one of their favourite trees.

Two pairs of Sloe Bugs in cop on a birch leaf. Bradlaugh Fields,

Northampton. 12 May, 2019

Only a few yards further on a patch of nettles was harbouring another bug, Dolycoris baccarum. It has for many years been called the Sloe Bug, a rather inappropriate name as it has no particular connection with sloes. In more recent years it has more often been known as the Hairy Shieldbug - far more sensible as the body of this pretty insect does indeed have a covering of short hairs.

Speaking of sloes, a nearby Sloe (Blackthorn) bush was bearing 'pocket plums', its fruits having been attacked by the fungus Taphrina pruni, causing them to become distorted and with no stone developing.

A distorted sloe (a 'pocket plum'). Bradlaugh Fields, Northampton.

12 May, 2019

Returning to the subject of bugs, a hundred yards further on I took a third species when sweeping long grass. It was a Bishop's Mitre Bug, Aelia acuminata.  As it sits in my sweep net it is hard to appreciate how superbly camouflaged it is when among dry grasses.

A Bishop's Mitre Bug in my sweep net. Bradlaugh Fields,

Northampton. 12 May, 2019

It is widely distributed across southern Britain but seems not to be found north of the Sheffield area.

The limy soil supports large numbers of Salad Burnet, Poterium sanguisorba (Sanguisorba minor), plants. It is difficult, at a brief glance, to accept that this is a member of the Rose family, Rosaceae.

Salad Burnet plants were abundant at Bradlaugh Fields.

12 May, 2019

A close-up view is no more convincing. Its rather bitter leaves were once used in salads and some botanists claim that the plants scent the air with cucumber when trodden upon. I have not noticed it.

Not obviously a member of the Rose Family!

A more obviously attractive plant in Bradlaugh Fields is Meadow Saxifrage, Saxifraga granulata. Here it is common but it has been lost from many of its old locations. John Ray recorded it growing on walls in Northampton as he passed through in 1662. It is another lime-lover.



Meadow Saxifrage is still common at Bradlaugh Fields.

12 May, 2019



The three of us spent the morning in Bradlaugh Fields and seem to have recorded only a disappointing number of species but, as is usually the case, it will take later work under the microscope to establish the true picture.