Chronicles of wasted time

I suppose we can all recall having to rote-learn Shakespeare's Sonnet 106 beginning 'When in the chronicle of wasted time...'  No? Actually neither can I and yet, oddly enough, these words came to mind when looking back over the last few weeks. I have yet to see a bee or a moth (although I have noticed a few leaf-mines created by the latter) and with only a few brief sunny episodes the overall picture has been windy, sunless and desperately damp.


I trudged out to Foxhill Farm today, not in the hope of seeing much but just feeling a sort of duty. And I was right - I didn't see much.


I trudged across sodden fields, finding the going particularly difficult where water from a spring-line threatened to ooze over my trainers (why do I insist on wearing inadequate footwear?).


Here and there the mud was stained ochreus yellow. I knew of these patches as a child but hadn't a clue what they represented.

Reddish-orange staining represents colonies of iron bacteria.

Foxhill Farm, near Badby, Northants. 9 March, 2020

Now, with the wisdom of time (Wisdom? You've got to be joking! Ed.) I know that this staining is caused by colonies of 'iron bacteria'. They metabolise by converting ferric iron (Fe2+) into ferrous iron (Fe3+), releasing a small amount of energy in the process - not much but apparently sufficient to allow growth to take place. The staining is usually accompanied by an oily sheen, just visible on the right of the picture. (Incidentally these bacterial colonies are responsible for the rusting-up of iron pipes and are of considerable economic importance.)

Any road, having negotiated this quagmire I made my way to a small pond wherein Greater Reedmace, Typha latifolia, grows.

The flower spikes of Greater Reedmace. Foxhill Farm.

9 March, 2020

I took a couple of the near-bursting heads and placed them in a bag for investigation later. The larva of a moth, Limnaecia phragmitella, is sometimes found inside these heads and I live in hope...

This pond has been known to me for several years and it always dries up in the summer. Today it held large quantities of frog spawn and we must hope that the frogs fully metabolise and hop away before it dries up again. I'll check in a month or so, not just to observe the frog development but because the site often harbours interesting insects and spiders.

Frogs' spawn between shoots of Greater Reedmace.

Foxhill Farm, 9 March, 2020

After a little desultory sweeping of ivy and the tatty tops of stinging nettles I decided that life had more to offer. I set off home noting that birds will have plenty of material with which to line their nests this spring.

Brambles snatch at the fleeces of passing sheep. Foxhill Farm.

9 March, 2020

It hardly needs saying that Foxhill Farm overwhelming functions as a sheep farm.


Once home I pulled apart the reedmace heads and was pleased to find several moth larvae which proved to be the species I had expected.

The caterpillars of the Shy Cosmet Moth inside a bulrush head.

Foxhill Farm, 9 March, 2020

For some reason Limnaecia phragmitella is known as the Shy Cosmet Moth. It is widespread, being found virtually everywhere that reedmace grows.


So, not altogether a waste of time.