A perilous Pit Lane peregrination

On a sunny but chilly day I decided to face the perils of Pit Lane for a change of scene. As I have remarked in a previous blog, this track is invariably referred to as Muddy Lane by local people, and with good reason.

Pit Lane aka Muddy Lane, looking north.
23 January, 2014

This is a public right of way but farm traffic has rendered the lane almost unusable; I had to tread very warily. I always carry a camera on these walks but my expectations are realistic and sometimes there is little worthy of photographing. Fortunately I am happy to look at what many would call trivia; I find a fascination in small things. Multum in parvo my son, as Del Boy would have put it.








Brambles lined the track on both sides and the leaves bore closer examination for the mines they exhibited. The Golden Pigmy Moth, Stigmella aurella. was responsible for most (all?) of the mines.

Leaf-mine of the Golden Pigmy Moth
Pit Lane, Byfield.  23 January, 2014

Typically the mine is very sinuous as shown in the first photograph. It is a very common moth but the adult (the imago) is small and tends to be overlooked.

In this second example the mine follows the leaf edge so closely that I suspected it was a different species, but later research suggested that it was the Golden Pigmy again. In many cases the position of the mine can be diagnostic for naming the species, but apparently not here.





I diverted from the main track to the site of the original pit. The area has become a dumping-ground for waste farm materials (and some local gardeners also appear to have used it for a similar purpose) so the area is not pretty. The pit held water. thus forming a small pool. In nine years this is the first time I have noticed a pool form, testament to the very wet weather we've been experiencing.

A pool temporarily fills the pit.
Pit Lane, Byfield. 23 January, 2014

Unfortunately this pool is unlikely to persist for many weeks. How nice it would be if it lasted long enough to attract dragonflies. The water looked very clear but, surrounded by dumped farm materials, some form of pollution is quite likely.









Unsightly though the area may be, it is full of interest - as is the case with many brownfield sites. Patches of bare ground have been colonised by annuals and some interesting biennial plants. 

Verbascum thapsus adjacent to
Pit Lane, Byfield.  23 January, 2014

Verbascum thapsus, known as Great Mullein or Aaron's Rod, towered almost two metres on banks of dumped soil. In a situation such as this a veritable forest of mulleins can rapidly develop but, as the plants are intolerant of shade they can be quickly crowded out. Plant breeders have done much work on Verbascums in recent years and some lovely, more compact forms are now available. The handsome caterpillars of the Mullein Moth are worth looking for on the leaves of Verbascums and I'll certainly return in mid-summer to see if they are present.




Showing similar habits is Wild Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum. In winter the seed heads are frequently visited by Goldfinches, who tweak out the seeds with their slender bills,

Thistle-like teasel heads just off
Pit Lane. 23 January, 2014

Fortunately, despite the attention of Goldfinches, plenty of seed falls to the ground, leading to the development of replacement plants. Generally speaking, biennials need to produce copious amounts of seed to compensate for their short life span. They will need bare soil to germinate and brownfield sites usually offer ideal conditions for teasels. Certainly lots of young plants were present. These will grow rapidly as the soil warms and produce flowers - much loved by bees -  later in the year.

Rosette of Teasel. Pit Lane, Byfield.
23 January, 2014

These rosettes spread quite widely, the lower leaves choking off other seedlings which might provide unwelcome competition. Such a strategy is widespread among plants which cannot cope with shade.






Of several other plants present, one more merits a mention. Hemlock, Conium maculatum, is another biennial, waste ground specialist, particularly where the ground is damp. Is it my imagination or has the plant become more common in recent decades? Even as a young plant its bright green, finely-dissected leaves are distinctive. If in doubt, pinch a leaf and note the unpleasant smell. Then wash your hands! It is this odour which probably makes cases of Hemlock poisoning quite rare.

The Latin name is quite interesting: Conium comes from a word meaning "to whirl about" as the poison causes vertigo, leading to collapse; maculatum, meaning spotted, refers to the purple blotches present on the stem.

Rosette of Hemlock  23 January, 2013

So, not a wildly exciting excursion but to coin a phrase, it kept me out of the pub.

Lengthening days

In a couple of months time Chris and I are off rambling in southern Greece and as I am not at all fit. and as today was reasonably fine (at least it was dry) I set off again for a strenuous walk. But of course it wasn't strenuous - stopping very couple of minutes to examine an enthralling twig doesn't exactly get the heart-rate up. 

I set off via Banbury Lane, pausing only to photograph a Spurge-laurel in full flower. 

Spurge-laurel, Daphne laureola.
Byfield, 18 February, 2014

Easily overlooked, the small. fragrant flowers merit closer examination,










Yesterday I more or less vowed not to photograph any lichens, so here are a couple (yes, I know it should be here is a couple, but) ...

Pannaria rubiginosa on the trunk of an ash tree.
Nr Byfield, 18 February, 2014

On the trunk of an ash tree was an attractive patch of Pannaria rubiginosa. This is a very widespread species, found all over the world except Australasia and Antarctica, so it doesn't count as a sensational find.

Evernia prunastri on an oak branch  nr Byfield.
18 February, 2014

... and Evernia prunastri, already featured in previous blogs and therefore meriting no further comment.

Snowdrops were abundant in places and, given an hour or two of sunshine, may get some visitors in the shape of honey bees.








But rather more interesting, as I approach Byfield, was a considerable patch of Lungwort.

Refugees

Grey Shoulder-knot on bark of willow tree in
my garden, Byfield SP515529  9 January, 2014

Stripping Ivy from a willow tree in my garden I exposed a Grey Shoulder-knot (Lithophane ornitopus). I was not surprised as it is a common and widespread moth, but fifty years ago I would have been rather excited as it was than a very scarce species in Northamptonshire. Ivy is a nuisance in many respects but it offered a snug refuge for this moth to overwinter.

Hawthorn Shieldbug, Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
disrupting my paper-hanging efforts.  14 January, 2014

Household tasks, tedious though they often are, cannot be ignored and the winter months must be utilised for these matters. Accordingly I have set to and started redecorating my study. I fetched the paste table from the car port and there, revealed as I  opened it up, were yet more refugees. The first to creep out was a Hawthorn Shieldbug (see my blog, "The Sore-bottomed Shieldbug", 3 October, 2013). 




I removed it to a place of safety and returned to the task in hand - only for a green lacewing to flutter out and settle on the ceiling. Unsurprisingly it proved to be Chrysoperla carnea, perhaps the commonest of these insects.

A green lacewing fly, Chrysoperla carnea on a
(very uneven) ceiling. 14 January, 2014

This "species" is actually an aggregate of species, tricky to separate. The Chrysoperla carnea complex is apparently found throughout the world - and, I can now reveal to the scientific community, under paste tables. 

       

            

         

          

          

 

Trees, trees....

I am very fond of trees and am not alone in this respect. As the American poet Joyce Kilmer wrote:

                                I think that I shall never see
                                A poem lovely as a tree...

A bit slushy for my liking, but her heart was in the right place. 

Walking with friends near Harlestone a couple of days ago I was stopped in my tracks by some magnificent Sweet Chestnuts on the golf course there. 

Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa,
Harlestone Golf Course,10 January, 2014

There are several of these on the course and I hope they are all subject to a preservation order, not least because these veterans are frequently home to rare invertebrates. (Those in Windsor Great Park are famous in this respect.) The Sweet Chestnut, it should be noted, is not at all related to the Horse Chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum. The former is a member of the Oak Family and the latter belongs to the Hippocastanaceae. The fruits may look vaguely similar but are structurally quite different . Neither of the trees is native to Britain.




In the winter months deciduous trees, bereft of their leaves, often give identification problems but, with practice, most can be named. In many cases the bark is a giveaway but some have a characteristic shape, none more so than the Lombardy Poplar.

Lombardy Poplars on the edge of Byfield
 Playing Fields .13 January, 2014 

The Lombardy Poplar, unmistakable with its tall, columnar habit is not a species in its own right but is a fastigiate form of the Black Poplar, Populus nigra. The native Black Poplar is now quite a scarce tree in the wild but insects such as the Poplar Hawk Moth are quite happy to accept the Lombardy Poplar, as are several other species of moth, bug, beetle and so on. In short, it is a spiffing tree in wildlife terms.








However, as I pointed out in my last blog, it is evergreen trees which come to the fore in winter months. Some are beautiful, some are bizarre. Which brings me to the Monkey-puzzle, Araucaria araucana. The family to which it belongs, the Araucariaceae, is quite a small one and is confined to the southern hemisphere. Most people visiting resorts in southern Europe will be familiar with a close relative of the Monkey-puzzle, the Norfolk Island Pine. This is altogether, imo, a more attractive tree but is not hardy enough to cope with the British climate.

Monkey-puzzle outside The White Horse
Norton, Northants.  12 January 2014

Cone of the Monkey-puzzle

The Monkey-puzzle only occasionally produces seeds in Britain and is thus rarely self-sown. The seeds are edible but I have never seen them for sale. As far as I am aware it does not attract any insects and so gets the thumbs-down from me, but it is undeniably a conversation-piece.

Scots Pines I mentioned in my last blog, but a close relative, The Norway Spruce, Picea abies, also deserves consideration. My neighbours, John and Jill Russell, have a fine specimen in their garden.

Norway Spruce in a Byfield garden

It is not a native of Britain, but perhaps we should regard it as an honorary native as it was certainly present in the last (Ipswichian) interglacial, the pollen frequently being found in deposits from the period. Several interesting insects are associated with the tree but some accidentally introduced species pose a serious threat to this and other conifers. The Great Spruce Bark Beetle, Dendroctonus micans and the Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis are cases in point. With several spruces and pines present in the pocket park I ought to keep an eye open for these invaders. (Another issue for the Daily Mail to investigate: "Immigrant Bugs cause crisis in British forestry") 

Norway Spruce in Byfield Pocket Park
13 January, 2014

Pine (left) and Spruce (right) cones.
Byfield Pocket Park 13 January, 2014

Most conifers can be identified via their cones. The photograph shows Scots Pine on the left and Norway Spruce on the right. Both are very acceptable to Grey Squirrels and in the past I have visited conifer plantations where intact cones were hard to find.

Western Red Cedar in Byfield
Churchyard.  13 January, 2014

Our churchyard contains a handful of Western Red Cedars. These trees are rather sombre but undeniably handsome. Given a large enough garden I would be tempted to plant one - but they need lots of space. (A houseowner in Becketts Close, here in Byfield, has planted a Monkey-puzzle in the rather small front garden. In a few years....)

The attractive, rather glossy foliage of Western
Red Cedar. Byfield Churchyard. 13 January, 2014

The Western Red Cedar, Thuya plicata, has a slightly weeping habit, adding to its appeal as silvan eye-candy. The plicate (folded or plaited) leaves which give the tree its specific name are rather glossy and had a beautiful sheen in today's bright winter sun.

Snippets about evergreen trees

For rather obvious reasons there is a tendency to pay more attention to evergreen trees in the winter months. Passing through Byfield churchyard I plucked a twig from a Yew tree, Taxus baccata, recognising the  bud-like structure formed by a tight cluster of leaves. 

Gall on a Yew twig caused by the fly Taxomyia taxi.
Byfield churchyard. 2 January, 2013

It was the gall of Taxomyia taxi, a small fly belonging to a specialist family of gall-inducing flies called the Cecidomyidae. It is widespread and rather common but is a new record from this area of the county.









Am I allowed to mention Privet? Privets are not fully evergreen, being semi-deciduous, but our native species, Ligustrum vulgare, manages to retain most of its leaves through the winter months. It too is sometimes attacked by a cecidomyid fly, in this case Plagochila nigripes. I have searched for it in vain yet remain optimistic, but will have to wait until late summer for clues to its presence. 

Wild Privet in fruit. Byfield, 5 January, 2014

The main winter feature of Wild Privet are the black berries. If they resemble small back olives it is hardly surprising as the shrub is a member of the Olive family, Oleaceae. It is quite a good indicator of limy soil and its distribution in the county reflects this, being absent from areas of acid soil.







We have a small group of the evergreen Holm Oak in our pocket park as well as several holly bushes. The Latin name of the former is Quercus ilex, whilst Holly is Ilex aquifolium. The reason for the shared word 'ilex' is not immediately obvious until the juvenile shoots of the Holm Oak are examined. It will be seen that the leaves have sharply saw-like edges, not unlike the leaves of Holly. 

A few weeks ago a Holly leaf with a curious structure growing from its surface caught my eye. It appeared from a distance to be the larval case of a coleophorid moth but I was fairly certain that none of these moths were associated with Holly. A closer examination left me feeling rather silly for the "larval case" was simply a thorn penetrating the leaf, although how this had happened was unclear.



The leaves of Holm Oaks are attacked by several gall-forming insects, mostly tiny Cynipid wasps, related to those which cause oak apples to form. However, some moths rise to the challenge of feeding on these tough leaves and the next photograph shows the mines created by Zeller's Midget, Phyllonorycter messaniella. 

These blotches are the  mines of the micro moth
Phyllonorycter messaniella, aka Zeller's Midget
Byfield Pocket Park, 6 January, 2014

It is a rather dull little moth and in my experience its presence is more often to be established by finding these blotched leaves than finding the adult insect. It is found on several oak species and also Beech, Hornbeam and Sweet Chestnut. Not surprisingly it is a widespread insect. The attentions of this moth are unlikely to harm the trees.





Whereas oaks are a pabulum for many insects our native Holly is relatively free of these nibblers, chewers and borers. But one insect likely to be found feeding on the leaves is the Holly Leaf Miner, Phytomyza ilicis. It is abundant and very few Holly bushes are free of its attentions.


The Holly Leaf Miner is a two-winged fly of the Agromyzidae family. Like Keller's Midget, the adult insect is not often caught - at least I never seem to find it in my net - but its blotch mines, with their yellow borders, are unmistakable. Incidentally the caterpillars of the Holly Blue butterfly also feed on Holly, choosing the tender young leaves through June and July, but I have yet to find this species in our pocket park.


The caterpillars of the Holly Blue will also feed on Ivy. Any found on this plant will belong to the second brood of the year and will feed on the flowers in late summer. In fact Ivy is largely untroubled by insects; I know of no insect which mines the leaves. Occasionally a swollen, purple-tinted flower bud will be found, this gall showing the presence of a cecidomyid fly, Dasineura kiefferi. I have yet to find it.

The swelling fruit of Ivy in Byfield Pocket Park
6 January, 2014

The autumn of 2013 was a very good one for berries and those of Ivy are now plumping up nicely and will help to sustain thrushes and Wood Pigeons through the late winter. There are several poisons found in the tissues of Ivy but seem not to bother birds. As for humans, large quantities of the berries would need to be consumed for harm to result. Incidentally our native Ivy is completely unrelated to the North American Poison Ivy, which belongs to the Cashew Nut family, Anacardiaceae. 

Finally, a word about pines. Three conifers are native to Britain: Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Yew (Taxus baccata) and Juniper (Juniperus communis). Only Juniper is native to Northamptonshire but is now extinct here as a wild plant; it once grew on Juniper Hill, near Brackley (SP587325), apparently close to the supposed site of Larkrise. Yew is widely naturalised, as is Scots Pine.

Pines alongside Byfield railway station, taken from
"A History of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland
 Junction Railway" by Richard Riley and Bill Simpson 

A few pine trees have been present in the vicinity of the Byfield's former railway station for many years, as shown in this old photograph. (This photograph is not viewable on some laptops.)  The clump still exists but it is now impossible to photograph the group from the same position. Nevertheless as the next photograph shows they are now substantial trees although, growing in rather poor soil they are, some forty years on, not enormous.

                                                            

The same pines, now on the periphery
of the pocket park. 8 January, 2014

                                                          






In this later view the cutting, on the top of which the trees stand, is behind the  clump. As the trees have aged the lower branches have died off, giving the trees their typical mop-headed appearance.

Scot's Pine. Byfield Pocket Park
8 January, 2014

This final picture of pines shows what is probably the pocket park's largest specimen. It stands in the corner of a piece of meadow grazed from time to time by sheep.

I have not spent much time investigating the wildlife associated with these trees and this is very remiss of me as Scot's Pine can support a wide range of invertebrates...clearly a job for 2014.

Spring is waiting in the wings

In these short - and currently very wet - days we tend to look for signs of spring, even tho' we are mindful of the fact that the worst of winter is almost certainly yet to come.

Alder twigs. The oval "cones" of last year's fruits lie
alongside the dormant catkins awaiting the summer.
Daventry, 1 January 2014

In Daventry, silhouetted against unrelentingly grey sky, Alder twigs portray the past and the future, with the past being represented by the cone-like remains of last autumn's fruits. (These are not true cones as what falls from them are fully developed fruits enclosed in an ovary; the pine and its relatives shed naked seeds not enclosed in an ovary.) Alongside these now-redundant structures lies the future - the slim male catkins, still tightly protecting their precious pollen. They are truly "keeping their powder dry"!

Birch trees bearing catkins
Byfield Pocket Park, 2 January, 2014

Related to Alders, but placed in a different family, are the birches. In the pocket park at Byfield the catkins on the birches - all Betula pendula - were also tightly closed, but the hazels, Corylus avellana were, here and there, having the temerity to expose their pollen. 

Catkins on Hazel.
Byfield Pocket Park. 2 January, 2014

A closer view of male and female flowers on
Hazel. Byfield Pocket Park, 2 January, 2014

It was clearly a good strategy for in the buffeting wind (not helpful for photography) the pale yellow catkins were freely releasing their pollen; the small pink female flowers (to the right of the three catkins) stood an excellent chance of being pollinated.

The Daisy can hardly be called a harbinger of spring as it flowers all the year round (Its Latin name, Bellis perennis, could be loosely translated as "forever beautiful") but I couldn't resist photographing one. The flowers receive visits from many small insects and, given a spell of warm sunshine, this one may be in luck.

Grounsel, Senecio vulgaris. Byfield, 2 January, 2014

Nearby a relative of the Daisy was also flowering. This is Groundsel, Senecio vulgaris. Its flowers however rarely seem to attract insect visitors and the fact that it invariably produces fruits in abundance indicates an efficient self-pollination mechanism. Incidentally the genus Senecio contains some 2000 species, making it - probably - the world's largest genus of flowering plants.

A closer view of Groundsel, showing the black-tipped
outer flower bracts. Byfield, 2 January, 2014

    

Annual Meadow-grass, Poa annua.
Byfield, 2 January, 2014

A plant of Annual Meadow-grass (Poa annua) was also in full flower nearby. Like the Daisy and Groundsel it is very common but generally overlooked. Its flowers, small and green, are efficiently wind pollinated. What point would there be in having brightly coloured flowers if there is no need to attract insects?



Finally I make no apology for including a garden plant. Laurustinus, Viburnum tinus, is common, but understandably so , for it it one of the most valuable of all garden shrubs. Its long flowering period takes it through the depths of winter and it receives numerous insect visitors including hoverflies such as Eristalis pertinax.  The flowers and fruits are commonly both on the plant at the same time, these fruits leading to it being quite widely naturalised. Its common name of Laurustinus may refer to the laurel-like leaves but it is not related to true Laurels (see blog for 10.3.2013). As a consequence of recent genetic research all species of Viburnum, together with Elders (Sambucus species) have now been removed from the Caprifoliaceae and placed in the Adoxaceae Family.

Fruits and flowers together on Viburnum tinus.
Garden in Byfield, 2 January, 2014