The Dark Days of December?

 

As the end of the year fast approaches, the days become increasingly shorter.  There is less time, and less light, so I don’t expect to be able to see much of nature, especially flowers or invertebrates.

I began this blog on the 21st of December; the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Literally, one bright phenomenon to look out for was the so-called Star of Bethlehem, the Great  Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.  In the days leading up to this “once in 400 years” event, early evening cloud prevented it being visible.  We have an excellent dark sky view to our south and west from home but couldn’t beat the clouds.  That is, until the 22nd when the vision was apparent

The rain during these few days meant that even the view from our windows to the feeders was blurred and indistinct.

Saturn and Jupiter

Our daily walks were punctuated with rain, but even when it cleared, there was no much expectation of seeing anything of note.

The farmers had been using this quiet time to trim their hedges and verges, further reducing opportunities as vegetation and any insect population was trimmed back to woody branches.

Neatly trimmed hedgerows

The omni-present Red Campion was seen every day as well as its companion Herb Robert.  We were unprepared for an out of season Field Buttercup but not too surprised to see an early Primrose and a single Lesser Celandine right at the beginning of the month.  The vanilla/marzipan smell of the groups of Winter Heliotrope are a welcome Christmas flower.

Field Buttercup

Primrose

Winter Heliotrope

An advantage of trimmed hedges and verges, is that the hedge bottom is visible and in the gaps, can be seen the fields normally hidden by Cornish Hedges.

Fungi were found in the hedge bottoms but despite the wet damp weather, were not abundant.  Brackets and encrusting fungi could be see as well as a few Candlesnuff fungi (Xylaria hypoxylon) the rare, but spreading Perenniporia ochroleuca as well as Tawny Funnel - Lepista flaccida and my favourite, Cobalt Crust.

https://northcornwallnaturalist.blogspot.com/2020/11/blue-sky-experience.html

Tawny Funnel Cap

Perenniporia ochroleuca

Cobalt Crust

Invertebrates were very few, although any sunshine brought out masses of midges near the stream at Crosswater.  A late German Wasp was seen on Ivy, no doubt seeking a hibernacula.  One Green Shieldbug was also found on an Ivy leaf for three days in a row, before it either succumbed to predation or fell lower down the hedgerow.  We also had a couple of sightings of active 7-spot Ladybirds.

German Wasp

7-spot Ladybird

Green Shieldbug

The views through the hedgerow was welcome allowing us to see a Red Fox crossing a field and a Roe Deer busily eating amongst the Purple Moor Grass until it sensed us.  Two areas on our walk have quite a number of trees and here, on three or four occasions we were rewarded with sightings of Grey Squirrel.  We often see the hoofprints of deer on the paths that cut the hedges and cross the roads, but carrying the correct lens at the right time to get a photograph of a deer itself is more challenging.

Red Fox

Roe Deer

Deer slot

Another advantage was to be able to find abandoned bird nests.  We identified these as Tits, Blackbird and at least four Wrens’ nests.

A Wren's nest

Apart from the permanent presence of Gulls and Corvids, we were rewarded by the sighing of a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other and, at regular intervals along the walk, a singing Robin.

Back home, there are more invertebrates with Winter Moths regularly seeking out our lighted windows and a rain speckled 7-spot Ladybird rescued from the house wall and brought into the garage.

Winter Moth

The last sighting of the year on the 31st was of a Rabbit.  It's good to know that they are surviving Myxomatosis and VHD.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Blue-sky experience

 At this time of year there is very little invertebrate activity to be found on our daily walks.  Even flies are becoming uncommon, although, the slighest warmth brings our midges to dance in the sun.

I can't stop looking for anything in the hedgerows.  So, yesterday we kept catching sight of the occassional troop of Common Funnel Mushrooms deep in the hedgerow leaf litter.   There were even a few examples of the encrutsing Stereum species wrapped around small twigs.

As it was a Sunday, and lockdown, we took advantage of the almost zero traffic and dallied on blind corners that we would usually pass swiftly, and safely, by.

On the dying branch of a small Ash tree in the hedgerow there was a hollow rotted out in which could be seen the unmistakeable stipes of Candle-snuff fungus.  A further rotting piece of the branch caught my eye with what looked like a dark bird dropping probably from eating blackberries.  The branch broke off when touched so I examined it further.  Turning it over I was delighted to see that it wasn't an exreted blackberry, but part of a dark blue Cobalt Crust (Terana caeruleum).   

Cobalt Crust - Terana caeruleum

This is an unusual fungi in North Cornwall and only the second example I have found.  Its colour is magnificent ranging from a deep cobalt blue shading into a sky-blue with an almost white edge.

A closer view

A fantastic find.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Grisly nature

Folklore had these parasitoid worms forming from the dropped hairs of horses when they were frequently found in horse troughs.

The Gordian knot is an illustration of a problem without a solution. An ox-cart which delivered a peasant named Gordias into Phrygia who became its king, was tied up with a knot so intricate that is was not possible to undo it, but whoever did would rule the whole of Asia  Alexander the Great tried and failed so sliced it in half with a stroke of his sword hence the Gordian knot/

A phylum of parasitoid invertebrates comprising the marine Nectonema and freshwater Gordioida. There are 350 different known species throughout the world.

Adults can reach a length of between  50 and 100mm and in extreme cases 2m but only up to 1mm in diameter.

They have an external dark brown cuticle, which is almost all muscle which gives them a hard and wiry feel. This muscle arrangement results in them  twisting into intricate knots - hence the genus name Gordius resembling the classical Gordian Knot. 

Nematomorpha showing the eponymous knotting behaviou

They lack any excretory, respiratory or circulatory system.  The eyeless head may have a darker band below the paler tip.

The tail end of females is rounded but males of most genera genital papillae showing as a cleft tail.  Males of Gordius genus have a crescent-shaped fold above the two lobes.

Male nematomorpha with bifuricated anterior.

They exist in their external adult form purely to reproduce.

The life cycle is complex and almost wholly parasitic.

Long strings of gelatinous eggs are laid in freshwater.

From these develop planktonic larvae which have a boring apparatus with which to enter its first host, aquatic invertebrates typically diptera or trichoptera larvae.  Once inside this host, they encyst in the gut of the invertebrate.

In turn, these invertebrates are predated upon by freshwater or terrestrial invertebrates, typically Coleoptera or Orthoptera with Carabidae being a common host.

Once inside this host, the larvae develop into the adult worm-like form.  They grow to fill the internal cavity of the host but also influence it to seek out and enter water where the host drowns.  Once this is achieved, the adult Nematomorpha will abandon the host and seek a mate to reproduce in freshwater where the next season’s eggs are laid and the adults die.

 The National Biodiversity Network shows 251 records, the majority of which were recorded in Wales and a few in Scotland.  The South West has no records at present.  However over the last three years specimens have been increasingly recorded in Cornwall and on Lundy. 

Although reportedly adults emerge from their host in late summer or early autumn, on Lundy adults are typically found in shallow temporary puddles on the island road in November and December.  In Cornwall, they have been recorded during Riverfly surveys in small streams in April, August, September and November.

I always search shallow puddles of the picture that eludes me, that of an adult emerging from its host.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

What’s eating Shieldbugs?

On our local patch we can expect to record four different species of Shield or Squash bug on most days when it is not pouring with rain.  These four are:-

Dock Bugs (Coreus marginatus) are usually seen in tens of individuals with all five instar and adult stages throughout the year.

Dock Bug and Green Shieldbug instars

Green Shieldbugs (Palomena prasina) similarly found in tens and all stages of their life cycle.

Green Shieldbug and Dock Bug adults

Sloe Shieldbugs (Dolycoris baccarum) are less common.  We are lucky to see one or two of these at a time and usually only in the adult stage.

Sloe Shieldbug

Gorse Shieldbugs (Piezodorus lituratus) are again only usually seen in ones or twos and generally the adult stage and only on one particular Gorse bush.  That is, we used to see them on most days until the end of July.  My records show then in all months from January through to the 28th of July - then nothing.

Gorse Shieldbu

In a different part of the parish, on Gorse bushes on top of the Atlantic cliffs I am usually rewarded with a sighting or two every week when I walk my Butterfly Transect.  But, nothing on their usual Gorse shrub on our daily walks until the 26th of September when there was one.

So where had they been I asked myself?

On Lundy I have come across the occasional Gorse Shieldbug carapace caught up in a spider’s web.  And, there are certainly Garden Orb spiders and Labyrinth spiders in amongst the Shieldbugs’ favourite bush.  Perhaps the spiders had been culling them.

However, during September one and sometimes two Common Lizards had taken up residence in that particular Gorse Bush.  On warm sunny days they could be found basking in the sun as we carefully walked by.

Common Lizards

I am aware that lizards predate slugs, but have they developed a taste for Gorse Shieldbugs causing them to move out or to move deeper into the shelter of the Gorse.

So, a good selection of Shieldbugs to be found on my local exercise walk. There was a unique sighting of the predatory Spiked Shieldbug (Picromerus bidens) devouring a caterpillar in 2013, which first piqued my interest.

Spiked Shieldbug and caterpillar

Stop press, just yesterday 8th October two Hazel Shieldbugs (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale), new for the site!

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Red Letter Day

A red letter day is one of those days highlighted in red on the calendar, from the medieval practice of colouring saints days in red.

Today, despite the very strong north easterly wind, I embarked on my weekly butterfly transect.  I expected a few stray species not a bumper crop.

Beginning at the Bush Inn at Crosstown, I quickly notched up 5 Small Whites.

Small White

And so it continued through each of the ten sections with butterflies on each of them.

All week I have been noting many Large and Small Whites as well as Red Admirals so was expecting to see some of them.

Red Admiral

I was totally unprepared for the sheer numbers.  I recorded 40 Small and 14 Large whites but what made a real RED letter day was the 51 Red Admirals seen on 9 of the 10 sections.

Small Coppers and Small Tortoiseshells as well as the almost mandatory Speckled Wood and two rather late tattered Silver-washed Fritillaries made up the rest of the list. It was the second largest total of butterflies I have recorded this year.

Small Copper

For a September transect, I counted an unusually large total of 143 butterflies of 7 species.

To top it all off, deep in the woods on Bracken was an unusual sightiing for this area, a Hawthorn Shieldbug.

Hawthorn Shieldbug

Truly a butterfly transect to note on the calendar in red.

Blogs I follow

https://downgatebatman.blogspot.com/

https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/

Living in a Zoo - Mammals

 These last few weeks we have seen more mammals that usual.  I wonder if it is dispersal time and we are seeing youngsters seeking their own territories.

The blog was prompted by the sighting of a Stoat on our garden.  We have seen one before usually once year.  My records show one in March 2016 and again in September 2017.  This one appeared this last week on 27th August.  It was doing what they always do, snaking in and out of the stones in our wall; no doubt following the routes that our resident Bank Vole takes. 

Stoat

Bank Voles are resident in our garden wall.  I have records from 2014 up to the present. They appear almost every day traversing the route along the back fence, before emerging from the right hand wall, dashing across the gap and into the other wall.  Here they appear between the stones and head into the undergrowth before returning a few minutes later. 

Bank Vole

I know there are Hedgehogs in the garden, they leave little present of their dropping here and there.  My records show them from 2014 mainly in Summer and Autumn.  I left a part of the lawn to grow and noticed hedgehog sized tracks through the long grass which my trail camera confirmed were hedgehog trails. 

Hedgehog

An unwelcome visitor since this year has been a regular sighting of a Brown Rat.  It appears to follow a route between our fence and hedgerow before heading into next door’s garden.  Our neighbour very kindly puts down food to attract hedgehogs, but the rats have noticed and make regular calls to check for free food.

Brown Rat

We have had the odd sighting of a Red Fox in the field beyond our fence.  Two wonderful sightings were made in July when a young fox visited on the 23^rd and again on the 29^th.  Earlier sightings were of an old mangy fox, this youngster can visit any time.

Red Fox

Since 2015, I have recorded the occasional Grey Squirrels looking longingly at the bird feeds, a newly acquired ground feeder was found in June by a squirrel.  It came day after day to gorge on any peanuts in the feeder but we had to remove it when the rat appeared. 

Grey Squirrel

Bats are quite common around our house.  Once shortly after we moved in 20 years ago, we called on the services of the North Devon Bat Group who recorded over 90 Pipistrelles emerging from our loft.  We do see them on warm nights and assume that they are Pippistrelles but until we found and photographed a dead one on our drive we could never be sure.

Pippistrelle

There are quite a few pet cats about and they catch quite a lot of vertebrates and leave their prey for us to find.  

Common Shrew

Common Shrews are frequently seen as cat kills on our driveway

Although we can’t condone this and do chase cats from our garden, there have been two remarkable sightings that we might not have had otherwise.  Many years ago, I photographed a very blurred picture of what I suspected was a Water ShrewIn July, we came across a cat kill which is undoubtedly the real thing.

Water Shrew

Later on in August, the other extraordinary kill was a Dormouse.  

Hazel Dormouse

It was dead on the road and had obviously been hit by a car, but to be on the road it had probably been caught by a cat and then left there.

House Guest - House Pest?

With apologies to Richard Jones for borrowing the title of his book (ISBN 9781472906236).

I recently stayed in Big St Johns, one of the Lundy properties, while enjoying two week's holiday. Most of the time was spent out of doors, observing and recording nature. There were a couple of days when the weather was not very good when we had short walks and spent more time in doors.

We found durng the current pandemic that you can enjoy nature in your own garden or by venturing only quite locally from home. Bur, how many of us have had a good look around indoors? I'd like to persuade you that you don't necessarily need to go out to observe nature.

The first species I found in Little St Johns was under the box of groceries we had delivered from the Lundy Shop - a Banded Centipede (Lithobius variegatus). We usually manage to see some of these, but I've not often found them indoors. It is easy to determine this species with their diagnostice purple-striped legs. They are predators feeding on other insects, perhaps those detailed below.

Banded Centipede Lithobius variegatus

One of the most frequent species found most mornings when we began making breakfast is the Pill Woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare) . These were easily the most common and two or three could be found during each day. We don't make much mess, but any crumbs were no doubt being hoovered up by them as they feed on organic matter.

Pill Woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare

Another myriapod we recorded, but only once, was the Common Shiny Woodlouse (Oniscus asellus) with its attractive yellow markings on each segment.

Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

In the corner of each room you could guarantee to find at least one Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides). Their characteristic very long legs earns them their other name, Daddy Long-legs Spider. These are good guests to have as they prey on other spiders. So tolerate these and you might not see any other spiders in your accommodation.

Cellar Spider with egg sac Pholcus phaliongioides

We must have made some crumbs as we did find a couple of Silverfish, Lepisma saccharina. They feed on sugars and starches as their scientific name suggests. They are fast though and were a little challenging to photograph.

Silverfish Lepisma saccharina

I observed a solitary wasp continually flying against the window in the bathroom. I manage to persuade it out through the open window, but each morningh, it was back again. Eventually I identified it as Ancistrocerus sp. a Potter Wasp. When I read up on the species I found that they lay eggs in holes in wood then provision each egg with grubs which it paralyses so its developing larvae can feed on them. This wasp was seen one day head first in a redundant window fitting hole. Once it had completed this task it did not reappear. This is the second year I have seen this performance and now look forward to next year's sighting.

A Potter Wasp, Ancistrocerus sp.

The final species was an appearance late in the evening of a Pygmy Shrew (Sorex minutus). An insectivore, the previous listing, particularly of the Woodlice might explain what it was doing there. These are tiny and extremely active zooming around the skirting boards like a clockwork toy. It certainly had plenty of invertebrates to feed its high metabolic life-style. I was not quick enough to grab a picture so have used an early photograph taken outside on Lundy.

A Pygmy Shrew Sorex minutus

Seven species without venturing outside is a lockdown triumph.

Hunting for Hornets

I was fortunate to be invited on a Hornet Hunt by the Lundy Warden when I was over there last week.

Dean Jones, the Warden, had found some empty chrysalis cases on old Willow trees in the Quarries on Lundy.  He identified them as potentially Lunar Hornet Moth (Sesia bembeciformis) cases and ordered the newly released Pheronome for that species.   

Two of the empty chrysalis cases in Willow

Eggs are laid in the bark of Willow trees which hatch, and the larvae burrow deep into the wood.  In early June or July the white grub like caterpillars, and emerge from the chrysalis which are left half in the hole they bored.  The usually takes place around 8:30am early in June so we were probably a month and 5 hours too late. The cycle of mating and egg-laying then repeats.

We had hoped for a quick response to the pheronome order and, within the limitations of thrice-weekly sailings of the island's transport, MS Oldenburg it arrived before I left.  But, only just.  The day before I was due to leave, Dean asked if I was up for a visit with the lure to the site.

Dean and Rosie waiting expectantly

Dean, Rosie the Ranger and I duly set off north from the village to the 1860s quarry workings and to the site of the emergent moths.  Pheronomes are detected by male moths from at least 100 metres distant so we gave it half-an-hour but with no response.

Empty chrysalis extracted from Willow (0.5cm squares)

A few hundred metres south was another stand of Willow, but there were no chrysalises there.  We tried again but still with no success.

Nevertheless, we had tried and we did find at least half-a-dozen emergent cases at the original site but probably had missed the adult moths by a few days.  

Maybe next year when a picture of the spectacular adult might be available.

Recommended blogs

Lundy Birds

Mary Atkinson Wild