IVY BEES: 30th September 2023

Posted on September 30, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Ivy Bees- These solitary bees have only been recorded in the Uk since 2001, beginning to be seen in Dorset but steadily spreading northwards. These were near Bolsover. They are on the wing from September to November to coincide with the rich harvest of pollen from Ivy flowers. They are mining bees, digging holes in loose, south-facing soils and often in dense colonies. The females dig burrows, making cells they line with pollen and waterproof with a special excretion, laying an egg in each cell. When the eggs hatch they feed on the pollen until emerging in autumn. I’ve included a photo of an Ivy Bee alongside a honey bee so the differences are clearer- the Ivy Bee has a ginger thorax and very clearly delineated black and amber striped, tapering abdomen. They could also superficially be confused with hoverflies which of course only have one pair of wings and very large eyes. They are beautiful bees and non-aggressive. Conditions: Mild weather with some high winds and showers over the past few days. Temperature: Max 16 Min 10C.

SWEET CHESTNUT: 25th September 2023

Posted on September 25, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Sweet Chestnut (as opposed to Horse Chestnuts, which produce equally familiar conkers) is a tree I’m very familiar with, growing up amongst the extensive Chestnut coppices, many ancient woodland now, of the High Weald. Our annual local forage for them in the woods, to take home and eat raw or roast, was an exciting adventure to us village children. Sweet Chestnuts were probably introduced by the Romans for whom they were a staple part of the diet, both the whole nuts, rich in vitamin C and low in cholesterol, and when ground into flour to make the porridge they’d feed to soldiers before going into battle. Coppicing, where trees are cut every 7-14 years to become a multi-stemmed, completely renewable sources of timber and charcoal, also allows a range of plants and the insects and subsequent wildlife to thrive as light is let into sections of woodland. Coppices are a great ecosystem sadly not being maintained everywhere as it used to be. Many of our woods are becoming too dense to support a wide range of woodland wildlife species. The veteran Sweet Chestnuts are magnificent with their twisted, gnarled trunks up to 700 years old and 35 metres high. Around 70 species of moth caterpillars feed on the leaves while other insects enjoy the pollen and many birds and mammals feed on the ripe nuts. Conditions: Variable with rain and sun and gusts of wind. Temperature: Max 19 Min 14C

AUTUMN WASPS: 18th September 2023

Posted on September 18, 2023 by pennyphilcox

SOCIAL WASPS: we have a staggering 9,000 species of wasps in the UK but only 7 species are social wasps and only a couple are drawn to anything sugary we might might be eating outside at this time of year- these are commonly known as the ‘yellow-jackets’ and their sting can be fierce– but only when disturbed do they sting. However when they sting, or are killed, other wasps detect the pheromones given off and swarm to that site, so things can quickly escalate. Most of the other wasp-species are parasitic, and don’t sting, but more on them another time. In spring the non-Queen female wasps, born before the males, emerge to gather paper-like material for the nests– there is a theory that wasps taught humans about making paper, as we watched them rasp small amounts of wood and mash it up to build their beautiful papery intricate structures. People often think Wasps are a nuisance with no value but they are actually great, generalist pollinators as they feed on nectar from a wide range of plants, including our farmed crops. (Wasps evolved long before bees, which eventually evolved from wasp-ancestors). They also feed on the sugary substance exuded from their larvae. To feed their larvae (adults don’t need protein) they kill millions of small insects which otherwise might dominate and be a huge problem for our plants. It has been estimated that the wasps from a nest in a garden can forage a quarter of a million aphids in a year! It is the males that emerge in late summer, ready to try to mate with new Queens, and they can be more aggressive. Needing sugars, with less about as the number of larvae in the nest rapidly decreases, they are very drawn to our sugary food. They die from hunger as cold weather sets in- only the new, fertilised queens, surviving to hibernate. Conditions: A cooler and wetter period for a few days. Temperature: Max 17, Min 11C.

AUTUMN BUMBLEBEE QUEENS: 15th September 2023

Posted on September 15, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Queen Bumblebees come out when the weather warms in spring but you will be seeing some around now too. The old Queen Bumblebee and her nest will be coming to an end now. She will have been producing new Queens latterly, and some males to mate with them before the young Queens emerge and feed up rapidly through autumn. All other Bumblebees will die off now and the new Queens need to eat as much nectar as they can to raise their body-weight. Those that don’t forage enough will not survive through until spring. Another reason to make sure you have plenty of nectar-producing plants like sedums and Ivy through autumn. Queen Bumblebees will hibernate through many months once the temperatures drop. They dig down in loose soils, as far as 10 cm or more, and usually on north-facing banks. It’s thought they avoid south-facing areas so that the winter sun doesn’t warm them up and disrupt hibernation too much. Queen Bumblebees are extremely resilient and can survive to minus 19C or lower- they produce a sort of anti-freeze to prevent their body-fluids from crystallising in the extreme cold. Already fertilised by the males in last summer they will then emerge to feed up when the weather warms, and find nesting sites in which to lay their eggs. In the nmeantime, enjoy watching them foraging through autumn. Conditions: Following unseasonably hot weather over 30 C in many areas last week, a warm day but cooler on its way. Temperature: Max 21 Min 13C.

GARDEN ORB SPIDERS: 8TH September 2023

Posted on September 8, 2023 by pennyphilcox

The common Garden Orb Spider is easy to identify because, although the colour, shape and size can vary a little, they all have a white cross-shape on their backs, and they weave their elaborate orb webs, strung between grasses, bushes etc- the classic spider-web shape we all recognise. They will eat a wide range of insects, so long as the strong, sticky webs are strong enough to catch and hold them. The spiders hide themselves on the edge of the web with their legs on a strand of the intricate web. They detect, from the vibrations, the insect being caught and rush out, delivering a paralysing bite. Once stilled, the spider wraps the insect in a silk ‘cocoon’ to be fed on later. So, when the webs are visible just check them out- here are a couple of recent ones with a trapped wasp and fly- “come into my parlour said the spider to the fly….”. Conditions: Very hot spell of weather- sometimes oppressively humid. Temperature: Max 25 Min 13C.

GARDEN GRASS POLLEN: 3rd September 2023

Posted on September 3, 2023 by pennyphilcox

It’s easy to overlook the value of garden grasses for insects. Grass-pollen is a very valuable food source for a wide range of insects, as I noticed in the garden a couple of days ago. Honey Bees, and Wasps were among the insects getting late summer proteins, carbohydrates and sugar from the rich pollen on this grass .Grasses in the wild and the garden don’t have nectar so adult butterflies and moths don’t feed on grass but as I watched the bees I noticed this beautiful formation of hexagonal eggs tightly packed around the stem of one of the grass flowers. They are the eggs of the Large Yellow Underwing Moth, just one of the moths and butterflies whose larvae benefit from feeding on grass leaves and stems. This is another reason to relax about cutting back old stems and leaves in the garden- they are often a ‘nesting’ site for insects. Conditions: Suddenly a very warm, sunny day. Temperature: Max 24 Min 13C.