HARLEQUIN LADYBIRDS: 30th October

Posted on October 30, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Harlequin Ladybirds, one of the most variable species in the world, only arrived in Britain in 2004 and have become one of the most prolific, fast-moving invasive species ever recorded. Coming in several sizes and many colour and spot patterns you are extremely likely to become more aware of them at this time of year. In the USA, where they were introduced to control aphids, they are called the “Halloween Bug”. The Harlequins, feeding voraciously on aphids but also on other smaller insects, including some of our native Ladybirds, may threaten some native species survival. However they are now so prevalent they are here to stay. They are easy to tell from the native species- native Ladybirds have black legs and undersides while those of the Harlequins are orange-brown. All Ladybird species hibernate through the coldest spells of winter and some native species do so in groups but Harlequins are especially likely to cluster together to hibernate in numbers, inside and outside. They give off pheromones to attract others and many of us get them gathering together in crevices in our homes and sheds. They breed more rapidly than native species but numbers, while rapidly increasingly over the past 20 years, may begin to come more into balance as they become prey to native species. This has been observed already with a parasitic wasp beginning to prey on Harlequins. (All photos are Harlequins). Conditions: A very wet spell with occasional sunny intervals. Temperature: Min 9 Max 11C.

WAXCAPS- 24th October 2023

Posted on October 24, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Autumn- especially mild and wet like this one, is the main time to get out looking for fungi and from September to November the very colourful ( a whole rainbow of colours) Waxcaps are fascinating. What’s more, they occur in unimproved grassland or sandy coasts and I found these in Burngreave Cemetery and Parkwood Springs so any local parks or cemeteries etc are a good place to search for these grassland species. W have lost 90% of our unimproved grassland habitats and this is affecting Waxcaps and related species. Plantlife, a great charity, are asking us to record Waxcaps in their Waxcap Watch- you don’t need to be ale to identify individual species (some are quite hard to separate)- just photograph and record where you found them, through their site. Waxcaps have a waxy, shiny or slimy feel and look and can really change colour and shape a lot as the develop. Remember that you can’t be poisoned by touching fungi. Things to look out for with any fungi are the colour, form, shape when young and old, the smell and the gill or underside pattern as well as the colour and form of the stipe (stalk). Some Waxcaps have ‘decurrent gills’- meaning the gills extend down the stipe, as in the Snowy Waxcap. Unless you want to do a spore print it is fine to pick one of the specimens you find, turn over and photograph the stipe and gills and leave in situ for the spores to spread- the visible fungi are just the fruiting bodies- the mycelium underground will not be damaged. Conditions: Flooding and torrential rains recently. A dull and wet day today. Temperature: Min 8 Max 11C.

CHICKEN OF THE WOODS: 13th October 2023

Posted on October 13, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Chicken of the Woods is a bracket fungus of the autumn. It prefers Oak but will also grow on a few other trees, including Cherry, Sweet Chestnut and Yew. The bright orange or yellow tiers of growth are soft and fleshy initially but fade and become more leathery as they age. It has a really mushroomy smell and is foraged a lot although this one, along the River Don in Beeley Woods yesterday, is too out of reach over the river to be picked. As well as being favoured as a food for humans (some may have a mild reaction of dizziness or stomach upset from it- and don’t eat it if it is on a poisonous tree like Yew) it is very valuable for wildlife.. Many specialist beetles feed on bracket fungi and deer feed on it too. It also emits enzymes which break down the heartwood of the tree, releasing nutrients that allow the tree to regrow and sometimes help buttress the roots against wind-damage. The sap-wood is left. The crevices and cracks that this enhancement of the natural ageing of veteran trees accelerates also provides shelter and home for many insects, small mammals, bats and birds. Conditions: Becoming cooler to more seasonal temperatures after a very warm spell. Heavy rain overnight. Temperature: Min 9- Max 16 C.

WEASEL: 8th October 2023

Posted on October 8, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Weasel’s are more often seen by chance than design and that was the case last week at Spurn Point. I turned and saw this one peep its head out of the long grass and disappear at speed at the sight of my movement. I stayed very still and twice more it emerged only to return to cover, but I saw it had prey and it was anxious to cross the path into the next bit of shelter so calculated it was set on moving its prey, maybe back to its nest. Weasels have 4-6 young (kits) between April and August. The fourth time it emerged I didn’t try to photograph it until it was half way across the path because I thought it wouldn’t then turn back, so I managed to get these photos. Weasels are small but fierce hunters and will drag even larger prey than this, which may be a young rat. Weasels need to eat a third of their body weight every day. They kill by a bite to the base of the prey’s skull. They are so small and slim they can enter the burrows of mice and voles etc. Conditions: An abnormally- worryingly- warm spell of October weather following the warmest September world-wide ever recorded. Temperature: Max 22 Min 12C.

IVY FLOWERS: 4th October 2023

Posted on October 4, 2023 by pennyphilcox

Ivy Flowers have a great value at this time of year, when pollen is in less supply generally but needed by many insects, especially those like the Comma and Red Admiral butterflies which need to feed up to successfully overwinter as adults. When Ivy grows along the woodland floor it provides shelter and warmth for some creatures and can crowd out other low-growing plants, but when it can grow up and bush-out into a shrubby plant it will then flower and in a few weeks from now, fruit. While watching my first Ivy Bees the other day, feeding on a bush at Cresswell Crags, I counted 15 different species of insect feeding on the pollen on the flowers, including several species of bee, hoverflies, flies and wasps, as well as a few Seven-spot Ladybirds feeding on minute insects feeding on the Ivy. When the berries form they in turn will provide food for many birds, including al those in the Thrush family- Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare. Altogether, once bushy, a very valuable plant for wild-life in autumn and winter. Conditions: Very windy and mild on the east coast. Temperature: Max 17 Min 12 C.