Her highness

Blue Emperor (Anax imperator)

Our pond was a hive of activity over the past month, with multiple species of damselfly and dragonfly buzzing over its surface, pairing up and egg-laying, or perching on sticks around its edges. One of our visitors was this female Blue Emperor (Anax imperator) which spent several weeks making regular forays to deposit her eggs under the Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) leaves. She's impressively large; at 7.8 cm (a little over 3 inches) long and with a wingspan of 10.5 cm (more than 4 inches), Blue Emperors are among Britain's biggest dragonflies. The species is named for the male, which is indeed primarily blue. The female, however, is gloriously green, except for that reddish-brown stripe running the length of her abdomen. They're found across much of Great Britain, with a range that's expanded considerably since the 1990s. They're still pretty rare in Scotland, where they only arrived in the early 2000s. They're primarily found on larger bodies of water, so we feel quite privileged that this female chose our little puddle.

Boxer

Philodromas dispar

Last month, I finally caught up with a spider that Mike first spotted in the garden a couple of years ago. The male Philodromas dispar is pretty distinctive: dark brownish-black with a white line running the length of its body on both sides, and yellowish legs. And how could you miss his big pedipalps, which look like a pair of boxing gloves held out in front of his face? These contain organs which allow the spider to "taste" and "smell", and the male also uses them for his courtship displays and to transfer sperm packets to the female. It's much harder to distinguish the female from several similar species. In fact, the books say you need a microscopic look at their sex organs to identify them, so I'm glad I found a male! He was scurrying along the edge of one of the flower beds, investigating the upper and undersides of leaves, weaving his way around stems and along vines, moving fast as he searched for prey. The species belongs to the family of "running crab spiders" – a group distinguished by their flattened shape and their particularly long second pair of legs. These spiders don't make webs, instead ambushing their prey. With a body that measures about 5 mm long (roughly 1/4-inch), it is said to be an "agile hunter" that tackles mostly flies and other smaller insects. It is found in various woody habitats, often near (and sometimes in) houses. It particularly likes the lower branches of trees and shrubs. The female uses silk to attach her eggs to a leaf, and guards them until the autumn, when the spiderlings hatch. They overwinter either in leaf litter (according to the UK Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme's website) or under bark (according to the Nature Spot website), emerging again in the spring. The species is common in southern England and Wales, as well as southern and western Europe. No doubt, we'll be seeing them again.

Bristly Oxtongue

Bristly Oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides)

In a few of the rougher corners of the garden, Bristly Oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides) plants have begun to open their yellow flowers to the sun. While these look very like the flowers of a dandelion, the plants themselves look totally different. For one thing, they're quite tall (stretching up to almost a metre/yard high) and roundly bushy, with multiple stems and dozens of flowerheads per plant. For another, they're incredibly bristly, as you can see in the picture above. Stiff bristles march up all sides of the plant's stems. The leaves are covered with whitish, blister-like bumps, with bristles arising from each bump. The phyllaries – the bracts which surround the flowerhead, holding it together as it develops and supporting it once it's open – are also bristly. And very large. Those large, bristly phyllaries make the Bristly Oxtongue easy to distinguish from other superficially similar plants. Like all Asteraceae (members of the daisy family), its "flower" is actually a flowerhead made up of dozens of tiny flowers. These bloom from June through November across lowland England, particularly near the coast. Native to the western Mediterranean, the plant was introduced to the UK many centuries ago, and has also spread (generally by accident) throughout much of the rest of the world as well. It likes rough grassy areas, field edges, streamsides and "waste places"; I'm not sure what that latter says about our garden!

Outdoor carpet

Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)

For those who think that all moths are boring little brown jobs, I present proof that this is not always the case. This Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) flashed up in front of me the other day as I walked the garden paths, and eventually settled back into the grass where I could photograph it. Yes, it's brown – and black and cream and grey and rust – but how about that patterning?! Gorgeous. And very good at breaking up the outline of the moth. This is a common and widespread insect across the whole of the UK, even in many of the offshore islands. It's found in a remarkable range of habitats: woodland, moorland, some grasslands, heath, fens and marshes as well as urban areas and gardens. Those of us in the south see them from May through Octocober (as many as three separate generations!) while those in the far north of Scotland typically only get them in June and July. The one broad dark band across the midwing (often with a grey component), the single sizable "point" at the back edge of that band and the thin grey line that runs through the white stripe just beyond that point all help to separate this species from a few supeficially similar ones. As with all UK moths, the adults are nectar feeders. They visit flowers primarily at night, though they often begin feeding at dusk. Common Ragwort is a favourite, and we have plenty of that, so our visitor should be happy here. The larvae feed on various species of bedstraw, including Common Cleavers – another thing we have plenty of – so any potential offspring should be provided for as well.

Waspish

Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis)

While wandering out to the pond the other afternoon, I spotted this waspy looking insect on one of the old clothesline poles. That yellow and black pattern is certainly eye-catching! Once I'd snapped its picture, a check of the books quickly led to an ID. It's a Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis), a common and widespread species in gardens and hedgerows across England and Wales (but rarer in Scotland) and a new one for the list. It's not just its striking pattern that makes this trickster look like a wasp; it also moves like one, waggling its long antennae and scuttling around on twitchy legs in the same jerky fashion that wasps do. That's enough to convince most potential predators to avoid it. In reality, however, this 1.6 cm-long beetle (just over a half inch) is totally harmless. It's one of the so-called "longhorn beetles". Like most other longhorns, its larvae develop in dead wood, including such things as fence posts and old gates. Adults feed on pollen, so this one was presumably finding plenty to eat at the flowers in our garden. They fly from May through July, so perhaps we'll see another one or two before they disappear for the season.

Spinner

Microlinyphia pusilla

One of the things this project has been great for is helping me to conquer (sort of, anyway) my very irrational fear of spiders. Knowing that there are no dangerous (native) spiders on these islands certainly helps with my comfort level. But it's the process of putting a name on our eight-legged fellow residents that's doing the most good. Heck, I've even gotten to the point where I can pick them up and put them outside if I find them in the house – well, most of them, anyway. This little lady was investigating the back of one of our outside chairs on this date a few years ago, and I finally got around to identifying her today. It's a female Microlinyphia pusilla, a common and widespread species across most of Britain (as well as much of central and western Europe). This species is particularly partial to grasslands, but is found in a variety of other habitats as well. Its web is a horizontal sheet spun in low vegetation. Females are larger and plumper than males, with a dark central line on their mostly white abdomen, often with triangular dark patches overlapping towards the back end. The whole abdomen is surrounded by a dark band too. Males are shiny and black with a narrow abdomen that often shows two white spots near the front edge. Adults are seen from spring into mid-summer, with a few persisting into the autumn, so we should be seeing them around for a few more weeks yet.

Nettle bug

Nettle Ground Bug (Heterogaster urticae)

Right now, our Common Nettle plants are liberally sprinkled with mating pairs of Nettle Ground Bugs – and according to things I've been reading whilst researching this post, they may remain linked together for days! When they're done, the female will lay her eggs in the ground near a nettle plant (usually Common Nettle, but occasionally one of its close relatives). That plant will serve as host to the developing larvae, which should reach adulthood by September. These adults will overwinter, hibernating during the coldest months and re-emerging in the spring when the temperatures rise again. The above picture is far larger than life-sized; the bug itself measures a mere 6–7 mm (about a quarter of an inch) long. The alternating light and dark patches on the sides of its abdomen help to identify it, as do its stripey legs, its all-dark antennae and the long, erect hairs on its head and pronotum (the part of the insect just behind its head). It's common and widespread in open areas of southern England and Wales (basically anywhere nettles are found), and is spreading northwards, with recent records from as far north as Scotland. We're happy for them to eat all of the nettles they want; we have far more of that than we'd like in many corners of the garden.

Leaf rolling

Rosy Leaf-curling Apple Aphid (Dysaphis devecta agg.)

These eye-catching leaves with their bright red rolled edges caught my eye when I walked past our apple tree the other day. They're evidence of the presence of the Rosy Leaf-curling Apple Aphid (Dysaphis devecta agg.), a minor pest which attacks the leaves of various apple species. There are actually three closely related aphid species which make up the Dysaphis devecta group. All look similar, but one lives only on apple trees while the other two alternate between apple and Cow Parsley or Rough Chervil. The aphids feed on the tiny veins in the leaves, and the longitudinal red galls are formed in response to substances found in the aphid's saliva. Fortunately, the aphids don't do much harm to the tree itself. Here in our garden, we have plenty of natural predators to help keep them under control, including Eurasian Blue Tits, various ladybirds, some species of hoverfly larvae, and several types of parasitic wasp. It's all part of the circle of life!

Mike's picture of the aphids themselves

Taking stock

Stock Dove (Columba oenas)

In the latter part of the spring, we moved a couple of our seed feeders from their former position outside the office windows to a new spot in the John Downie crabapple visible from our kitchen window, somewhat further away from the house. A few of our more wary visitors – Jackdaws and Common Pheasants among them – were delighted. And it wasn't long before we spotted a new addition to our "IN the yard" list: a pair of Stock Doves. These quickly became regular visitors, and they've continued to frequent the short-grass areas of the garden even after the seed feeders were retired for the summer. Though similar in size and colouration to the feral Rock Dove (i.e. the feral pigeon), they can be distinguished by their dark eyes, their red and yellow bills, and their lack of a pale rump patch. Typically found along woodland edges and in parkland during the breeding season across much of the UK, they're only rarely seen in gardens. In the winter, they regularly gather in small flocks in farmland. Unusually for pigeons, they're cavity nesters. They regularly use holes in trees, but will also use cracks in cliffs (or ruins), thick poplar hedges or ivy, or even rabbit warrens. Stock Doves are currently classed as "amber" (i.e. moderately threatened) on the UK's list of birds of conservation concern, so it's a real treat to add them to our list.

Shiny invaders

Rosemary Beetle (Chrysolina americana)

Whilst checking the herb garden during a coffee break this week, Mike chanced upon our first Rosemary Beetles (Chrysolina americana), a handful of which were trundling across sage leaves or huddled on rosemary stems. We've been expecting them, to be honest. Though they weren't recorded in Britain until the late 1990's (when they were found breeding in central London), they have now spread right across the British Isles and are common and widespread in England and Wales. Their iridescent purple and green stripes make them easy to identify despite their small size; they measure only 6–8 mm (about a third of an inch). Though they nibble on the flowers and leaves of rosemary, sages, thymes and other aromatic plants, they don't typically cause too much damage, and even the Royal Horticultural Society suggests they be considered as "part of the life a healthy garden supports". Apparently, the larvae, which generally occur in late summer, are rather more voracious than their parents (which may feed little until they're ready to mate). Adults can be reasonably long-lived for a beetle, regularly surviving more than a year. Despite their scientific name, the beetles didn't originate in the Americas. Rather, they're from southern Europe – presumably yet another indication of a changing climate.

Fruity weevil

Apple Fruit Weevil (Neocoenorrhinus aequatus)

While mooching around on this week's Bank Holiday Monday, I found this little insect resting on the tip of a Common Nettle leaf in a back corner of the garden. It's an Apple Fruit Weevil (Neocoenorrhinus aequatus), also widely known as Apple Fruit Rynchites. Despite its name, the weevil's usual host is Hawthorn, a scrubby tree that's common in hedgerows across Norfolk and much of the rest of the UK. That tree will reach its blooming peak within the next few weeks, and the weevil is ready! Its numbers peak in May and June, though it can also be found earlier in the spring. In addition to Hawthorn, it will also feast on Blackthorn (which blooms in April), apple, cherry, plum and pear trees, and sometimes proves to be a locally significant pest of organic orchards. It's quite small, measuring only 2.5 to 4.5 mm (about 1/5 of an inch), with a blackish-brown head and thorax and reddish-brown elytra (the hard cases covering the wings). The dark line marking the join between the elytra is distinctive, as are the many tiny pits and pale hairs covering them. The weevil is common throughout much of England (to about mid-Yorkshire and Durham), but rare in Wales, Scotland and the north of England. The female will lay up to 20 eggs in the blossoms and developing fruits of the Hawthorn (or other tree), and may chew through the fruitlet's stem to slow its development. The larvae develop in the fruits, emerging in the fall when the fruits fall to the ground. The larvae burrow into the ground to pupate, quickly (i.e. in a week or two) becoming adults, but remaining snug in their pupa case until the following spring. Hopefully, they'll leave at least a few of our apple blossoms unscathed, so that the Blackbirds will have something to eat come autumn.

Stripey fly

Xanthogramma pedissequum

The generally chilly weather we've had this spring seems to have put a bit of a damper on insect numbers in the garden, but I found this unfamiliar hoverfly warming itself on a south-facing leaf yesterday. It's Xanthogramma pedissequum, and it's new for the garden. The yellow striping along the edges of the thorax (the fly's "shoulders", if you will) is distinctive, as are the triangular yellow spots on near the fly's "waist" (tergite #2, if you're being specific) and the dark leading edge to the wings. This handsome insect is most common in the summer (particularly in June), but can be seen as early as March and as late as the end of September. It's a widespread southern species, common south of a line between the Wash and southern Wales, with scattered records as far north as central Scotland. Though primarily a grassland resident, it is sometimes found along paths in more wooded areas. Much of its life history is little known, but its larvae are thought to live in the nests of black or yellow ants. It typically flies close to the ground and feeds on low-growing flowers, but is most often seen, as this one was, perched on foliage somewhere. It's the first new insect of 2022!

Windowsill hedgehogs

Grey-cushioned Grimmia (Grimmia pulvinata) 

As the days get steadily longer (and occasionally warmer) the garden is stirring back to life. Among the brightest greens in view at the moment are the humped little mounds of an impressive variety of mosses, most as yet unidentified. The roof tiles and windowsills of our house and its various outbuildings are covered with them! We've managed to work out the ID of a few, like this Grey-cushioned Grimmia (Grimmia pulvinata), which is named for the carpet of long, dense hairs that extend from the tips of its leaves. These also give the moss its other common name – Hedgehog Grimmia. This is one of the easiest mosses to put a name to, at least when it has young spore capsules like the one above does. These green capsules curl back into the cushion on arching stems, only standing upright when they become old, dry and brown. Each capsule has a long, pointed "beak" at the tip, which helps to distinguish them from the superficially similar Grimmia orbicularis with its rounded tip. Its elliptically-shaped leaves are distinctive. It's a widespread moss, found across much of the UK, primarily in the lowlands. Elsewhere, it occurs across most of the globe, and is the most common species in its genus. It prefers sunny locations, and usually grows on stone rather than trees and shrubs. In the wild, it occurs on limestone or calcareous cliffs and boulders. However, because it can tolerate moderate levels of pollution, it's also common in urban and suburban areas, where it grows on mortar, tombstones, asbestos and concrete. So it's not an unexpected resident in our garden, but a welcome splash of greenery none-the-less.

Lecidella elaeochroma

Lecidella eleaochroma

January is generally a quiet month for British gardens, but there are still plenty of things out there to discover. This is Lecidella eleaochroma, one of our more common lichens. Scores of them stud the trunks of many of our smooth-barked trees, often butting up against nearby colonies of Lecanora chlarotera. Where they do, a black prothallus develops along this lichen's leading edge. Like other members of the genus Lecidella, these are crustose, which means they adhere closely to the substrate upon which they grow. You couldn't get a fingernail under one; to remove it, you'd have to strip the tree's bark right off. Colonies tend to be greyer in shady spots and yellower in sunny areas, and are liberally sprinkled with round black apothecia, the fruiting bodies that contain the lichen's fungal spores. Unlike some of the other lichens I've profiled on the blog so far, this one reproduces primarily by spores, which contain only the lichen's fungal partner. This means a germinating spore must quickly find (or steal!) an algal partner – a far trickier proposition than bundling both components together in a soredium, like some lichens do. Lecidella eleaochroma is widespread across the British Isles, and indeed across all of Europe and much of North America as well.