Antennae

Heterotoma planicornis

When it comes to antennae, few insects match the proportions of Heterotoma planicornis, a little insect with appendages that are nearly as long as its body. The combination of a dark body, distinctively long, flattened antennae and lime green legs make it easy to identify. Like many other mirid bug species, this one is primarily a plant eater, feeding on the buds, fruits, nectar and juices of a variety of trees, shrubs and smaller plants, with a particular predilection for nettles. However, it also eats aphids, spiders, mites, and psyllids, and may be important in the control of aphids in orchards. There is one generation per year, with eggs laid in the autumn hatching the following spring. Nymphs develop through the following months, and adults are typically found between July and October. Abundant throughout most of Britain, these little insects are also widespread across much of Europe and have been accidentally introduced to North America and New Zealand.

Black and white

Great Pied Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens)

One of the less common hoverflies we've seen in the garden is also one of Britain's largest. The Great Pied Hoverfly or Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) has made only a handful of appearances over the years, including one this week. It's one of island's largest flies, measuring 10-15.5 mm (i.e. around a half inch) in length. It's round with a bold white girdle around an otherwise shiny black body and eye-catching dark marks on its wings. Found from May to October, they're especially common in June and July. This female will have been looking for a place to lay her eggs. She'll search out ground-dwelling bumblebees or social wasps to deposit her eggs in their colonies. When the eggs hatch, the hoverfly larvae drop to the bottom of the colony, there to nibble on various waste products (dead bees/wasps, dropped foodstuffs, other insects, etc.) and the occasional bee or wasp larvae. When fully grown, the larvae migrate outside of the colony to pupate in the soil. Adults feed on nectar and pollen, preferentially visiting bramble (genus Rebus) and other white flowers. Widespread across the whole of the British Isles, they're primarily found in woodland and along woody hedgerow, though they also regularly visit gardens. Outside of the UK, they're found across Europe and the Palearctic, as far as Japan.

Blue

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)

For years now, I've been trying to get a picture of this little butterfly: the Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). The problem is that it almost never, EVER alights! Instead, it flits around the garden, touching down (if at all) for only the briefest of moments. About the time the camera focuses, the butterfly is off again. But last week, I got lucky. This female returned again and again to a bush just outside the house, presumably checking it out as a potential site to lay its eggs. The butterfly gets its name from the primary host of its spring larvae. That first generation feeds principally on the buds, berries and terminal leaves of the Holly tree while a second generation, which emerges later in the summer, is found primarily on Ivy. In both generations, larvae will also feed on various other shrubs and vines, including spindles, brambles, dogwoods, snowberries and gorses. Our garden has both Holly and Ivy, plus plenty of brambles, so I'm sure this little female can find somewhere appropriate to lay.

The Holly Blue is one of two blue species we get here. The other, Common Blue, is distinguished by orange spotting on the underwing. Adult Holly Blues emerge earlier in the spring – as early as April, as opposed to June for the Common Blue. According to the Butterfly Conservation's website, the Holly Blue tends to fly higher than other blues, which typically stick close to the ground; maybe that's why I don't seem to see as many of them. They also go through big population swings from year to year, primarily because they're regularly attacked by a parasitoid ichneumon wasp, which lays its eggs in the butterfly's developing caterpillars. The caterpillars serve as the only host for the wasp, so when their numbers inevitably collapse, so does the wasp's population. This allows the butterflies to recover, with the wasp numbers slowly following. And so the cycle continues! The butterfly is common and widespread in England and Wales, and rarer in Scotland and northern Ireland, though it is spreading steadily northwards. Elsewhere, it is common across much of Eurasia – and serves as the national butterfly of Finland.

Boxing day

Box-tree Moth caterpillar (Cydalima perspectalis)

Our poor Box hedge is doomed. Like all of the Box in southern England, it is under attack and daily getting weaker. The culprit? The Box-tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis), whose voracious caterpillars devour the plant's leaves and sometimes strip the bark from its stems. Native to south-eastern Asia, the moths first arrived in the UK back in 2007, a year after they first arrived in mainland Europe; it's thought they were accidentally imported with shipments of Box from Asia. By 2014, they were well-established in London, and they've been expanding quickly out from there ever since. Though they have a range of natural predators, including parasitic wasps and flies, spiders, ants and some garden birds, they're proving quite difficult to control. Many of the Box hedges in the neighbouring village have been completely decimated, and ours is quickly following suit. Box-tree Moths have at least two generations per year, which compounds the problem. Females lay their rather flat, pale yellow eggs in overlapping rows on Box leaves. Those laid in late summer/autumn overwinter as small, early instar caterpillars, tucked snugly into shelters made of Box leaves webbed together with silk. As the days warm in early spring, they emerge to feast, growing rapidly. By June, the first generation has pupated and emerged as adults. (The rather handsome adult moth is pictured below.) Another generation of adults emerges in late July and August. Though we're hoping for some predator to make short work of our local invaders, we're becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that we'll probably have to eventually replace the hedge.

Adult (Mike's picture)

Turkeytail

Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor)

Spring is finally arriving in our chilly corner of England, and I've been out in the garden for the past few weeks, looking for new species to photograph. The other day, I found this lovely little bracket fungus growing on the stump of a shrub Mike removed last year. It's known as Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor), due to its strong resemblance to a real Wild Turkey's tail. Those concentric rings of colour come in many shades – brown, black, green, purple, grey or yellow – always with a pale outer margin. It's a very common fungus, widespread across the UK and throughout much of the rest of the world, growing on dead wood. Often, there are many tiers stacked up together; ours is a bit on the small side, with only two little caps. They can be seen every month of the year, though they tend to be most colourful (and thus most noticeable) in the autumn. In the past, these pretty little brackets were used as table and hat decorations. A compound extracted from the fungus is used in Japan in the treatment of some forms of cancer, and the fungus itself has been used in traditional medicines in both Japan and China for centuries.

Soldier

Cantharis rustica

For weeks now, the garden has been awash with Common Red Soldier Beetles. But last month, we found one of their less common relatives patrolling the pocket meadow – a Rustic Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica), also sometimes known as the Rustic Sailor Beetle. It's a predator, hunting for smaller invertebrates on flowers in open woodland, arable fields, parks, gardens and grasslands. This is one of the larger soldier beetles, measuring in at 9-12.5 mm (just under half an inch). The black heart-shaped spot on its red pronotum (the part of the beetle just behind its head) is distinctive. Fine, dense hairs coat its black elytra (the hard cases that cover its wings) and its legs are blackish with red femoras (the part of the legs closest to the body). Despite the fact that we seldom see it here, it's widespread across south-eastern England, becoming less so the further north you go; it's uncommon in Scotland. Elsewhere in the world, it occurs across Europe to central Russia. Its larvae develop in leaf litter, munching small invertebrates, from late summer through to spring. They pupate in March and April, emerging as adults from mid-May through early July.

Ghost

Ant Woodlouse (Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii)

We have a few cut log pieces dotted along the edges of our drive to keep the AirB&B folks next door from driving over and parking in our garden, which they were doing before. We've found that turning those logs over occasionally reveals all sorts of creatures. The last time I looked, I found these tiny white woodlice amongst an (unfortunately disturbed) ant colony. They're Ant Woodlice (Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii) and, as their name suggests, they're well-known for associating with various species of ants. Small (5mm or just over 3/16 of an inch) and blind, they live within the colony, eating droppings and mildew. Their short antennae and oval shape help to distinguish them from other small, pale woodlice. In the British Isles, they're widespread in semi-natural grasslands, churchyards, gardens and roadside verges across southern England, Wales and south-eastern Ireland but are rare further north and west. Elsewhere in the world, they're found across much of Europe and have been introduced to North America and Australia.

Snaky millipede

Blunt-tailed Snake Millipede (Cylindroiulus punctatus)

Turning over logs in our garden has turned up a host of interesting creatures recently, including this spotty little millipede – a Blunt-tailed Snake Millipede (Cylindroiulus punctatus). Many of Britain's millipedes are challenging to identify, but this one is an exception. The combination of pale body, darker head (with a dark mask across the eyes), dark stripe on the back and dark spots on the side is diagnostic, though those dark spots aren't found on every individual. Like most millipedes, this one feeds on dead or decaying plant material, spending most of its time in rotting wood or leaf litter. It's common and widespread across Great Britain, though somewhat scarcer in northern Scotland. The British Myriapod and Isopod Group reports that it's the "most common and widespread [millipede] species in Britain and Ireland". It's also found in western Europe (from northern Spain to Scandinavia), and has been introduced to North America. Though most strongly associated with woodland – and far less likely in built-up areas – it can be found in most habitats. These little invertebrates live a surprisingly long time. Studies have shown that they take at least three years to reach maturity, and that females may breed for several years after that. They're known to "migrate" from leaf litter to dead wood in the spring, and then back to leaf litter for the winter. Considering how slowly they move, that must take a while!

18 spots

Eighteen-spot Ladybird (Myrrha octodecimguttata)

I treated myself to a new camera last week. It can take much closer macro shots than my previous camera could, so I've spent the last seven days prowling around the garden looking for subjects and loving the results. To be honest, it's been a revelation; we've added more than a dozen new insects to our list this week! This Eighteen-spot Ladybird (Myrrha octodecimguttata) was one of them. Its presence on a Common Nettle plant was a bit of surprise. Normally, they're associated with trees – particularly the topmost branches of Scots Pines. That said, we do have a sizable Scots Pine in one corner of the property, so perhaps that's where it started. This is one of the smaller ladybirds, measuring only 4-5 mm (less than 1/4-inch) and its rich brown colour is distinctive. The pronotum (the section just behind the insect's head, unfortunately not very visible in this photograph) has a rounded brown "M" mark, which is diagnostic. The similarly marked Cream-coloured Ladybird is larger and darker, and it lacks the curved white marks at the leading edge of the elytra (the hard shell covering the wings). Despite its name, the Eighteen-spot Ladybird can show fewer than 18 spots, as neighbouring spots merge together in some individuals. Like many ladybirds, this one is a predator, hunting aphids that feed on conifers. Apparently, it breeds in the treetops, laying its eggs in areas near prey. It overwinters as an adult, gathering in groups in crevices and under peeling bark on pine trees, and also on the cones and among the needles on branch tips. Though widespread across Britain, it appears to be quite local and only occasionally seen – presumably because you'd normally need to climb to the top of a tree to find one!

Crabby

European Green Crab Spider (Diaea dorsata)

One thing we quickly learned when trying to identify things in the garden – some spiders are hard! Many can only be identified by dissecting their genitalia, or other equally lethal methods. We're not at the point where we want to do anything of the sort, so many of the species we find go unidentified. Fortunately, there are some spiders that don't require such extreme measures, and one of them made an unexpected appearance this week. I say unexpected because although the European Green Crab Spider (Diaea dorsata) is widespread across the southern half of England, it's still pretty uncommon across this corner of Norfolk. When I entered the record into iRecord (the national database), I got a message saying it was "outside the known range of this species". 

The European Green Crab Spider is so named because its long legs and scuttling movements bear a strong resemblance to a real crab. It's quite small though; the female's body is only about 6 mm (1/4-inch) long, and the male's is even smaller, though the long legs of both sexes help to make them seem larger. In a cool adaptation, it can change its colour to blend in with its surroundings, a process that takes several days. Based on its size, the individual we saw appeared to be a female. With any luck we'll find a male. Or preferably two! Males compete by facing off with their front legs outstretched and dancing around each other – reportedly sometimes for hours. It would be fun to see such a combat. Our handy reference guide, "Britain's Spiders", says the species is strongly affiliated with woodland and prefers evergreen foliage, so I'm not quite sure how (or why) it ended up on our Norway Maple trunk, but we're glad it did!

Hairy

Hairy Tare (Vicia hirsuta)

After six years, we're finally starting to see the beginnings of a real wildflower grassland on one edge of our pocket meadow; prior to this year, it was mostly rank grass. But now, a tangle of Common Vetch, Cowslips, Perforate Saint-John's-wort, Common and Greater knapweeds, Fiddledock and Bird's-foot-trefoil is spreading through the grasses on one side of our pond, and the other day, we found a few Hairy Tare (Vicia hirsuta) plants in their midst. These were twining their way up grass stems, their little purplish-white flowers eye-catching among the green. As you may be able to tell from the picture above, Hairy Tare is a legume – a member of the pea family. The "hairy" in its common name is a nod to the downy hairs that cover its seed pods. These help to distinguish it from Smooth and Slender tares, both of which have hairless pods. Hairy Tare is an annual, germinating in the autumn and flowering (and fruiting) from May to August of the following year. Native to Europe and western Asia, it has been deliberately introduced elsewhere, primarily as a cover crop or green manure. It's common in rough grassland, dry grassy areas and roadside verges throughout most of Britain, though missing from the northernmost reaches of Scotland. Hopefully, it will successfully set seed and continue in our pocket meadow!

Leaf beetle

Cow Parsley Leaf Beetle (Chrysolina oricalcia)

Earlier this week, a metallic bluish-black beetle clinging to the stem of one of the Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) plants in the garden caught my eye. Some research online and in our various insect books showed it to be a Cow Parsley Leaf Beetle (Chrysolina oricalcia). Though shaped a bit like a flea beetle (without that group's bulging "femurs"), it's far too big, measuring nearly a centimeter in length (about a half-inch). Its rounded elytra – the hard shells that cover and protect its wings – are sprinkled with rows of tiny pits. Though fairly widespread across south-eastern England, it's listed as "Nationally Scarce" and may be declining in some areas. Their scarcity certainly isn't due to a restricted food source; the insects feed on Cow Parsley and related plants, which are common and widespread across the whole of the British Isles. Adults feed on leaves and possibly pollen, while larvae munch leaves, generally feeding at dusk and dawn or during the night. The species overwinters as adults, though no-one yet knows where. Since finding the first beetle, we've discovered a number of larvae on various plants around the garden, so it looks like we'll be hosting this scarce species for a while to come!

Larva

Cleaver gall

Cecidophyes rouhollahi on Common Cleavers (Galium aparine)

While wandering around the garden the other day, I found a patch of Common Cleavers (Galium aparine) that looked rather strange. Some of the plants' upper leaves were pale and twisted, forming what looked like curly little tubes. They've been attacked by a gall mite, Cecidophyes rouhollahi. The presence of these mites causes the edges of the leaves to thicken and roll up, encasing the mites safely in the middle. Apparently, the pale leaves often go rust-coloured with time. Surprisingly, this mite was only described for science in 1999; prior to that, another closely related species was thought to occur in the UK. However, more careful studies since than have found no evidence of the other species, while C. rouhollahi has proved to be common and widespread across the islands. In places where Common Cleavers and the closely related False Cleavers are invasive non-natives (Canada, New Zealand, etc.), the mites can be used as a form of biological control as they stunt the plant's growth and keep its seeds from forming.

Car-pet Moss

Silvery Bryum (Bryum argenteum)

For evidence of how little we use the car – and how infrequently we wash it – you need look no further than the window "sill" on the passenger side. Sheltered from the summer sun by a thick Leyland Cypress hedge (and from the winter sun by the bulk of the house), it provides a perfect substrate for a diminutive carpet of Silvery Bryum (Bryum argenteum). Mike got these closeup portraits of the spiky little moss with its distinctively silvery tipped lobes. This widespread species is said to be one of the most recognisable of Britain's mosses, and is one of the most common in urban areas. It forms compact patches less than 1 cm (about a half-inch) high, typically appearing quite "shiny" and always showing those silvery tips. Tolerant of high-nutrient substrates, it cohabitates well with humans, regularly growing in places such as pavement cracks, railway lines, stone walls, roofs, tarmac, arable fields and path edges. In the "wild", it also grows on regularly disturbed ground, such as sand dunes and eroding river banks or cliffs. It's found around the world, from the cities of Europe and North America to the vast deserts of Australia and the frigid plains of Antarctica – quite a hardy and adaptable little plant!

Radiating

Arthonia radiata

Now that the garden has settled into its winter hibernation, I have had time to go through some of the many pictures that I took of things this past summer. And amongst them, I found this shot of a new species for the garden – the lichen Arthonia radiata. This crustose lichen (so-called because it looks like a crust, i.e. flat and inseparable from the bark) belongs to a group called the "script lichens". It gets that name due to those scribble-like black marks, which are its fruiting bodies (called apothecia). Those marks can range in shape from rounded to linear to star-like; the latter shape gives it the common name of "asterisk lichen". Each colony is surrounded by a thin dark line, which is an area of the thallus (the "body" of the lichen) that contains only fungal hyphae and no algae. The thallus itself can range from white through pale grey or fawn to brown in colour, and is sometimes partially immersed into the bark. This is a common and widespread lichen across the British Isles, growing on the bark of smooth-trunked trees and shrubs.

Galling

Germander Speedwell Gall Midge (Jaapiella veronicae)

A number of the Germander Speedwell plants in the garden wear furry little caps these days – a clear sign that they've been attacked by the Germander Speedwell Gall Midge (Jaapiella veronicae). This tiny fly lays its eggs in the terminal bud of Germander Speedwell plants, or occasionally in the terminal buds of other species of speedwell. The presence of the eggs (one or two per plant) changes the development of those terminal leaves; they grow abnormally, becoming deformed, thickened and hairy. And they safely house one or two tiny, reddish-orange midge larvae. These galls are typically the only way most of us will ever know the midges are around. The flies themselves are so small that they're easy to overlook – a mere 2-3 mm (about 1/8-inch) in length. They are bright orange and stand on relatively long, stilt-like legs though, which might help in spotting them. The midge is common throughout the UK, found anywhere that Germander Speedwell grows.

Six spots

Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)

While we sat working in the office the other day, Mike suddenly said "There's something red out there" and headed for the door. Sure enough, there was something red – a handsome Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), trundling around on Marjoram flowers near the sundial. This day-flying moth is the only burnet moth in the UK with six (rather than five or fewer) spots on its metallic green forewings. Those spots are a warning to potential predators that the moth is toxic; it's full of cyanide. Some of this comes from the food plants that the moth ate as a caterpillar. Preferred larval food plants, such as Common and Greater Bird's-foot Trefoils, are loaded with toxins which the caterpillars can safely metabolise for their own use. And if they can't get enough cyanide from their food sources, they can make their own! Such protection is so important to the moth's survival that males even present "nuptial gifts" of cyanide to females while mating; presumably, this helps to increase the survival rates of any resulting offspring. 

Six-spot Burnets are common and widespread across England, Wales and Ireland, but are mostly coastal in Scotland. Elsewhere, they range across much of Europe, and east into Lebanon and Syria. They flourish in grasslands (particularly those rich in flowers), and can be found from coastal cliffs and sand dunes to roadside verges, meadows and woodland clearings. Adults feed on scabious, knapweeds and thistles, all of which we have on the property; they clearly like Marjoram too. Caterpillars, when they're ready to pupate, build their cocoons high on grass stems. Hopefully our pocket meadow, with its bird's-foot trefoils and abundant grass stems for the caterpillars, plus various food plants for the adults, will prove appealing.

Shield bug

Woundwort Shield Bug (Stagonomus venustissimus)

A wander around the garden last week netted us an unfamiliar shield bug on one of the Common Ragwort flowerheads. Some quick research on the British Bugs website – an online guide to the UK's Hemiptera species – showed it to be a Woundwort Shield Bug (Stagonomus venustissimus). This is one of the UK's smaller shield bugs, measuring in at a mere 5-7 mm (about 1/4 inch). It's widespread across much of southern and central England, as far north as Yorkshire. It's much less common in western England and Wales. Elsewhere, it's found across most of Europe. The primary food source for its developing youngsters is Hedge Woundwort – hence the insect's common name – though they will also nibble on White and Red dead-nettles and Black Horehound. Given that we have plenty of the latter two "also rans" in our garden, perhaps we'll harbor some shield bug offspring in the coming months.

Striped

White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

While wandering around the garden last week, I discovered this handsome White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis) hanging from the leaf of a Common Nettle (Urtica dioica) plant near the fire pit. The pale "lip" of its shell – the edge closest to where its foot emerges – quickly distinguishes it from the Dark-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) which featured on the blog several years ago. As with that closely related species, these snails can vary remarkably from one individual to the next. Some, like the one above, are marked with up to five bands of colour while others, like the one below, are a single solid shade, typically pinkish or yellow. Considerable research done on this genus of snails suggests that the wide variety of markings may serve two purposes: camouflage and temperature control. By blending in with their surroundings, and not looking like every other snail a potential predator might come across, snails with different markings might avoid being eaten. And snails with lighter coloured shells heat up less quickly than do snails with darker shells, which may explain why those in more open areas tend to be paler.

White-lipped Snails are widespread across the UK, and indeed across much of central and western Europe; they're also found along the coast of northeastern North America. Their habitats range from grasslands and gardens to dunes, clifftops and woodland, and they're known to reach altitudes of more than 2000 metres (6500 feet) in the Alps. Favourite foods include Common Nettle, Common Ragwort and Common Hogweed, so they're going to find plenty to munch in our garden!

Sulphury

Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare)

Our dead whitebeam stump wears a spectacular golden cape this autumn – a mass of Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) mushrooms which spill down its side and extend out along its roots. At first, they had the rounded tops of the tiny one in the foreground but they soon flattened out, though often retaining a little raised bump in the centre. They're smooth on top, typically yellowish on the edges and darker orangey-tan in the middle. Their stalk (called the stipe by those who study fungi) is also two-toned: yellow near the cap and darker at the base. The gills, which are the thin ribs located on the underside the cap, are attached to the stipe, an arrangement which can be an important ID feature. The gills start yellowish-green, like those in the photo above, and go darker with age.

Sulphur Tufts are very common and widespread in the UK, and across much of Europe and North America as well. They attack the dead, decaying wood of both coniferous and deciduous trees, like that of our poor whitebeam, which succumbed to a windstorm several years ago. Rumour has it that they taste bitter. Given that consumption causes serious gastrointestinal issues, I don't think I'll be checking that out in person!