Small Copper

Does the blog seem butterfly-centric lately? That's because they're fluttering around in rather impressive numbers these days, visiting the many flowers we've planted specifically to draw pollinators into the garden. This one is a Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), a fast-flyer found throughout much of the British Isles (though missing from north-western Scotland, some of the northern Scottish islands, and mountainous areas). It prefers open areas, and lays its eggs on Common Sorrel, Sheep's Sorrel or Broad-leafed Dock — none of which we have in any significant amount in the garden at the moment. We'll have to add some to the bank we're planning to develop and plant in the coming year, because it's definitely a treat to see these handsome insects up close. They typically have 2 - 3 broods per year (4 in exceptionally good years), so we'd have multiple chances to make a difference for this declining species. And that's certainly something to aim for!

Cave Dweller

They're fledged! One of our local wren pairs has clearly been successful with at least one brood this summer, as a frazzled adult and five youngsters spent a fair bit of time in our garden this past Sunday. The fledglings, already quite good fliers, were bouncing through the brush pile stacked in the fire pit, rummaging among the thistles which are starting to die back in the wilder part of the garden, and flitting through the lower branches of some of the bigger shrubs. And the fledglings' high-pitched begging calls were both piercing and continual! Wrens (known formally as Eurasian Wrens or Troglodytes troglodytes) are common and widespread in the British Isles, found in virtually every habitat. That said, the Old World is surprisingly depauperate in the wren department. For comparison, there have been 32 species of wren recorded in Mexico, including 11 endemics found only in that country; there is one species of wren in all of Europe and Asia!

Tortoiseshell

They finally showed up this past weekend, the Small Tortoiseshells (Aglais urticae) that have been mysteriously and distressingly absent so far this summer. We didn't get many; it was only a trio buzzing around the Buddleia bush in one corner of the garden. But that was three more than we'd seen so far this summer — which is concerning. Insect watchers everywhere in the British Isles are reporting the same thing: the nearly complete collapse of this formerly common and widespread species. Unfortunately, no one is quite sure what's happening, particularly as some other species appear to be having a banner year. It can't be a lack of available food plants for either the adults or the larvae. Adults feed on a variety of plants, and the larvae feed on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) which is ubiquitous throughout most of the islands. Hopefully, our many nettles will prove irresistible to any egg-laying female in the area!

Imposter

Merodon equestris

So, it's a bumblebee, right? You'd be forgiven for thinking so, since this imposter looks rather like the bumblebee it's mimicking. But you'd be wrong, because this is actually a fly — the hoverfly species Merodon equestris, to be precise — and looking like a bumblebee is its way of potentially avoiding predation. Known colloquially as the Greater Bulb-Fly, this is probably an introduced species, since it wasn't reported in Britain until the 1800s. Its larvae develop in and feed on daffodil bulbs (as well as the bulbs of a host of other species), so it may have originally stowed away in daffodil bulbs imported from Europe, where it's common and widespread. Greater Bulb-Flies can be quite variable in colouration, with somewhere between 4 and 7 different named varieties (experts disagree on the exact number) mimicking the patterns of several types of bumblebees. This one appears to be the form bulborum, which mimics the Red-tailed Bumblebee. They're most common in late May and early June, but are found from mid-March right through until the middle of October, so we're likely to see a few more before the year is out. Maybe we'll spot one or two of the other varieties as well!

Here Be Dragons

I finally got my first picture of a dragonfly in the garden on Tuesday; it's a Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta). She was hunting along the edge of the hedges near our herb bed, probably in pursuit of one of the zillion hoverflies or bees currently visiting the fennel and thyme flowers. Periodically, though, she'd hang up on a bit of vegetation (or, once, on one of our patio chairs) for a bit of a rest. I know it's a "she" because she only has two, rather than three, appendages at the end of her abdomen; a male would have a third, shorter appendage between the two longer ones. She's probably newly emerged, as older females have yellow rather than white markings on their brown bodies. The combination of the pale "flat-headed nail" shape at the top of the abdomen and the dark band above it is a useful ID feature.

Migrant Hawkers are common and widespread on the continent, ranging over most of Europe all the way east to Japan. In Britain, they're common in southern and central England and Wales, flying from late July well into the autumn. They quite the aerialists — among the fastest-flying of Britain's dragonflies, and capable of hovering and flying backwards. In general, they hunt above 2 meters (6-7 feet) off the ground, often along the edges of trees, catching their insect prey in flight. They breed in still or slow-moving water but range far from their breeding areas while hunting, as this one clearly did. Hopefully, she found the buffet to her liking and will be back!

Twig mimic

This marvelous creature is a Buff-tip — a moth that mimics the end of a broken birch twig. It's an amazingly effective camouflage, even if we humans do happen to notice the furry little feet. We've pulled a few from our moth trap this summer, and it's a treat every time. (We've run our lighted trap overnight several times this summer; the light sits over a box with a clear top that traps the moths inside until we have the chance to examine them. We release what we've caught without harming them.) The Buff-tip is a common and widespread species here in Britain, found in hedgerows, parks, gardens and woods. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of lime, birch, hazel and willow; we only have one willow in the garden, and thus probably won't be finding too many caterpillars. Adults fly from late May through July, so we may not be seeing too many more adults this year either!

Gatekeeper

The last few weeks have seen the emergence of a host of Gatekeepers (Pyronia tithonus), small brown and orange butterflies that seem particularly drawn to the grassy part of our garden. They flit along the paths and over the ripening grass flowers in their dozens, always close to the ground and often chasing each other. The one in the picture above is a male, identified by that curving brown "hook" in the forewing, which the female lacks. She's less orange, and has an identifiably different pattern underneath her wings. Gatekeepers were named centuries ago for their habit of visiting the flowers that grew around the gates tucked into hedgerows around agricultural fields. They're still found in such areas, as well as scrubby grasslands (like our pocket meadow), country lanes and woodland rides. They're often found in the same areas as Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina) and Ringlets (Aphantopus hyperantus), two other butterfly species which we've seen in our pocket meadow as well. In the UK, they're found primarily in the southern and central counties of England and Wales, but they're slowly expanding their range northwards. On cloudy days like today, they tend to spend most of their time spread-eagled on a leaf, a flowerhead or the ground; they're a lot more active on sunny days. Adults feed on nectar from many flowers, but the caterpillars feed on grasses — so Gatekeepers of all ages should be happy at our place!

Herb Robert

The lovely Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) has planted itself all around our garden, from flower beds and plant pots to cracks in the pavement and gaps near the door sills. It's a typical wild geranium — an annual (occasionally biennial) with delicate pink flowers, and pungeant foliage. The deeply cut leaves, which go red in the sun or on older plants, are distinctive. The Royal Horticultural Society rates it as a bit of a weed, due to its habit of explosively flinging its abundant, small seeds in all directions; it has certainly spread itself around the property since we moved in! It is found in a variety of habitats, but prefers shady areas and typically doesn't occur on acid soils. It flowers from May to September.

Herb-Robert is native to most of Europe (though missing from the extreme north), and has been introduced to eastern North America and western Washington state. It is reputedly named for a French abbot and herbalist, Robert of Molesme, who lived around the turn of the first millenium. He undoubtedly used the plant medicinally; it was prescribed to treat diarrhea and to control bleeding, and may also repel insects. Perhaps it's working — we have little problem with mosquitoes and fleas here!

Slimed

Any time we get a bit of rain, we get a sudden irruption of Garden Snails (Cornu aspersum) on the walls of the house. They slither their way around, looking for plant material to nibble — and for other snails to mate with, presumably! They can be a problem in a garden (or agricultural field) if their numbers grow high enough, but that hasn't been an issue here yet. That might be because we have a number of Song Thrushes in the neighborhood, and they're well-known gourmands of snails. We do find slime trails regularly across the paving stones near the driveway, but whether the snails or their cousins the slugs have made them, we're not sure.

Like most land snails, the Garden Snail is a hermaphrodite, producing both male and female gametes. They fire love darts at each other during the mating process, though we haven't seen any evidence of those. These "darts" are covered with mucus that appears to help prime the recipient's female sex organs to receive the donor's sperm. They mate for hours (!!) then produce up to 80 tiny, pearly-white eggs, which they lay into sheltered areas such as cracks in the soil.

The Garden Snail (dubbed the "Brown Snail" in parts of the New World) is native to Europe, from the British Isles south to the Mediterranean, as well as northern Africa and east to Asia Minor; it has been widely introduced (intentionally and otherwise) to much of the rest of the world. While sometimes considered a pest, as it is primarily a herbivore, it is also consumed by a variety of birds, mammals (including humans), reptiles, amphibians and insects. In other words, it definitely has a place in our wildlife garden.

Yes, grasshopper

We're developing a "pocket meadow" in our garden — an area of about an eighth of an acre that we mow only once a year. We have trails running around the edges of it and a few running through it so that we can easily access various bits of it, but most of it is untrammeled. Why? To aid and abet those species losing their habitats elsewhere. Last year, we heard four grasshoppers (four individuals, not four species) in our garden for the whole of the summer. This year, the second of our "no mow" regime, we've already had dozens and dozens. Scores of instar grasshoppers (nymphs not yet fully grown, so nearly impossible for us mere mortals to identify) leap out of the way every time we walk the paths, and (best of all) we're hearing several species trilling from the grasses.

Most common so far has been the appropriately-named Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus), which has a long stridulation that sounds like a free-wheeling bicycle or someone quickly rubbing their hands together. They're heard from late May (in balmy springs) or early June. Below, I've linked to a recording I made late last month; click the red arrow to hear it. (Be sure to have your sound turned up, or all you'll hear is the Eurasian Blackbird!) According to our copy of Grasshoppers and allied insects of Norfolk, by David Richmond (yes, we're nerds), this species is previously unrecorded in our 2km square, though that may have changed since 2001, when the book was published. Common Green Grasshoppers occur in a variety of habitats, including unimproved grasslands like ours, roadside verges, woodland rides (a British term for a horse riding path through the forest) and old commons (public lands formerly used for grazing). They're less common along the North Norfolk coast than in the rest of the county, so we're pleased to have them here.

Adult male Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)