On today's walk, my dad and I followed a route from Duntocher to the Greenside Reservoir (via the Test marsh), eastwards through the planted woodland to the Cochno Loch & Jaw Reservoir, we took the track which runs alongside the Jaw Burn, crossed the fields near Cochno farm and then followed the Cochno Road back into Duntocher.
Many bumblebees and butterflies (including Small Coppers) in the meadows & marshes below the Test. Here I photographed a white-flowered variant of Harebell:
Many bumblebees and butterflies (including Small Coppers) in the meadows & marshes below the Test. Here I photographed a white-flowered variant of Harebell:
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| Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) white-flowered mutation |
The Blackface lambs are almost past the 'cute' stage...how quickly the months fly!
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| Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica) |
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| Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) |
Bog Asphodel yields a yellow dye which in the past was used to dye both hair and clothes.
The whole plant is dangerous to consume - it is known to cause kidney & liver damage in a range of grazing mammals, and is thought to be responsible for alveld, a disease in sheep which causes liver damage and photosensitivity.
On the north-western bank of the Test marsh basin I found some yellow-toffee coloured waxcaps - possibly Hygrocybe persistens.
Around the Greenside Reservoir, Angelica and Creeping Thistles attracted swarms of hungry insects.
The whole plant is dangerous to consume - it is known to cause kidney & liver damage in a range of grazing mammals, and is thought to be responsible for alveld, a disease in sheep which causes liver damage and photosensitivity.
On the north-western bank of the Test marsh basin I found some yellow-toffee coloured waxcaps - possibly Hygrocybe persistens.
Around the Greenside Reservoir, Angelica and Creeping Thistles attracted swarms of hungry insects.
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| Tree Wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris) male |
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| Tree Wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris) male |
This Tree Wasp is male and therefore, stingless. Note the 7 abdominal segments (females have 6) and 13-segmented antennae (females have 12-segmented antennae).
Looking at the patterning of the clypeus (yellow front plate) on the face is the easiest way to identify wasps. Dolichovespula wasps can be distinguished from Vespa species by their much larger malar space (between bottom of eye and base of mandibles). Dolichovespula sylvestris has a faint black dot on the clypeus and yellow 'eyebrows'.
A superb identification key to British social wasps can be found here.
Looking at the patterning of the clypeus (yellow front plate) on the face is the easiest way to identify wasps. Dolichovespula wasps can be distinguished from Vespa species by their much larger malar space (between bottom of eye and base of mandibles). Dolichovespula sylvestris has a faint black dot on the clypeus and yellow 'eyebrows'.
A superb identification key to British social wasps can be found here.
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| Ichneumon sp. wasp, male |
Ichneumon wasps are colourful endoparasitoids of Lepidoptera and the insiration for the Alien films: they lay their eggs inside living caterpillars which are eaten slowly from within and are (eventually) fatally ruptured by the emerging wasp larvae, which pupate on their host's corpse.
Charles Darwin found this gruesome lifecycle to be a serious challenge to his belief in a benevolent God, writing to Asa Gray in 1860:
"I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice."
Dark Green Fritillaries (Argynnis aglaja) flew swiftly past as we tripped our way through the hummocky heather, bilberries and planted trees between the Greenside and Cochno/Jaw.
Charles Darwin found this gruesome lifecycle to be a serious challenge to his belief in a benevolent God, writing to Asa Gray in 1860:
"I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice."
Dark Green Fritillaries (Argynnis aglaja) flew swiftly past as we tripped our way through the hummocky heather, bilberries and planted trees between the Greenside and Cochno/Jaw.
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| Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) |
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| Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) |
Bilberries (or blaeberries as they are locally known) are my favourite wild berries: just the right combination of sweet & tart and the lack of prickles makes gathering them easy.
Bilberries as a Natural Dye:
These berries yield red & blue-purple dyes (depending on the pH of the fruit picked).
Absolutely beautiful examples of bilberry-dyed fabrics can be found at naturallydyeing.blogspot.com and experiments with bilberry ink at yehar.com/blog.
Bilberry Recipes:
* Bilberry Sorbet
* Bilberry Syrup
* Bilberry Custard Tart
Tea made from dried Bilberry leaves was traditionally used to treat diabetes: glucoquinones in the leaves have been shown to reduce blood sugar levels.
Bilberries as a Natural Dye:
These berries yield red & blue-purple dyes (depending on the pH of the fruit picked).
Absolutely beautiful examples of bilberry-dyed fabrics can be found at naturallydyeing.blogspot.com and experiments with bilberry ink at yehar.com/blog.
Bilberry Recipes:
* Bilberry Sorbet
* Bilberry Syrup
* Bilberry Custard Tart
Tea made from dried Bilberry leaves was traditionally used to treat diabetes: glucoquinones in the leaves have been shown to reduce blood sugar levels.
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| Ling (Calluna vulgaris) |
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| Ling (Calluna vulgaris) |
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| Ling (Calluna vulgaris) |
We found this weed growing amongst the trees...
Interestingly, the plant was covered with dead froghoppers (Cicadella viridis), many seemingly frozen in the act of sucking the sap - proof, if any were needed, of the potency of this plant's chemical defences.
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| Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) |
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| Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) unripe berries |
Rowan berries can be used to make a jam/jelly (my mum sometimes makes it) which is tasty but VERY tart and best eaten as a complement to red meats (rather than in sandwiches). These berries cause sickness if eaten raw but are safe once cooked.
Rowan Jelly Recipes:
* northumberlandnaturalist.blogspot.com
* dreamacresdiary.typepad.com
NOTE: Rowan berries don't contain enough pectin for the jelly to set, so apples (cooking or crab) are an essential addition.
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| sawfly larva (Monsoma pulveratum?) |
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| Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) |
Dozens of little silvery Beautiful China Mark moths fluttered about the reeds on the banks of the Cochno Reservoir:
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| Beautiful China Mark (Nymphula stagnata) |
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| Beautiful China Mark (Nymphula stagnata) |
The Beautiful China Mark (Nymphula stagnata) is one of 4 'aquatic' moths found in the UK. Its larvae feed underwater, initially inside the stems of Bur-reed and Yellow Water Lily. As they mature, the larvae construct a case from silk & pieces of foodplant which traps a bubble of air and allows the larva to feed on external plant surfaces. The adults are not aquatic and eggs are laid on plants at the water surface.
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| Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia) larva |
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| Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia) larva |
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| Haworth's Minor (Celaena haworthii) male |
Common Cottongrass is the main foodplant of Haworth's Minor, which restricts it to boggy moorland habitats. Males are active both at night and in the evening.
We watched Swallows enter the disused fisherman's hut between the Cochno and Jaw Reservoirs.
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| Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) |
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| Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) |
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| Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais urticae) |
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| Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais urticae) |
Summer Fungi:
*Collected during todays walk*
*Collected during todays walk*
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| Grayling (Cantharellula umbonata) |
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| Grayling (Cantharellula umbonata) |
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| Grayling (Cantharellula umbonata) |
I *think* this is the Grayling (Cantharellula umbonata), an inedible relative of the chanterelle mushrooms - it was found growing amongst mosses.
The vibrant lemon-yellow waxcaps below (collected in rough grassland near the Greenside) are likely to be Hygrocybe chlorophana. Identification was achieved using an online key to waxcaps and with the help of the friendly fungi experts at Wildaboutbritain.
The vibrant lemon-yellow waxcaps below (collected in rough grassland near the Greenside) are likely to be Hygrocybe chlorophana. Identification was achieved using an online key to waxcaps and with the help of the friendly fungi experts at Wildaboutbritain.
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
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| waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) |
Sadly inedible, despite looking as though it should taste like lemon sorbet :(
When we got back home, I found this fly trapped in the kitchen:
When we got back home, I found this fly trapped in the kitchen:
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| Muscina prolapsa female |
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| Muscina prolapsa female |
After a VERY long time poring through checklists of species & websites, I managed to identify this fly from about a hundred similar species - wing venation being the crucial factor.
As with all flies (Diptera), gender can be determined by the space between the eyes: no space between the eyes = male, noticeable gap between the eyes = female (as this individual is).
Muscina flies lay their eggs in manure/faeces and carrion - which makes them unsanitory houseguests but very useful as forensic indicators. They also have an important role in the breakdown of undesirable materials and the recycling of nutrients back into the soil...and someone has to do it!
Think of that next time you reach for the rolled up newspaper ;)
As with all flies (Diptera), gender can be determined by the space between the eyes: no space between the eyes = male, noticeable gap between the eyes = female (as this individual is).
Muscina flies lay their eggs in manure/faeces and carrion - which makes them unsanitory houseguests but very useful as forensic indicators. They also have an important role in the breakdown of undesirable materials and the recycling of nutrients back into the soil...and someone has to do it!
Think of that next time you reach for the rolled up newspaper ;)
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