peddars way – Grantham Ecology

2018 in Wildflowers

December 28, 2018January 19, 2019Grantham EcologyLeave a comment

As anybody who follows my twitter feed will know, wildflowers are a constant source of inspiration and fascination for me. Here are a few of my favourite finds from 2018

FKEU6697 — This tiny forget-me-not is called changing forget-me-not because of the way the petal colour changes as the flowers mature – they start off yellow/cream and brighten to blue in time

SYJC9411 — Red campion is a common wildflower in the midlands, especially in shady habitats like hedgerows and woodland edges. It can be a beautifully architectural plant

PHMS4033 — Wood sorrel is a woodland wildflower of early spring – this was taken in the Quantock Hills in a pine plantation.

VKRS5149 — Wood anemone are a characteristic indicator of ancient woodland – spreading at a rate of only a few metres per year, they are testement to the continuity of the habitat

ELLM5983 — Green winged orchids are one of the first to flower in the spring – I am lucky enough to live very close to Muston Meadows which has a stunning display each year

DEMF9746 — An ancient woodland in South Wales rewarded me with herb paris this year – the first time I’ve seen this species in perfect flower in the UK

FSYT1381 — Pasque flowers are a real rarity these days, but are emblamatic enough to be the designated County Flower of two different counties in England. This one taken at Barnack Hills and Holes NNR

JVRC6199 — A sea of English Bluebells with a mighty fallen oak branch to lend character to the sunlit scene

OMEK8236 — Oxlip is one of our rarest wildflowers – the ancient woodland of Hayley Wood near Cambridge is one of the best places to enjoy them amongst the bluebells

BWBX9330 — There can be few sights more synonymous with springtime that the white of greater stitchwort and the bright blue of the bluebell amongst the fresh green leaves

EUVX4196 — The limestone grasslands which punctuated the Peddar’s Way in May rewarded us with these salad burnet – tiny red stars set within a globular flower head

FEKJ0714 — A trip to see the fly orchids in Bedford Purleius NNR has become something of an annual tradition now – they never fail to delight!

JWXG2736 — A new species for me this year and a wonderful treasure hunt to find it – violet helleborine in Bedford Purleuis NNR

BSQT8448 — Small but stunning – the arable flora on St Mary’s, Scilly away from the industrial scale agriculture of the mainland meant a host of scarce arable wildflowers persist, such as this small-flowered catchfly

MXEM3555 — Yellow bartsia – a relative of yellow rattle and eyebright – was another first for me on the Isles of Scilly

LNOZ7092 — Pale toadflax established on a railway arch near the Thames

VYSS5123 — Black nightshade is a member of the same family as potato and tomato and could be found flowering right up until Christmas!

Wild snake’s head fritillaries flowering in Portholme Meadow, Huntingdon

Cowslips flowering along the cycle path which passes along the Grantham Canal in early springtime

Harebell flowering in the dry grasslands in the meadows above Grantham

Early purple orchid amongst the bluebells and greater stitchwort flowers in a woodland edge in Lincolnshire

2018 in Insects

December 27, 2018January 19, 2019Grantham Ecology1 Comment

This is a quick roundup of some of my favourite insect encounters of 2018 – there are some beautiful and highly varied species in the UK which reward the close observer!

OPQA6997 — These are variously known as feather-footed or hairy-footed flower bee and are one of the first species to appear in the spring. The males are females are a dark black whilst the males are a rusty brown and spend much of their time searching out females to mate with – a female happily feeding on a flower will often have 2-3 males hovering at a not-so-discreet distance waiting to pounce when they think the moment is right!

Common blue butterflies at Holwell Nature Reserve (Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust)

KLOT6769 — A dead bumblebee at Bedford Purleis NNR which has been found by a party of wood ants who were very slowly transporting it back to their nest

An enormous roman snail at Aston Clinton Ragpits – these are the largest snails in the UK and are around the size of a golf ball!

Bee flies are excellent bumblebee mimics which appear early in the season – they parasitise the nests of solitary bees by flicking their eggs into the entrance hole. This one is hovering at a garlic mustard flower to feed.

Hornets may have a fearsome reputation but they are quite charming creatures up close – this one was trapped overnight and needed a sweet treat to help it back on its way the next day!

This year saw temperatures remain relatively mild all the way through to December – this wasp was photographed on ivy flowers just 12 days before Christmas!

With its mottled green and white underwings, the orange-tip butterfly is beautifully camouflaged on a cow parsley flower to spend the night

This amazing wasp had captured a spider, removed its legs and was busy taking it back to its nest sight – a rather grusome but truly impressive sight!

This common blue butterfly was settled on a dandelion clock to wait out a rain shower along the Peddar’s Way

A cockchafer beetle – just about to take flight – in this photo it has just opened its wing-casings to reveal the wings beneath

A red-tailed bumblebee male leaving a knapweed flower

A marbled white settled amongst the dry grasses of a mid-summer meadow

A cinnebar moth amongs the grass in early summer

A devil’s coachorse – these ground beetles will raise their tail to threaten any intruder in a quite convinving show of bravado!

A small copper settled on a yarrow flower in early autumn

Mother shipman moth feeding in a sheltered valley just north of Grantham which is swathed in species-rich limestone grassland flowers

Memories of summer lunchtime walks in the meadows above Grantham – the long drought gave the grasslands a parched appearance but they were still buzzing with life including this leafcutter bee

Pollinators beware – you’d need to be on high alert to spot this beautifully camouflaged spider lying in wait on a yarrow flower!