Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna, #583)

This small Hawthorn sapling sprung up in the wilder corner of the garden, probably from a seed dropped in the winter by a passing thrush. It took me a while to work out what plant it was, sprouting up among the weeds. Common Hawthorn is a key species for a wildlife garden, not just for its blossom & berries, but also as nesting cover for birds and as a food-plant for 150+ species of insect. As such, I feel compelled to keep it. I have to move it from the place it has self-seeded, but as a tree that than can grow to up to 8m in height finding a space in my small garden is a bit of a challenge; however where there’s a will there’s a way, so I’m sure it will fit somewhere.

#583 Common Hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna)

Flies in the Afternoon

Even when there’s not much to look at in the garden, there are always flies. Aside from the house flies, these are two of the commoner ones, the Common Greenbottle (Lucilia sericata) and the Common Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga carnaria). As the name indicates, the larvae of flesh flies mostly live on dead animals, while the green-bottle is less fussy and will also go for faeces and rotting fruit.

For both groups, identification at a species level is difficult and requires a microscope, as there are a few very similar species. However for the greenbottle this one has the right pattern of hairs on its thorax for Lucilia sericata, which is also the commonest species of greenbottle fly. Although both are flies, and their larvae feed on similar things, their lifecycles are quite different. The greenbottle lays eggs which then hatch into larvae; but the flesh fly is ovoviviparous, the eggs developing in the uterus of the female before they are deposited as larvae on a suitable food source.

#63 Common Greenbottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)

#511 Common Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga carnaria sp.)

Unidentified Euura sp. Sawfly

This sawfly found its way into our kitchen window, so I was able to get some decent photos, but I’m still unable to get to an identification. There are 500 species of sawfly in UK, and they are very much under-represented on the Web, despite many being quite large and well marked. Changes of the classification also make it harder to find references - but a good site is https://www.sawflies.org.uk, which shows a few examples from this Genus, Euura. This individual had a nice pastel green colour on the sides of it’s body and the wing spot (pterostigma), with a striped abdomen which in the middle part was translucent against the light. These sawflies are mostly associated with trees, such as willow, hazel and alder. Hopefully I’ll be able to get closer to an identification at some stage.

Trifurcula headleyella (#578)

Not a great photo, but this small moth, also called the Self-heal Pygmy, from the Nepticulinae family appears to be relatively unusual, so worth a post. Looking at UK Moths (https://ukmoths.org.uk/) and other web sites, this species is one of many similar looking small black & white moths, but with a broken white bar, black head with a white eye and black patch towards its rear, of the species pictured, it seems identifiable. This individual was hiding up in a rowan sapling in the garden, but normally the species is associated with chalk meadows in the South of England, where its larvae are leaf miners of Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris). On one hand the habitat may not be right, but the species is found in Gloucestershire, and (as my veg patch will attest) Self-heal quickly covers any bare patch of ground around here, so the moth’s food-plant is present in quantities.

Miners, Masons & Nomads

Last year seemed a bumper year for bees, but this year the apple tree didn’t blossom and thanks to the warm dry weather the flowering season for many of the plants in the garden seemed short. As a result there were less mining bees around than previous years. None the less, in the end I saw most of the same bee species as last year, and even added a couple new ones.

Star of the show was a Red-girdled Mining Bee (Andrena labiata, #571) which turned up one day on the yellow wallflowers. This is not such a common bee, but apparently it likes speedwells, of which I have four kinds in my lawn, so hopefully it’ll stick around. Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria) and Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) were also around during April. Lastly I added Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis, #575) to the garden list, investigating holes in the wall as potential nesting places.

Following the mining bees, there were some nomad bees. Marsham's Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella, #481), with it’s broken yellow band seemed the commoner one this year, but this male Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava, #463) obligingly flew in through the window.

#571 Red-girdled Mining Bee (Andrena labiata)

#61 Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria)

#442 Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) male

#575 Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis)

#481 Marsham's Nomad Bee (Nomada marshamella)

#463 Flavous Nomad Bee (Nomada flava)

Apple & Gooseberry Mildew

The wet winter seems to have encouraged mildew to set in on my fruit bushes. American Gooseberry Mildew (Podosphaera mors-uvae, #572) infects the fruit buds and then spreads to the neighbouring leaves, where Apple Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha, #576) starts in the young buds on the tree. Both fungi will have infected the bushes last summer and then thanks to the wet early spring, now manifested as powdery white spores on the leaves and fruit. The apples have no blossom or fruit this year, as they cropped last year and must be a variety that only fruits alternate years. The gooseberry crop though was looking good, but now it does not appear quite so appetising.

#576 Apple Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha)

Indoor Spiders: Fleecy Jumping Spider & Philodromus dispar

Working at home due to Covid-19, it was good to add a new spider, Fleecy Jumping Spider (Pseudeuophrys lanigera, #569), found walking across my computer monitor. Maybe I introduced it inadvertently by bringing my computer equipment from work. This is a small, non-native species, first observed in UK in 1930, which has now spread over much of the country. It is found more or less exclusively in houses, finding the central heating to its liking.

Another indoor spider this month was Philodromus dispar (#581) , found crawling across the bathroom wall. This is a garden spider, that sometimes ventures into houses. Males, like this one are dark with pale legs and undersides; the females are brown and not so easy to identify.

The Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) is another home dwelling species, living in damp places and coming out at night to feed on particles of food, etc. Not everyone would be happy to find one in the kitchen, but going downstairs for the glass of water in the night I found my first, notching up another species. The fact it took 2 years just shows how clean our house must be!

#569 Fleecy Jumping Spider (Pseudeuophrys lanigera)

#581 Philodromus dispar

Feast of Slugs

Wet weather the other weekend after a long dry spell, brought out plenty of slugs, including all these caught up in the garden waste. Obviously I had been guilty of neglecting my molluscs, as it turned out there were three new species for the list all in one bin load of garden waste. It’s taken a while to sort this out, as slugs are very confusing. While I should be celebrating slugs as part of the garden biodiversity, there’s enough around that I don’t mind losing a few. It was also interesting to see one of my song thrushes tackling a large black slug, seeming to be pecking out parts of its innards. There are enough snails around here, so I’m presuming thrushes are happy enough to try some slug for a change.

The black slugs (Arion ater) are tremendously variable, from deep black to brown to beige to almost while, all with an orange sole. Hard to believe they are all the same species, but they might be - it’s also hard to tell.

The stripey ones are also quite confusing, but after some study I believe I have Arion hortensis (Garden Slug), Arion distinctus (Common Garden Slug) and Arion fasciatus (Bourguignat's Slug). Arion hortensis has contrasting stripes, where Arion fasciatus is pale grey, almost while towards the sole. Arion distictus is larger and not so striped, with golden flecked back.

#15 Black Slug (Arion ater agg.)

Arion Ater & Arion hortensis

#15 Black Slug (Arion ater agg.)

#566 Common Garden Slug (Arion distinctus)

#568 Garden Slug (Arion hortensis)

#567 Bourguignat's Slug (Arion fasciatus)

Marsh Crane Fly (Tipula oleracea) & Spotted Crane Fly (Nephrotoma appendiculata)

These two crane flies, are two species that appear during April. With it’s dark brown front to the wing and its large size Marsh Crane Fly (Tipula oleracea) is a common enough species, but a new one for my garden none-the-less (#565). This species has two generations in a year, the first in April-June and the second in August-October. The glossy black coloration on the thorax of this individual is a little unusual; not sure what has caused that. The Spotted Crane Fly (Nephrotoma appendiculata, #230) is the commonest “tiger” crane fly in April/May - so called because of the yellow and black marks on the thorax. Both of them live in grassy fields with their leather-jacket ;larvae munching the roots.

#565 Marsh Crane Fly (Tipula oleracea)

#230 Spotted Cranefly (Nephrotoma appendiculata)

Cylindrical Snails

Among the other slugs and snails that were swept up in the weekend’s gardening, I came across several of these “cylindrical” snails; more than I usually find around the garden. I identified these as being two different species.

On the left, with its more elongated shape and shiny shell, there is the Slippery Moss Snail (Cochlicopa lubrica, #237)), also known as the Glossy Pillar Snail. With a length of 7 mm, this individual is quite a large one compared to other examples I found. The browner, duller and stubbier snail is the Common Chrysalis Snail (Lauria cylindracea, #563), which is a new species for my garden list. Neither snail is unusual in UK, but they are small and easily overlooked in the leaf litter.

#237 Slippery Moss Snail (Cochlicopa lubrica)

#563 Common Chrysalis Snail (Lauria cylindracea)

Capillary Thread-moss (Bryum capillare, #564)

I found an elegant, new moss species in one of my plant pots - Capillary Thread-moss (Bryum capillare). This is quite distinctive, with its twisted leaves, red stem (setae) and drooping capsule. It’s a common and widespread moss in UK, but not one that I had found previously in the garden.

#564 Capillary Thread-moss (Bryum capillare)

More Garden Waste Refugees

Tidying the garden inevitably collects up some garden wildlife that then finds itself in the brown composting bin. In this case, we had a lovely pair of bugs: a Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum, #302) and a Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus). Making up the trio, a Spring Harvestman (Rilaena triangularis, #160), which stalks the flower beds early in the year, unlike most harvestmen which become very numerous in late summer and autumn.

#282 Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus)

#302 Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum)

#160 Spring Harvestman (Rilaena triangularis)

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)

The warm sunshine over the weekend was to the liking of the butterflies, with Hoily Blue, Brimstone and Orange Tip butterflies joining the Peacocks around the garden. I was happy that this Holly Blue perched itself on an Ivy leaf and stayed still for a photo. This species has two broods per year present in the garden during April/May, and then again in smaller numbers and for a shorter time in August. The caterpillars feed on the flower buds of Holly and Ivy, both of which are plentiful in the gardens around my house.

#60 Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)

Little Japanese Umbrellas

I’m growing some sweetcorn plants in toilet roll tubes on the kitchen window-sill, ready to be planted out in the veg patch, and these fungi popped up in the compost. They are Pleated Inkcaps, Parasola plicatilis; alternatively known (rather sweetly) as Little Japanese Umbrella fungi. They’re really short-lived - here today and gone tomorrow - and very small and delicate.

A First Slime Mould

Clearing away some leaf litter at the weekend, I found this dead leaf from the Beech tree covered in a neat pattern of white spots. Not a fungus, it turns out, but a slime mould. I couldn’t really find one looking quite like this on-line, so I didn’t yet work out the species, which anyway appears difficult, so it goes down as “Myxomycetes sp”,

These slime moulds are single celled animals, that cluster together and reproduce by forming these while spherical fruiting bodies, which ultimately release spores into the air. Surprisingly slime moulds are not static, but slowly move around in a search for food; apparently even being able to traverse mazes in pursuit of a suitable meal.

Trio of Beetles & Bugs

Once again checking the composting bin after some gardening throws up some colourful creatures.

Star of the show is a snazzy iridescent green Cereal Leaf Beetle, which is new one for the garden, not that it seems especially unusual. There’s actually two species which you can only really tell apart by dissecting it (and then knowing what to look for), Oulema melanopus and O. duftschmidi. Both are considered pests in arable farms as they damage the leaves of cereal crops and reduce yield.

The other two are familiar species, a colourful Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) and a not-so-pretty (or, if you are a gardener, desirable) Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus). One of my gardening jobs was to dig up a rosemary that had slowly died over the last months - perhaps the Vine Weevil’s larvae were something to do with this, as the plant had previously been quite healthy.

#560 Cereal Leaf Beetle (Oulema melanopus)

#427 Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)

#451 Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus)

Garden Favourites

Nice to have them back isn’t it? Right now the weather has turned a bit gloomy and there’s a cold wind, but the inevitability of Spring can’t help showing through whenever the sun shows. Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and even a precocious Holly Blue were in the garden last week, but so far no Brimstone’s seen, though these are often the first butterflies of the year. A few ladybirds have appeared too; so far all the 7 spot version. It’s gone a bit quiet on the bee front too, but I’m sure they’ll be back when it warms up a bit.

#188 Common Mini-mining Bee (Andrena minutula)

#221 Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

#287 Seven Spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)

Small Blue Flowers

Checking the weeds, I noticed a patch of Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis, #559). These might have been imported courtesy of the garden centre with some raspberry canes I bought last year. Speedwells are fairly similar looking, but this one flowers early, is a deeper blue than the Common Field Speedwell (Veronica persica) and has longer-stemmed flowers. Finally a few weeks later in May yet another species of Speedwell appeared, Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia, #573), this species has a spike of small, pale blue flowers. so there you go, four species of speedwell in one small lawn, all of which can spread and can become a nuisance. But they are pretty and my lawn is nothing much to worry about.

The Ivy-leafed Speedwell, Field Forget-me-not and Green Alkanet are also all quite invasive. The former, with its tiny flowers, grows in a thick carpet under shrubs. Field Forget-me-Not sprouts wherever it can, but especially between the paving slaps on the path. Its relative, Green Alkanet, grows in thick leafy clumps in the shady damp areas under the trees, giving you a rash on whenever you touch it. All these have a long flowering season, starting right now.

#559 Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis)

#436 Common Field Speedwell (Veronica persica)

#573 Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifoli)a

#455 Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia)

#29 Field Forgetmenot (Myosotis arvensis)

#299 Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)

Pollinators & Plum Blossom

A variety of insects are quickly appearing now the plum is in full bloom and the sun is out. The blossom is attracting pollinating flies, the first Drone Flies and this hoverfly, Meliscaeva auricollis (#558), a small dark species that is one of the earliest emerging hoverflies. There are some more bees about too, and a couple of Dark-edged Bee Flies (Bombylius major). The Bee Flies hover to take nectar, so I was happy this one actually sat still long enough on the sunlit wall for me to get a photo.

#558 Meliscaeva auricollis on Plum blossom

Pollinating Fly on Plum Blossom

#443 Bee Fly (Bombylius major)

379 Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)

Some Spring Flowers

Some of the early flowering plants in the garden are shown below. The Wild Garlic is a new addition, but making itself very much at home in the sheltered spaces under the trees. For some reason I don’t get many Lesser Celandines, just a few plants around the edges of the borders, but the Toadflax and Archangel grow everywhere. Together they all add some colour and some nectar/food for the insects.

#557 Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)

#38 Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)

#36 Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis)