A Year in the Valley

A Year in the Valley

Discovering the flora and fauna in a small square of Portmellon Valley

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  • Midges and Moles

    Midges and Moles

    Looking up to the alder treetops, I could see a swirl of midges scribbling in the sky and I couldn’t resist a photo.  This is how I am recording all the tiny gnats and midges that will never pose for photoshoots – as one generic entry – at least until I get a better idea or opportunity.

    And I loved that bit of clear blue in between all the mizzle and showers we have had lately!

    Meanwhile, down at my feet moles have been busy digging their way round the watermeadow.  We are never going to see an actual mole, but here is the evidence.  We often have ‘evidence’ in the upper garden, too, and although they can be destructive, it’s a delight to know that moles are still around.  I remember the school playing field studded with mole hills when I was at primary school but have rarely seen them since.

    We wonder where the moles go in the winter, as they don’t hibernate.  Instead they dig deeper into the ground below the frost and carry on eating earthworms until the spring when they build bigger chambers underground and rear their young. 

    But how does that work in a wetland habitat?  Moles can swim and are adapted to live in a low-oxygen environment.  Whilst they are not aquatic mammals, they can cope with a flooded tunnel, but will move to higher and drier ground if the ground becomes submerged. 

    Daisy D

    31 August 2023
    Animals, Insects
    Midges, Mole
  • Bronze Shield bug – First Instar Nymph

    Bronze Shield bug – First Instar Nymph

    I thought this striking bug was a type of ladybird, but it turns out that it is another one of those instars.  It’s the first instar of the bronze shield bug, which due to its bronze colouring is quite difficult to spot.  This species is widespread but not common.

    The nymphs feed on plant sap and insects and are partial to caterpillars.  New adults normally emerge from July, overwinter as adults, and then mate the following spring.  So, it seems a bit late in the summer for a first instar, as we are told that there is only one generation per year.

    Daisy D

    30 August 2023
    Insects
    Bronze Shield Bug
  • Female Common Blue

    Female Common Blue

    Mr C kept seeing a small blue butterfly in the watermeadow.  I hadn’t seen it, but I saw this one the other day, which turned out to be the female common blue.  There are lots of blue butterfly species.  I was able to identify this one by the pattern of dots on the underside of the wings.  The female common blue is a brownish colour with a dusky blue body.  Mr C probably saw the male, which is forget-me-knot blue with a white trim.

    Daisy D

    29 August 2023
    Butterflies, moths, caterpillars
    Common Blue Butterfly
  • Common Bluebottle and Flesh Fly

    Common Bluebottle and Flesh Fly

    I had already seen a green bottle and had been expecting to see the blue bottle first.  But, really, what’s the difference between them?

    Size – the blue bottle flies are larger than the green.

    Colour – metallic blue vs metallic green.

    Breeding – both lay their eggs on dead and decaying animals, the eggs hatch in less than a day and burrow deep into their food supply.  They are important in breaking down the carcases of dead animals, but cause contamination issues if they get into food production areas.  Whilst green bottles have the same breeding habits, they are considered less of a nuisance as they are less likely to come indoors and are reliant on warmer weather. 

    Uses – Green bottles will also invade living tissue, which is bad for sheep, when they burrow through dirty wool, but good for humans where they are used in medicine to remove infected tissue to speed up healing.

    Flesh fly – I think this black and white checked fly is quite attractive in a tweedy sort of way.  It’s a fly I have seen around, but not really thought about.  It’s not as iconic as the blue bottle, or as unexpectedly striking as the green bottle.

    So how does this differ from the ‘bottles’?  Well, mainly because rather than lay eggs in their food source, it deposits the first instar larvae (maggots) directly onto carrion, compost, excrement etc.  The larvae prefer moist conditions but can be found in urban or rural environments.  However, they are an outdoor species, so are not thought of as a nuisance.  Also, note, they are omnivorous, so will eat up their veg, as well as meat.

    Daisy D

    28 August 2023
    Insects
    Common Blue Bottle, Flesh Fly
  • Moth Fly

    Moth Fly

    This was such a tiny moth, that I nearly didn’t see it.  Only it turned out not to be a moth.  Moth flies are also known as drain flies and can be problematical as the larvae live in water and feed on bacteria, which means they can lurk around drains and bathrooms.  Moth flies come in different colours – black, grey, or brown.  You will notice that they rest with their wings ‘ajar’, not closed like most butterflies or open like most moths.  Their life span is only around five weeks – up to 15 days in the larval stage, 20-40 hours to pupate and 20 days as an adult.

    Daisy D

    27 August 2023
    Insects
    Moth Fly
  • Clover Head Weevil

    Clover Head Weevil

    This weevil was really difficult to identify.  It resembles the pepper weevil, which isn’t resident in the UK.  But then I found the clover head weevil (Hypera meles).  It has a distinctive red/sepia colouring with pale stripes, which varies in intensity.  Very active in mid-summer it burrows into the soil on the warmest, driest days and goes dormant.  This process is called aestivation and is done to help insects, amphibians, and fish deal with hot and dry conditions to stop them from drying out.  The weevil then becomes active again in the autumn.  It lives in meadows where there is clover, we have clover on our pathways and on the bank of the stream.

    Daisy D

    26 August 2023
    Insects
    Clover Head Weevil
  • European Drone-fly

    European Drone-fly

    I noticed this distinctive egg-timer shape on its back and two white stripes.  The drone-fly is so called because it resembles the drone of the honeybee.  The markings can be quite variable, but they have a pale face. 

    The larvae live in moist, nutrient-rich places – standing water, moist compost or sileage.  The adults are found around flowers feeding on nectar and pollen.  They are also known as flower flies. 

    Daisy D

    25 August 2023
    Insects
    European Drone-fly
  • Common Harvestman

    Common Harvestman

    When we were looking for the green cricket that had flown across the garden to the willow sapling, we spotted this common harvestman (Leiobunum rotundum).  It had a bright red body with black spindly legs.  Harvestmen are related to spiders but differ from them because their round body fuses together the head, thorax, and abdomen into one segment, whereas spiders’ bodies have two segments – head/thorax and abdomen.   They have hooks on the ends of their legs, which they use to catch their prey.  Their eyes are housed in an ocularium, which is a periscope-style structure on the top of their body. This one is black.  They eat small invertebrates, and some eat fungi and fruit as well. 

    Daisy D

    24 August 2023
    Spiders
    Common Harvestman
  • Common Green Shield Bug – 4th Instar

    Common Green Shield Bug – 4th Instar

    When I identified the dock bug, I learned that an instar was a stage between moults of the larvae of an insect.  And this is the fourth instar of the green shield bug, which I could tell from the pattern on its shell and its shape, which is more rounded than the shield shape of the adult.  There are five instars before the adult emerges.

    UPDATE – You will notice that the green shield bug is on some water pepper.  The water meadow is thick with flowering water pepper and water mint at the moment, as well as fresh grass.  Presumably it is a fresh crop of reed canary grass, the old flowering grass having dried out, keeled over and mostly disappeared into the undergrowth. 

    Yesterday, I saw a frog hopping along the riverbank, but it was too quick for me – as usual.  Other misses include a mouse or vole that ran across the path (Hard Knot Pass) in front of me and, what we think was the elusive green cricket flying up the garden towards a willow sapling growing at the foot of the bank (Vole County).  Mr C and I were looking out from the decking and quickly rushed down the steps, but could we find it!!  I think it must have gone into the undergrowth, as we didn’t see it fly away.

    UPDATE PHOTO – Adult Common Green Shieldbug spotted 10/03/24.

    Daisy D

    23 August 2023
    Insects
    Common Green Shield Bug
  • Mournful Wasp and Black Garden Ants

    Mournful Wasp and Black Garden Ants

    Above is a type of digger wasp – the mournful wasp (Pemphredon lugubris).  I thought it looked like a flying ant at first, but it has a hammer-shaped head with big jaws, and a waisted body.  It is all black – including its legs and antennae.  It lives in wooded areas, nests in decayed wood and feeds on aphids.

    Winged ants (or alates) appear at different times around the country.   Flying Ant Day is when winged males (drones) and virgin queens (princesses) emerge from the nest to mate with partners from different colonies and set up new colonies.  The number of Flying Ant Days depends on the weather.  It is usually a hot and humid day, or spell.  In Cornwall there was a Flying Ant Day a couple of weeks ago on 9August.  I heard on Radio Cornwall that ants were swarming and, sure enough, there was a swarm of ants on the lawn next to our patio, and some found their way to the steps leading down to the water meadow, so I could count black garden ants on the tally! 

    Daisy D

    22 August 2023
    Insects
    Black Garden Ant, Mournful Wasp
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