What a nice change to have some decent weather over a
weekend! I had to finish off a butterfly survey for a local farmer, so the warm
sunshine on Saturday suited me well.
I found one particular clearing in a wood that had lots of
flowering wild Angelica – the name is said to have come from the Angel Gabriel
who according to myth, revealed its many medicinal uses. Angelica is extensively used in herbal
medicine to stimulate gastric secretion, treat skin disorders, flatulence, and
rheumatism, while it is also valued in perfumery where dried leaves are used as
potpourri mix and as a bath scent.
However, I was more interested in the plant as a nectar source,
because like many plant species in the umbellifer family, (or carrot family) they
attract many insects to their blooms. I spent a very pleasant half hour
studying the flower heads, while Silver-washed fritillaries flitted and glided
around, occasionally landing on tall Marsh thistles to imbibe some nectar.
Meanwhile, overhead in the trees, a family of young Spotted flycatchers were being
fed by their parents.
All this insect activity had not gone unnoticed by the
local Hornets who zig-zagged through the vegetation, occasionally knocking into a
plant to see if they could dislodge some insect on which they could prey. They
remind me so much of miniature tigers prowling through the forest in search of a
victim! When they do strike, there is certainly no indecision, as they suddenly
dart with great speed, grabbing the unfortunate target off a flower head and tumbling
down into the undergrowth.
The prey is quickly subdued and within a minute, both
wings and sometimes the head are bitten off and the “meaty” body is then carried
away to the nest.
This hive of activity was all occurring here because the
wood had been “opened up” by removing some of the trees and coppicing the
shrubs, allowing the sunshine into the newly formed glade. Woodland flowers play
such an important part in providing our pollinators with the pollen and nectar
they require.
I also set the moth trap in my garden this weekend and
was rewarded with one of my favourite moths – a Clouded Magpie – such a
beautiful species and one that I have not recorded for some years. All in all - a great weekend!
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| A warm and sunny woodland glade - a wonderful place to watch wildlife |
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| A Tachinid fly - Phasia hemiptera feeding on Angelica |
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| A Hornet sets about removing the wings from its prey - in this case a "Flesh fly" |
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| A Silver-washed Fritillary sits on a tall Marsh thistle up above my head |
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| A Clouded Magpie - one of my favourites! |
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