I live in an area of highly acid soil, so I'm always keen to visit limestone areas. Soil type largely governs which plants can be found in a particular area, and different plants support different insects, so I always expect to find something new or different on these trips. Lough Erne is also much closer to sea level, so it's probably 7-10 days earlier than my local area.
My local violet is the Common Dog Violet - Viola riviniana, but this area has both riviniana and Viola reichenbachiana. The most obvious differences are the narrower flower and more pointed leaves:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYXndN28-F5XAHzkw2Yf5IdFO2EVptjNkOXPsWqjmCZIKzlt8chz31TOKsGEnmkMjJYbDuI6ik5m0xSLw-t9l7Dar8lWlrff3qxidhTsD10WmGBqUIAsqXs1zNyWozHCT1h79Zmv-Yg/s1600/reichenbachiana-web.jpg) |
Viola reichenbachiana |
And the dark, straight spur behind the flower:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH_hib6RZX1fRrYspIR19Ns4CR1c0-AycGoyJcVDW1F_sYC0B9qIz-Wn8G7fn824HHbk9wfq5zyWDwDy7Kf5MV0PUn9C96nzA4O7DccboIICgCYu5NYes6yCdvpwfefO6C-LNKCNm9A/s1600/reichenbachiana-spur-web.jpg) |
Viola reichenbachiana spur |
Both violets were growing on a verge accompanied by Ground Ivy:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCKcFYNHAUc4bcO6diWu8bpkBMAAgPXxftNYli_6Ukfp-UoxMyNQfpvPqZtzSujEs2FipjyNmjAIUKvs0vxu01tiYdhJsIhYnt4C7RBUzzlhhViUsl4Gtw1zyqBQJPE8F0N7bz8oPEw/s1600/ground-ivy-web.jpg) |
Ground Ivy |
Bluebells were just starting to open:
And this Dock Leaf Beetle -
Gastrophysa viridula - was either touring or lost: they are rarely seen far from Dock leaves.
I spotted my first Ichneumonid of the year. The size suggests that these will be looking for either large flies or small moths:
This flower is
Cardamine pratensis, which is the main foodplant of the Orange Tip butterfly, but is also used by the Green-veined White:
The minute moth is
Micropteryx calthella, which is associated almost exclusively with Buttercups in my area, but it clearly uses other nectar sources when they are available. I don't expect to see
Micropteryx calthella for perhaps another 3 weeks on my patch (the buttercups aren't even in bud yet).
I was delighted to find a new hoverfly species on the same verge. This is
Epistrophe eligans, one of the earlier species to emerge:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7MERnWjeEIGT62Ja6OhpD2aMkOHuGN47c4E75xK38pwSiBhi0AfKEfDW8P3OiN_0KDQsOQcL5c1yK3LpZNdDc2aZgsV9oxhajLJvHluks6uLlHoY7lBI_ZyMmZdQgrg11xmLsBuslA/s1600/epistrophe-eligans-web.jpg) |
Male Epistrophe eligans |
Another plant that I only ever see on limestone is the Cuckoo Pint, a most wonderful member of the Arum family:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HlhfzkpSr-XljAaWLHaiwUmwMovuTif3gKw_oBniNw4aXDtuAAo9CSOTRLjxX0Z7sAR_-Ibx7F2lYJj1kHwGe-p_q9m4znJLDQNc9sZlm-NehBJzaHCJPfUiJtGFgb2trdXpsnPTYg/s1600/cuckoo-pint-web.jpg) |
Cuckoo Pint |
No matter where I find Holly, I always find its leaf miner,
Phytomyza ilicis. I was always curious that only one species of miner lives in Holly leaves because it seems such a safe place for an insect to live. It turns out that Holly heals very quickly when damaged, and the plant considers the mine to be a wound.
Phytomyza ilicis is the only miner that moves quickly enough to keep ahead of the healing process:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6Jh1b6rpM_d87WqLFBzvifPoxO-LXZuadTUseNaBn2U9W8jvvzXrrhHRLJzEN3rlOrV2XsMLt0y6X9keZgfEMhYm2PUcFq5umUph9iALg5eBYSnW0aHuz6JauMTauYJdzYesWU2ngQ/s1600/phytomyza-ilicis-web.jpg) |
Phytomyza ilicis on Holly |
Moth flies are a mysterious group of flies that run around on plant leaves like little planes trying to take off. The larvae live in cesspits, drains and compost heaps:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRJrov7jgBS3MYzrZRYqxTJq0Mqam3aZ_O8EDnh1CULl8nTIh4ho0lSrSY2jIQFTXeszkoen9nRUhqJloUTQneLaxSQMNTLp2z6zeLHFYbrpblxqAqCJHgibOKLucCBA-Geu51xYI_Q/s1600/moth-fly-web.jpg) |
Moth Fly |
Lough Erne is a large expanse of water, so I usually expect to find some water-based species.
Alder Fly larvae are aquatic, and I only ever find the adults near rivers, ponds or lakes. The Alder Fly
Sialis lutaria has to be one of the least aptly named of all species. It isn't a fly (it has 4 wings and is related to lacewings) and it has no association with Alder:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhAmWUTVKMxcwIHJVqdtGOpflQnuBctYncoMPOKP9NQGDW1Uw30QrpOsYedxj3wJGyExfhnQTaJfoM-3At9RbLzOn_OMlp8ggHT2XHWbIs3T33szKMH3Q7f_QkfexXkUvtCyw_nROKw/s1600/alder-fly-web.jpg) |
Alder Fly Sialis lutaria |
Talking of aquatic species, I spotted this Coot sitting on her nest:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1nu5NzpRSuiU77rkpnnJ_on2Wp-fN5-JdPHUc2d0Nq7aeox_WoKiM7GCClKYf18l-H6vyXtG2YoGW2sGUpcwblQCPgQFsBPhEFhd29X4BWx29K4reeo2F8a6Vy-XNLK1tfqbBzvQuw/s1600/coot-nest-web.jpg) |
Coot |
A couple of fungi to finish.
Last year I found a rather rare fungal infection -
Taphrina crataegi - on Hawthorn. The leaves are only just open, and this bush was already infected:
|
Taphrina crataegi on Hawthorn |
This appears to be the first record for Northern Ireland.
April 23rd is St. George's day, and St. George's mushroom -
Tricholoma gambosum - is traditionally found around this date:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvd22LldRILcD7nU-LWYrxzVLxNG2QcjkBdjE16_1Hdw5_q0WQhutshtHrifb51vwbyse3TFJbVNx-NlzhxTaBWThF7bufrbD_v1E5PecWYqRSW0aJcF3wB1RkVZJ-4KWpnB77joUKqQ/s1600/tricholoma-web.jpg) |
St. George's mushroom - Tricholoma gambosum |
The spores are minute, around 5 x 3 microns: