Two stragglers and an early starter

After a couple of frosts and a bit of snow (now gone) things have slowed down dramatically and the verges are rather bare and dull. One or two late plants have started to flower, probably as a result of cutting quite early in the season: those plants never got a chance to bloom in their main season, but they still push ahead and produce flowers long after the normal flowering period is over. Meadowsweet, Cow Parsley and Hogweed are examples that I have recently seen newly in flower.

On the other hand, there are some plants that seem to linger on and continue to produce flowers much longer than expected, even after a long season of production. While I was out on a particular chase the other day (more of that later), I spotted Meadow Buttercup:

Meadow Buttercup

And a (rather bedraggled) specimen of Ragwort:

Ragwort

Although the leaves of this Ragwort look like Common Ragwort, the location (stream verge), number of petals and the uneven ripening of the seedhead make me think that this might actually be the hybrid between Common Ragwort and Marsh Ragwort, both of which are present near this location.

The main reason for my trip was to see if any early specimens of Lesser Celandine were in flower. There is one location where I regularly find flowering specimens months ahead of the normal schedule. I cannot fathom why this location should produce unseasonal flowers: it's at a reasonably high altitude (I live in the highest town in Ireland) and although it's a bit sheltered by overhanging Ash trees, it's also dark under their shade. It does, however, receive direct sunlight from the south.

Bang on schedule, I found a few specimens in bud:

Lesser Celandine flower bud

If the usual pattern is followed, these winter buds will never open, but will die off still in a closed state. I have no idea why a spring plant should produce flowers in the dead of winter, but it only happens (as far as I know) in this precise location, and it has happened for at least the last five years.

Playing catch up

In the normal order of things, higher order species tend to prey on lower-order species, so wasps and bees tend to be predators on flies (or members of their own order). The Conopid fly Sicus ferrugineus, however, reverses this trend. These are parasitic on bumblebees, stapling a single egg into the soft underside of the worker's abdomen. This oviposition is said to take place in flight, but I have never seen it happening. Once the bumblebee has been parasitised it tends to change its feeding habits, presumably to the benefit of the fly larva.


Mesembrina meridiana is easily recognisable due to the orange wing base. The name indicates that it is a noon flyer, and that's when I usually see them.


Angelica has flowered and that means plenty of shots of nectaring insects. this is the Tree Wasp - Dolichovespula sylvestris. It has an overall orange feel to the colouration and the antennae bases are yellow. Facial decoration is a single small spot.


This male hoverfly looked unusual, but it consistently keys out to the very common Eristalis pertinax.


Trombidium sp. mites are usually seen scrambling over the base of plants as they search for rotting vegetation. This one was sunning on a grass blade.


Those of you who have been following my websites for a few years will know that this is one of my favourite flowers: Slender St. John's Wort - Hypericum pulchrum. The latin name shows that I'm not alone in that opinion.


This pristine flower of Meadow Buttercup - Ranunculus acris - caught my attention:


Finally for today - Eyebright. That's as far as the id is going.