Oddments

We had lying snow for around 10 days and I saw no moths during that time: earlier species would have died off, and new specimens would be staying underground until the snow went away. Sure enough, the same day the snow thawed, I found two specimens of the December moth:

Male December Moth

These feed on broad-leaf trees as larvae, and adults can be found from October to January; their eggs staying dormant until the trees have leaves in April or May.

Note the very feathered antennae. These perform a very similar function to the gills on the underside of mushrooms. Feathered antennae are more sensitive, making it easier to find the female, thereby increasing the chances of reproduction. Mushroom gills increase the surface area for spore production, making more spores available and again increasing the chances of reproduction.

As I was taking the shots of the male above, I spotted a minute (3mm) Springtail on the wall just below it:

It looks to be the same species as the one I showed on a mushroom earlier in the year.

A trip to the frozen high area yielded very little. I did see the empty seedpods of Yellow Rattle:

Empty seedpods of Yellow Rattle

And this frozen puddle on the path had an entertaining spiral pattern:

Ice spiral on frozen puddle

I just realised that the images for today are all virtually monochrome.

Waiting for Angelica

Wild Angelica is my summer hunting ground for insects, but it's about 2 weeks late this year. So we'll have to make do...

Yellow Rattle is present in a few of the higher areas Take a close look at the complex leaves:

Fairy Flax has the alternative name of Purging Flax. Don't be tempted to eat any part of this plant:

There are many 'subspecies' of Eyebright; some with white flowers, others with lilac. I was under the impression that I have two cohabiting varieties, but I now believe that my local ones start off with white flowers and then convert to lilac later in the year. I have marked a few white specimens and plan to monitor them over the next couple of months.

Hogweed is standing in as my nectaring umbellifer of choice at the moment. I got this shot of the hoverfly Leucozona laternaria, which looks like a strangely monochrome version of its close relative Leucozona glaucia, which I will show soon.