Orchids and grasses (and a moth)

My local Spotted Orchids have started to flower - albeit a bit later than usual. The three main 'species' that I have locally are:

• Common Spotted Orchid (CSO) - Dactylorhiza fuchsii
• Heath Spotted Orchid (HSO) - Dactylorhiza maculata
• Northern Marsh Orchid (NMO) - Dactylorhiza purpurella

These three freely hybridise with each other, and the hybrids back cross with the parents and with the other hybrids, so it is very rare to find a 'pure' or clean specimen anywhere: each specimen is likely to bear a component of each of the species in varying proportions. For that reason, the taxonomy of the two spotted orchids keeps changing, with them being variously described as species, subspecies or variants. But I just describe them all as hybrid spotted orchids. I recently had a long conversation with a leading orchid specialist, and when I asked him why we continue to try and name each specimen as A), B) or C), he said "it's just because we like to give different names to things that look different from each other, but really they're all hybrids".

I also have a suspicion that some of the variation is caused by the very local microclimate, for example if the orchid is standing in water or has dry feet. I generally find that specimens in water look more like HSO, but drier ones look more like CSO. The natural assumption is that HSO prefers water, and CSO does not, but if the water dries out for any reason, then the specimen that looked like HSO one year will look more like CSO the next year. I call these variations 'ecomorphs'.

Hybrid Spotted Orchid

That first one has features of CSO (the long tooth at the front lobe of the flower) and NMO (the overall colour is quite dark). The edges of the lip are slightly frilled, so there's some HSO in there, too.

And here's another:

Hybrid Spotted Orchid

That one has stronger frills and a paler colour, so I'd say 50/50 HSO and CSO.

These specimens were photographed at their best: the lower flowers have just opened and the higher flowers are still buds. When the flowers are all open, I think the plant looks less attractive.

I'll show more as I find them.

Grasses can be fun to identify, and the good news is that although the initial identification might be tricky, many species are readily identifiable in the field. One key feature is the 'ligule', which is formed where the leaf touches the stem:

Long, pointed ligule of Rough Meadow Grass - Poa trivialis

The long, pointed, ligule in the above specimen points us to Rough Meadow Grass - Poa trivialis.

Here's the grass:

Poa trivialis - Rough Meadow Grass

Crested Dogstail is easily identified by the one-sided nature of the seedhead (although I did manage to mis-identify it on another blog the other day):

Crested Dogstail

Cocksfoot is very recognisable:

Cocksfoot

While we're on Cocksfoot, I'll show this picture of one of the 'Minor' moths. There are three Minor species which are extremely difficult to separate, so unless we capture and kill them, we have to record them as 'Minor agg.':

Minor agg. moth

Minors use Cocksfoot grass as a food, living inside the stems when at the larval stage.

Yorkshire Fog must be the most common grass in this area: I find it in all but the wettest environments:

Yorkshire Fog

I just noticed the Rye-grass at the front left of the image.

The flowers of Meadowsweet have just opened and their perfume will dominate much of the hedgerow for the next couple of months:

Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet must be particularly nutritious: there are many species of insect and fungus which feed on all parts of the plant.

Now: hands up all those who ignored (or missed!) the Puccinia graminis rust on the Poa.

I was recently invited to talk about my blog by Nature Center Magazine. You can see the interview here. Thanks to Emma for that.

1400 species milestone

The weather has been very wet with some torrential downpours, but there have been a few opportunities for quick forays in the bad light.

During the long periods spent indoors, I got on with a bit more watercolour painting and updated my Species Index. I was delighted to click my tally over the 1400 mark.

Just to put the 1400 species into context, the vast majority of the photographs are taken within a 2-3 kilometre radius of my house. I have made a few forays further afield to ancient woodland, beach and limestone habitats, but the 1400 species should be regarded as our 'local' wildlife. If I spent more time travelling to e.g. coastal areas, then the species list would be much higher. 

I'll start with a few moths:

Coxcomb Prominent Moth

The Coxcomb Prominent - Ptilodon capucina - feeds on a wide range of deciduous trees, and would be much better camouflaged if it was found on a branch or on leaves.

The Riband Wave has two main colour forms, but all my specimens have been f. remutata, which are missing the grey central band on the wings:

Riband Wave f. remutata

The Riband Wave feeds on many low-level herbaceous plants.

The White Ermine is a very common moth at this time of year. I saw this male specimen and decided to get a shot of those wonderful antennae:

Male White Ermine, showing antennae

White Ermine also feeds on low-lying herbaceous plants such as Docks.

Some of our tiniest moths are also the most beautiful. This Micropterix aruncella is only about 3-4 mm long:

Micromoth Micropterix aruncella

The larval stages of Micropterix aruncella are not known from the wild, but they are thought to feed at the base of plants.

Hoverflies are now becoming more numerous, despite the bad weather.

Here are a couple of shots of Episyrphus balteatus, which is very recognisable due to the paired black stripes on the abdomen:

Episyrphus balteatus hoverfly

Episyrphus balteatus hoverfly

These shots are of two different specimens, but I note that in each case the rear left leg is the one that is used to grab the first anchoring point.

One of my favourite hoverflies is Leucozona lucorum:

The hoverfly Leucozona lucorum

It's a mid-summer species, and will soon be joined by the closely-related Leucozona glaucia, and if I'm lucky Leucozona laternaria.

Last week I showed an Ichneumonid in the process of laying eggs. This week, I managed to get a shot at the moment when the ovipositor is being released from its protective sheath:

Ichneumonid deploying ovipositor

A couple of points are worth noting here: the ovipositor is bowed towards the sheath, showing that some force is required to spring it forward. This force is released very suddenly, swinging the ovipositor very quickly towards the target. I estimate that the whole process of release to target is approximately 0.3 of a second.

Although I can't identify Ichneumonids to species (a fact that annoys me more than you will ever know), I know when I see one that is new to me, and I haven't seen this wine-coloured specimen before:

The very long antennae and lack of ovipositor suggest that this might be a male. I suppose it's worth pointing out that male Ichneumonids are quite rare, since they are an 'optional extra' in their reproductive process.

At this time of year, most of the grasses are in flower, making large swathes of colour in the hedgerows. This is Yorkshire Fog - Holcus lanatus:

Yorkshire Fog - Holcus lanatus

This, on the other hand, is the fungal infection Epichloe typhina, which actually stops the plant from flowering:  there is no flowering shoot above the fungus, just a single leaf.

Grass Choke - Epichloe typhina

Between showers

Yorkshire Fog - Holcus lanatus - is one of the most common (and prettier, I think) of our hedgerow grasses:


Lesser Stitchwort is an extremely delicate plant that supports itself by twining itself through its neighbours.


Cydia nigricana - the Pea Shoot Moth - is usually found near Vetches and other members of the pea family. It's rather handsome:



Another of the parasitic Tachinid flies. This one's on the about-to-open Meadowsweet:


Something made me turn over this Bramble leaf and I found a batch of Beetle eggs stuck to the underside.