Extra high pressure

A second consecutive day of blue sky was a bit unexpected: the forecast was cloudy with showers! I think I remember that in the olden days (pre-warming) we could rely on weather forecasts for about a week ahead. Nowadays, it seems they can't even get it right for the next 24 hours. I rather suspect the computer models that they use to make forecasts no longer work now that we have warming.

Still, making hay.....

I went down to the local river, where Wild Garlic and Bluebells make the first appearance. A few heads of garlic were in evidence:

Flowers of Wild Garlic - Allium ursinum

And a single Bluebell plant had started to open:

Bluebell flowers just opening

 I also caught a few shots of hoverflies. First of the smaller species is usually Melanostoma scalare:

The hoverfly Melanostoma scalare (male)

I always think that if you were hoverfly-sized, then a flower must be a wonderful place to explore, rest and feed.

Syrphus hoverfly species are a little bit earlier this year:

Syrphus sp. hoverfly (female)

There were a great many craneflies in the air. This female (long, pointed abdomen) stopped long enough for a shot:

Female Cranefly

The larvae of craneflies are the 'leatherjackets' that eat the roots of grasses and make empty patches on lawns.

As I'm writing this, we appear to be heading for a third consecutive day of blue sky, so I'm off out again.

Down by the riverside

Much of the river Deele is edged by tall trees which cast a deep shadow along much of its length. This creates a wonderful microclimate, ideal for a combination of woodland flowers and waterside insects. I like to visit at this time of year because it always serves up something of interest.

The area I visited is ripe with the aroma of Wild Garlic (Ramsons) at this time of year: the bank is covered with its delicate white flowers and strappy green leaves:

Ramsons (Wild Garlic) at the river Deele

The flower-heads emerge wrapped in a thin protective sheath which opens to reveal delicate, star-shaped flowers:

Ramsons flower-head with sheath

And a close-up reveals the delicate - almost translucent - nature of the petals:

Wild Garlic flower-head

Two other woodland flowers are also at their best at the moment:

Bluebell:

Bluebell

And Wood Anemone:

Wood Anemone

Having (at last!) got my hands on some spider references, I have been making an effort to fill in some of the gaps in my identifications.

Tetragnatha extensa is usually found near water on low-level vegetation. This one was on Hogweed on the riverbank:

Tetragnatha extensa on Hogweed leaf

Note that its rear right leg is holding the 'tension thread' which allows it to hide, whilst still being able to detect when some insect is struggling in its web. New to my Species List.

Tetragnatha extensa is very closely related to the huge brown spiders that are often found in garages or bathrooms.

Up on the bridge I found Ivy in fruit:

Ivy fruit

And a nice profile shot of the hoverfly Platycheirus albimanus which is everywhere at the moment:

Platycheirus albimanus (female)

I often think that its fascia is very like a human profile.

I'm never quite sure to be dismayed or excited when I see a Pug moth that I don't recognise: I realise that they are very difficult to identify (and that means I'm going to spend quite a while with the books to hand), but there's always the chance I'll find something new. This specimen is the Common Pug, which - strangely - I hadn't seen before:

Common Pug - Eupithecia vulgata vulgata

This moth is normally found from May onwards, so we're still a little early. It feeds on many broad-leaf plants as a larva. New to my Species List.


So that's four new species in a couple of days.

Limestone

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: 

Viola reichenbachiana

And the dark, straight spur behind the flower:

Viola reichenbachiana spur

Both violets were growing on a verge accompanied by Ground Ivy:

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:

 Male Epistrophe eligans

Another plant that I only ever see on limestone is the Cuckoo Pint, a most wonderful member of the Arum family:

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:

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:

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:

Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Talking of aquatic species, I spotted this Coot sitting on her nest:

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:

St. George's mushroom - Tricholoma gambosum

The spores are minute, around 5 x 3 microns:

More from Drumboe

One of the quirks of Drumboe is what I call 'double planting' or 'underplanting'. The predominant tree is Beech, which casts a decent shade of its own. But some of the footpaths have young Birch planted along their length, leading to parts of the walk that are twice-shaded, first by the tall (200 year-old) Beech, and then by the underplanted Birch. These dark and damp areas are excellent for insect life.

This is another Tachinid. I think it looks quite menacing with those bristles and long legs. I suppose if you're a caterpillar, then it IS menacing:

The darker areas are also home to Wood Speedwell, which I think is one of the more delicate woodland plants with its apple-green leaves and pale flowers:

I spotted this little (12mm) mining bee on Dandelion. These are quite numerous in the right location. No id yet, but the good and great are working on it.

Drumboe has vast swathes of Bluebells under the Beeches. No white ones yet:

A hoverfly which can be found in very large numbers: Syrphus ribesii, female, basking in a little clearing.

And in the same clearing, the wonderful Hawthorn Shieldbug - Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale - (which I have never found near hawthorn):

Then something I have never seen before: it unfolded and opened its wings before flying off noisily into the dark part of the wood.

Drumboe

Drumboe Wood is that strangest of creatures: an ancient urban woodland. It lies no further than 100m from the main shopping centre, separated from the main road only by the river Finn. Its great age leads to a huge biodiversity, with some very rare species. Indeed, it is the only known location in Ireland for Cerodontha sylvatica, which I added to the Irish list in 2006.

The Bluebells seem to be quite early this year:


These are the first flowers of Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine pratensis. My local specimens haven't flowered yet, so I suspect Orange Tip butterflies are still about 2-3 weeks away.


This moss is Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus. It's supposed to prefer calcareous soil, but I find it in acidic woodlands and in heath. One common name is 'electrified cat's tail moss'. I can see why.


My first hoverfly of the year: Eristalis pertinax. this one was smaller than most, and I had to eliminate E. nemorum and E. arbustorum based on the pale legs.

White, white, white and.......blue

The locations of the very first flowers of each species to open are remarkably consistent from year to year. Some will no doubt be influenced by a favourable location, but others are genetically governed, I'm sure. This is the first of the Wood Sorrel - one of the plants locally referenced as 'Shamrock':


Wood Anemone has been out for perhaps a few days. This blossom is already turning:


The last white for today is Barren Strawberry, again in its preferred early location: a south-facing hedgerow bank.

But we also have a hint of Blue: down by the river Deele the Bluebells are all but open.


Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage has been out for a while, now, making the ditch bottoms a rich golden-green: