Quote of The Week 6

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth
are never alone or weary of life. 

~ Rachel Carson ~

Tegenaria - House Spider

With Temperatures dropping Insects are winding up for winter but this doesnt stop the humble House Spider going on the prowl It is difficult to identify this genus to species as there is a large number of similars in the Genus

Quote Of The Week 5

" You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back. "

HORACE, Epistles

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."

- Elizabeth Coatsworth

1906 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Caterpillar

1906 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Caterpillar found 18th August 2014

Not the easiest Caterpillar to identify but the prominent central raised region gives a good clue to its Identity it is a fresh early caterpillar more on the Development Sequence on This link  Click on the small image to expand

The larvae feed on a range of trees and bushes, including hawthorn (Crataegus) and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

National Distribution Please Allow Time to Load .

VC 63 Distribution  Please Allow Time to Load

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Quote Of The Week 4

God has cared for trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.

John Muir

Non Biting Midge - Crictopus

Non Biting Midge - Crictopus

NOTES

Sitona - A Grassland Weevil

Sitona lineatus

Size 3.4  -  5.3 mm

Descriptions

Likely lineatus but could be striatellus. Several Sitona appear very similar but lineatus will become obvious in the field; the elongate and parallel sided form and dull metallic colouration with paler longitudinal stripes are characteristic A Grassland Weevil Descriptions can be found on the links below
Can be found throughout the Year.. and are assoiated with fabaceae - Vetches Trefoils and Pea Family

Hostplants Include various clovers and vetches and the weevils are well known as pests of leguminous crops; 

Sitona lineatus http://www.thewcg.org.uk/curculionidae/0297.htm

Sitona striatellus http://www.thewcg.org.uk/curculionidae/0659.htm

National Distribution Please Allow Time to Load .

VC 63 Distribution  Please Allow Time to Load

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Quote Of The Week 3

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.

Roger Miller

Artist's Bracket Ganoderma

Artist's Bracket Ganoderma Likely  G. applanatum

Description

Ganoderma applanatum (Artist's Bracket, Artist's Conk, or Flacher Lackporling; syn. ) is a bracket fungus with a wide distribution.

The spore bodies are up to 30–40 centimetres (12–16 in) across, hard, woody-textured, and inedible; they are white at first but soon turn dark red-brown.

It is a wood-decay fungus, using primarily dead heartwood, but also as a pathogen on live sapwood, particularly on older trees. It is a common cause of decay and death of beech and poplar, and less often of several other tree genera, including alder,apple, elm, buckeye and horse chestnut, maple, oak, walnut, willow, western hemlock, Douglas Fir, and Spruce.

A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its ability to be as a drawing medium for artists. When the surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, it changes from light to dark brown, producing visible lines and shading.

Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystina

Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystina

Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria var. muscaria

Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria var. muscaria

Scarletina Bolete Boletus luridiformis

Scarletina Bolete (Boletus luridiformis)

Shaggy Scalycap Pholiota squarrosa

Shaggy Scalycap Pholiota squarrosa

With the Fungi Season well under way here are some shots of Woodland Fungi that have been positively identified

Hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus

Hedgehog Rescue - This one presented on the front path it looked dehydrated and shocked and was breathing oddly , looked like a cat had bothered it or was struggling for water It was warmed fed and rehydrated and retuned to the Wild . in the early hours of the morning where it appears to have moved on the following day

If you find a Hedgehog here is a good start point British Hedgehog Society 

Quote of The Week 2

If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way

Aristotle

2353 Flounced Rustic Luperina testacea

2353 Flounced Rustic Luperina testacea

2102 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta

2102 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta