Large Heaths and Beautiful Demoiselles in south Cumbria

June 16, 2014:

Large Heath on raised bog

Beautiful Demoiselle on Water Crowfoot

Small Blues and orchids on the north Cumbrian coast

June 14, 2014:

Pyramidal Orchid

Bee Orchid

Hybrid: Northern Marsh Orchid x Common Spotted Orchid

Whixall Moss, Shropshire

June 11, 2014 at Whixall Moss

White-faced Darters at Whixall Moss, a well-know site for this scarce British species

Four-spotted Chasers were frequent here

South Cumbria Spring butterflies

May 14, 2014:

Green Hairstreak at Foulshaw

Orange-tip at Foulshaw

Duke of Burgundy on Whitbarrow

Dingy Skipper on Whitbarrow

Cyprus - other invertebrates

April 29-May 5, 2014:

Many of the invertebrates were suffering because of the drought but a few found are shown here.

 

Crocothemis erythraea, male - Fassouri reed beds

 

Decticus albifrons - Ayia Varvara

 

Humming-bird Hawkmoth - Nikoklea

 

Oedipoda cf. miniata - Kidassi

 

 

Phoenicolacerta troodica -Polis

                                         

Volucella zonaria - Nikoklea

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    







Cyprus butterflies

April 29-May 5, 2014:

Not having had any rain during he winter everywhere was very dry and the dragonflies and orthoptera had especially suffered with numbers very low. Butterflies were reasonably frequent and several species were seen.

 

Brown Argus at Smygies

 

 Clouded Yellow - Polis

 

Cyprus Meadow Brown - Polis

 

Eastern Dappled White - Kensigton Cliffs

 

 

Grass Jewel, the smallest European butterfly at Kedares

 

Hermit - near Anarita

 

 

Long-tailed Blue - Smygies and Aspro dam

 

Lulworth Skipper - Kouklea

 

Millet Skipper near Kouklea

 

Swallowtail near Kouklea

 



Early Spring plants

March 2014: Some of the scarcer Spring plants are now in flower. By rivers in Wensleydale and south Cumbria, Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea lutea) has now come into flower as has the parasitic Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) which grows on the roots of hazel and other shrubs. Some photos of each are below.

 

 

 

Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem in south Cumbria

 

 

 

 

 

Toothwort by the River Kent

 



Earth-stars (Geastrum triplex) in Cumbria

December 2013:
A small deciduous coppice close to the waxcap site (mentioned earlier) in northern Cumbria had the Collared Earth-star (Geastrum triplex). These spectacular fungi, whilst widespread in Britain, are also quite scarce. As the fruiting bodies develop in the autumn, an outer covering initially protects the rounded fruiting sac inside but on maturity this opens out forming a series of retracted rays to reveal the inner sac. As rain falls on the newly exposed sac or the wind disturbs it, spores are released through the central orifice. A pale area around the orifice helps to distinguish it from species of other similarly-sized earth-star. These were found in leaf litter and are not easy to see initially.

Prior to opening

 

Rays now expanded

 

 





Rare fungi in Cumbria

October 2014:
A small area of old unimproved grassland east of Penrith had two especially rare fungi: Clavaria zollingeri and Hygrocybe calyptriformis. Both of these species are considered to be endangered with Britain holding more than half the world population of the latter. At least twelve species of waxcap (Hygrocybe spp.) were recorded at the site including the commoner H. psitticanus (Parrot Waxcap) which possesses a greenish colouration which, unusual in fungi.

Clavaria zollingeri

 

Hygrocybe calyptyriformis

 

Hygrocybe psitticanus