Introducing The Rat-tailed Maggot!

I have a new mini-pond in my garden. It sits on the patio and is approximately 1 metre square by half a metre deep. I chose this as, being raised up, it would exlude frogs, for which my dear wife has a phobia!

The pond came as a kit and only took a couple of hours to build. Planting it up took a little longer.

Garden Mini-pond

Just 10 days after planting up and filling the pond with water, we had our first visit by a damselfly - a male Large Red Damselfly.

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male)

Anyway, to cut to the chase, one day when out in the garden with the camera I noticed a small 'blobby' thing with a long 'tail', and took some photos. Bear in mind that this 'thing' was only about 10 mm long!

Rat-tailed Maggot (Helophilus pendulus) (larva)

It turns out that this is the larva of a hoverfly species. There is one group of hoverflies that have larvae that live in damp places, and this particular species favours ponds. That 'tail' is actually a tube that it breathes through.

Here is the adult hoverfly - also taken at the new pond.

hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) (adult male)

Who'd believe that such a repulsive looking larva could transform into something as handsome as that hoverfly?!

I hope that you are all well, and staying safe. One day we'll all meet again!

Birds in Colin's Garden

Colin Carr has sent in a couple of delightful photos showing birds in his garden. I would be somewhat excited to have had any of these in my garden. This was the message from Colin:-

Some Blackfordby birds enjoying the rain.

A mother thrush trying to persuade her youngster to start eating for itself, and failing miserably!

And almost in the same spot (taken through the window) a relatively rare sighting of a female black cap.

A lovely little thing.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - Blackfordby Garden

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) (adult and young) - Blackfordby Garden

Thank you for these, Colin. Keep up the good work.

Best wishes to you all. Stay safe - - - Richard

BLACKFORDBY MOTHS at the end of June

First, my apologies for not keeping the blog up-to-date lately - things have been a bit hectic in the Pegler household of late! 

Our Chairman, Brian, had his moth trap out on 24th June, and he got more than he bargained for! He ended up with over a hundred moths of over thirty species. I can fully imagine just how time-consuming that can be as I ventured to put my own trap (somewhat less sophisticated than Brian's) out on Thursday, thinking that it would be a night with few moths to trouble me the next day, and I ended up with 59 moths of 28 species which has taken me until today to identify them all. 

Brian was particularly pleased to get a Satin Beauty, which is a bit of a rarity for Leicestershire and Rutland. Here are a few of Brian's moths from that night.

Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) - Blackfordby garden

Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) - Blackfordby garden

Phlyctaenia coronata - Blackfordby Garden

Satin Beauty (Deileptenia ribeata) - Blackfordby Garden

Shoulder-striped Wainscot (Mythimna comma) - Blackfordby garden

Small Blood-vein (Scopula imitaria) - Blackfordby garden

Smoky Wainscot (Mythimna impura) - Blackfordby garden

Thank you, Brian, for sharing these images with us. You have some wonderful finds there!

Take good care, folks, and stay safe - it'll be a while before this virus becomes history!

Richard Pegler

ORCHIDS OF NORTH WEST LEICESTERSHIRE

Our Chairman, Brian Hammond, has kindly supplied some photos and words about some of the fabulous orchids that he has found recently. I'll let Brian describe these in his own words.

ORCHIDS OF NORTH WEST LEICESTERSHIRE

All photos were taken in the last 2 weeks and all are within 15 miles of Blackfordby. 

Lizard Orchid - Himantoglossum hircinum - Very rare this far North, only specimens in Leicestershire. Normally a plant of Kent & the South Coast.

Lizard Orchid (Himantoglossum hircinum)

Bee Orchid - Ophrys apifera - Quite a few arroud this year in different locations.

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Greater Butterfly Orchid - Platanthera chlorantha - A beautiful but uncommon British Orchid.

Greater Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera chlorantha)

Common Spotted Orchid - Dactylorhiza fuchsii -This is the most common local Orchid.

Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

Violet Helleborine - Epipactis purpurata - Uncommon Orchid that grows in a few dark woodland. Flowers in mid to late July so this specimen is just coming up ready to flower in a few weeks. The violet colour that gives it it's name is clearly visible in the picture.

Violet Helleborine (Epipactis purpurata)

Thank you, Brian, for these great photos and interesting information.

Take good care folks, and stay safe. 

Birds, a Bee, and a Bold Squirrel

I've received some delightful photos submitted by Brian and Simon. I confess to examining Simon's beautiful shots rather closely to check if that tree that both the shots featured was artificial or Photoshopped, as there did not seem to be a hair out of place between the two. It's real, folks!

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Simon's garden

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - Simon's garden

Here are Brian's birds:-

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - Brian's garden

Magpie (Pica pica) - Brian's garden

Starling  (Sturnus vulgaris) (juvenile) - Brian's garden

Rook (Corvus frugilegus) - Brian's garden

Brian has nicely documented a Grey Squirrel raiding his bird feeder. There are mixed feelings about squirrels out there, but I'm rather fond of them, and it's not their fault that somebody brought them here from America!

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - Brian's garden

Brian also sent in a photo of a bee, asking if I could ID it. Sadly, I'm not knowledgeable about bees but, by consulting on the excellent Naturespot web site, I have come to the conclusion that it's Early Bumblebee - please let me know if you think I've got it wrong!

Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) - Brian's garden

That's all for now folks. Until the next time, take good care and stay safe - - - Richard

Colin's Wildflower Meadow - and a new book on local walks

Greetings, folks! 

In 2018, Colin Carr, with the aid of our chairman Brian, seeded part of his paddock with wildflowers. The results are nothing short of wonderful, as you can see from the delightful photos that Colin has submitted. 

Colin's wildflower patch - Blackfordby

 Here are some of the beautiful wildflowers it contains.

Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) - Colin's Wildflower Meadow

Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense) (white form) - Colin's Wildflower Meadow

Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) - Colin's Wildflower Meadow

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) - Colin's Wildflower Meadow

I suspect that everyone knows by now that bees, and many other invertebrates, are perilously declining in numbers, largely due to farming methods and also through loss of habitat to human occupation. I have heard it said, on many an occasion, that if bees disappear the human race will soon follow. It is my belief that we should all be looking for ways to provide places for insects to thrive - whether we have a large plot of land, like Colin, or just a 'postage stamp' sized garden, or even just the ability to have a window box.

Many people are trying to persuade local councils to stop mowing verges and allow wildflowers to re-take posession - unless there's a safety issue - thereby doing something towards saving the planet, and money too! 

Next time you get frustrated by persistent Dandelions, please remember that they're great for wildlife. Take joy from a verge filled with Dandelions - or even Dandelions in your lawn. In fact, consider the possibilities of converting your lawn into a relatively maintenance-free flower meadow.

 

Colin also sent in a photo of a Squirrel dray at the edge of his meadow.  I'm not about to get into the pros and cons of Grey Squirrels here!

Squirrel dray - Colin's Paddock

Colin also kindly notified Brian and I of a short 'e-book' produced by local walker, Mark White, covering local walks in West Ashby. Mark has kindly given permission for me to publicise it here. If you are interested, it's available free-of-charge in .pdf format by emailing Mark at walkingwestashby@gmail.com

 
Take great care, and stay safe. We'll meet again someday - unlike Vera Lynn, I suspect I know where - I just don't know when!

Frog Ramp!

Greetings, everyone! I hope that you are all well and have been managing to enjoy local wildlife.

Colin Carr has kindly sent in some photos of a project that should be of benefit to some of the wildlife that visits his garden pond. I'll let Colin take up the story.

"The stuff you get up to in lockdown. Had the idea for a frog ramp so the new ones can get out of the pond.

Blackfordby's super wood worker Stephen Sinfield  kindly put together one for us. But even before we could see if it worked a frog decided to take a dip first.  

The last image (taken two days later) shows it is already a huge success with the tadpoles which appreciate the shallow water it provides."

 

My Thanks to Colin for the above.

Garden ponds are of great benefit to wildlife, and the well-known Butterfly Brothers have recently stated that, if asked to nominate the most important feature required to make a garden wildlife-friendly, thay always reply - a garden pond.

My wife has a frog phobia so our 2 metre deep koi pond got filled in about 15 years ago and we've not had a pond since, in spite of my hankering to have a wildlife pond, as it would encourage frogs.

I hope, however, that we have now found a solution. For my birthday next month, I expect a delivery of a kit to make a free-standing pond with half-metre high walls with an overhanging lip. This will, hopefully, then be frog-free in deference to Mrs P's fears, but will attract other wildlife - I'm hoping for dragons and damsels! As with Colin's pond, and as recommended by the Butterfly Brothers, this will have a ramp to enable anything falling into the pond to climb out. I'll probably report on progress in due course.

In the meantime, take great care and stay safe - and look after the wildlife out there.

Richard Pegler