Large butterflies

Look out for the larger butterflies during the sunshine this week. There are Peacock butterflies and maybe Painted Lady butterflies. Here's a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) seen on the high bank of the canal last week. Most of these Red Admirals are summer migrants.

If you happen to have Buddleia in your garden, it's a particular favourite of the Red Admiral.

June expedition

Our June walk began with us examining some of the moths from the night's trapping. The Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor), one of the largest insects in the area, was much admired for its beautiful pink and green markings.

The Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata) is one of several green moths: somewhat surprisingly moths do not generally have the green colour of leaves and grass for camouflage.

We saw the first of the annual damselflies — the Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)— resplendent in its vivid blue. In the past week Grace and Annie, while surveying the flora of the canal bank, saw the Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) and the Banded Jewelwing (Calopteryx splendens).

The young people asked about cuckoo spit that they observed on some of the plants. It's a white frothy liquid secreted by the nymphs of insects called Froghoppers (Cercopidae). The liquid protects the nymph from predation. It doesn't damage the plants.

Again the weather was poor and we saw very few butterflies and bees. By late June we should have been seeing good numbers of Ringlet and Meadow Brown butterflies (instead saw only Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell). They have since appeared but in small numbers. Then again the grass has been cut short for about two metres on either side of the path and that has inevitably reduced the numbers.

Our main focus was on three of the four types of orchid which we see on the canal — the Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), the Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and the Common Twayblade (Listera ovata). The last of these, being pale yellow or green, is hard to see and takes some practice to find. The fourth orchid, the Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea), flowers later and will be admired on our July walk. All of these orchids are relatively rare in Ireland now and should never be picked.

During the month Gerry had the first sighting in 2016 of a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). This is very good news as these beautiful little birds were often seen before the two harsh winters of 2009 and 2010. It uses overhanging branches (1-2 metres above the water) to watch for fish, so you might like to eye up some suitable places along the canal bank. Although 60 per cent of its diet is fish, it also feeds on insects.

As well as the project undertaken by Grace and Annie on the canal bank, Ruairí and Eoin have begun a quadrat study of grassland flora. many thanks to Eugene, who constructed a square-metre quadrat for us to use.

This fascinating study is being done in response to a request from the National Biodiversity Data Centre as part of its National Sampling Framework. We have completed two studies in Lesley’s garden and two on the high bank.

Two families have had some success in establishing wildflower meadows in their gardens even in this first year. We're collecting seed from the meadow in Lesley’s garden for distribution. Orchids appeared along the road in two areas of uncut grass, showing what may happen if you leave an uncut area (it's only likely to happen if the grass hasn't been improved and is effectively the same as the surrounding fields).

Waterways Ireland have given us small notices to put outside our gardens. We hope each family will use one to help raise awareness.

Date: 25 June 2016 Time: 12-1

Attendance: 13 (including 5 children)

What we observed and talked about —

Bee: Bombus pascuorum

 

Butterflies: Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood

Damselflies: Common Blue Damselfly

Flowers: Arrowhead, Bramble, Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Common Knapweed, Common Nettle, Common Plantain, Common Spotted Orchid, Common Twayblade, Creeping Buttercup, Dandelion, Dog-rose, Field Bindweed, Ox-eye Daisy, Prickly Sowthistle, Pyramidal Orchid, Red Clover, Silverweed, White Clover, Yellow Flag, Yellow Water-lily

Hoverflies: Helophilus sp.

 

Macro moths: Common Carpet, Elephant Hawkmoth, Green Carpet, Light Emerald

Micro moths: Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix, Brindled Plume

Trees: elder, hawthorn

Hoverfly

Thanks to Eugene for this photograph of a hoverfly feeding on the pollen of an Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) taken on our monthly walk in June. Hoverflies are pollinators. They, unlike the majority of insects, can digest pollen. The surface coating of pollen is resistant to the digestive juices of most insects. The yellowness of a hoverfly can reflect the amount and type of pollen which it has eaten.

This is one of the Helophilus species of hoverflies. Alas this photograph doesn't reveal which of the varieties of Helophilus hoverflies this is. They are distinguishable by the markings on the hind leg. So we need to photograph both the body and the legs next time. These kind of hoverflies are most frequent in damp places and are often seen basking on waterside vegetation.

What may happen if you leave your grass uncut

This is what may happen if you leave your grass uncut from the beginning of May. Orchids popped up in the roadside verge outside two houses on our road. One of these patches has since been cut but we hope to be able to preserve these sites next summer.

These are Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), the same species we observed on our biodiversity walk at the end of June. The appearance of these flowers is only likely to happen where the grass has not been reseeded (if it is essentially unimproved grassland).

25 June

In recent weeks you might have been hearing the male cuckoo calling in Baltrasna. He's most clearly heard in the early morning when there are fewer noises to compete with.

Our monthly expedition will take place on Saturday, 25 June at 12 noon. We hope to include a walk to an area of abundant orchid growth. These no longer grow on the south bank, due to the development of the towpath and the impact of mowing, but appear in a few places along the north bank.

On our walk along the canal we should see some butterflies that appear in midsummer, including the Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

Last month we saw the Spring Hawker (Hairy Dragonfly) patrolling its territory along the canal bank. We can expect to see an even larger dragonfly (Common Hawker or Brown Hawker) and possibly some colourful smaller dragonflies, such as the Ruddy Darter.

There should again also be an opportunity to view some moths before we set out on our walk. Several moths have been recorded for the first time in the area this month, including this Aristotelia ericinella that feeds on heather.

May expedition

For our May expedition we were blessed with better weather and more things to see and discuss. During the month Peter and Eugene had completed our construction project (grant aided by Waterways Ireland). The bird boxes and bug hotels were treated by the young people on a Friday evening. 

They were placed along the canal and in members’ gardens. In the week preceding the expedition, a very large bug mansion was placed on the high bank near the bridge and two smaller ones along the canal towpath. These represent a huge effort on the part of Peter and Eugene and we were very pleased to receive colourful signage from Waterways Ireland. Thanks to Waterways Ireland we also now can put up signs at both ends of the walk to warn walkers and cyclists of the event.

 

 Our expedition began by spending 10 minutes looking at the moths which had been trapped overnight in the Roes’ garden beside the canal. The trap was opened in the shade of a tree and we were able to see a wide variety of moths in terms of colour, shape and size. 

The smallest one was an Epiblema scutulana, which feeds on thistles.

It doesn’t have an English name; its scientific name refers to it feeding on roots and then to its pattern resembling a Roman shield. 

It has a bird-dropping style pattern and is, therefore, confident of not being predated by birds. We passed the resting moth round the group in an egg box. A White Ermine was passed around the group in a bug viewer.

 

Despite it being sunny, we were disappointed to see few butterflies and bees. Eoin was the most successful recorder as he had been allotted the Hairy Dragonfly (Spring Hawker). Its presence and the upward growth of horsetail gave us a chance to talk about relics from the age of the dinosaurs.

Among the other things seen and discussed were:

• hawthorn in full bloom;
• Common Frog
• flag iris at the edge of the canal (the only iris native to Ireland);
• bog bean in the water.
  

Further out in the canal were the first leaves of the water lily.

Most of the newly-blooming flowers were yellow, including silverweed and bird’s foot trefoil, which attracts the Common Blue butterfly. Anther interesting yellow flower that appears on the boreen and in members’ gardens is wood avens (the only one of the three avens native to Ireland that we can see here — the others being mountain avens and water avens).

We discussed the pervasive and damaging presence of bracken, which looks like an attractive fern but which suppresses wild flowers and produces carcinogenic spores in autumn. Members were encouraged to try to eliminate it in their gardens by repeated cutting (it can take up to six years to eradicate).

   

Date: 28 May 2016 Time: 12-1.15

Attendance: 19 (including 8 children)

What we observed and talked about —

Amphibians: Common Frog

Bees: Bombus lucorum, Bombus pascuorum

Birds: Blackbird, Great Tit

 

Butterflies: Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Small Tortoiseshell

                   Speckled Wood, Wood White

Damselflies: Common Blue Damselfly

Dragonflies: Spring Hawker

Flowers: Marsh Marigold, Dandelion, Nettle, Lady’s Smock, Silverweed,

               Wood Avens, Dog Violet, Vetch, Red Clover, White Clover, Sedge,

               Water Mint, Bindweed, thistles, Flag, Buttercup, Common Plantain,

               Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Water Lily, Meadowsweet, Bog Bean, Herb Robert

Macro moths: Alder Moth, Muslin Moth, Pale Tussock, Small Square-spot,

                       White Ermine

Micro moths: Epiblema scutulana

Plants: bracken, bulrush, horsetail

Trees: elder, hawthorn, willow

April expedition

 Our April expedition took place on a disappointingly cold day with a sharp wind. It was, therefore, inevitable that we would see very few bees and butterflies. We did, however, photograph two bumblebees (Bombus lucorum) during the event. 

There’s always something to enjoy and we had time to examine flowers.

1. Lady’s Smock (sometimes called Cuckoo Flower) is a larval food-plant for the Orange-tip and Green-veined White butterflies. Members of the group pointed out that some of the flowers are white, while others are lilac pink — both are attractive to the butterflies.
   

 

2. Dandelion is a good plant for early pollinators. We blew some dandelion clocks and marvelled at the ease with which the dandelion spreads its seeds.

3. Marsh Marigold is another bright yellow plant and grows at the edge of the water.
   

All plants have Latin names and these make them recognisable across the world:

• Lady’s Smock is Cardamine pratensis (showing that it grows in meadows);
• Marsh Marigold is Caltha palustris (showing that it grows in marshy ground);
• Dandelion is Taraxacum officinale (indicating its traditional use in herbal medicine).

It’s not necessary to remember these names but with a little understanding interesting connections can be made.

We also looked at trees along our route:

1.                  a row of conifers, much loved by the seed-eating goldfinches;

2.                  willow, which with early flowers full of pollen is great for insects and other invertebrates (creatures without a backbone);

3.                  hawthorn, which is good for May blossom and in autumn has red haws popular with some birds;

4.                  elder, which has June blossoms and berries in autumn;

5.                  ash, which we identified as suitable trees for bird-nesting boxes as there was a lot of birdsong — we spotted robins, chaffinches, blue tits, blackbirds and a song thrush.

 

 Date: 30 April 2016 Time: 12-1

Attendance: 27 (including 14 children)

What we observed and talked about —

Bees: Bombus lucorum

Birds: Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Robin, Song Thrush

Flowers: Marsh Marigold, Dandelion, Nettle, Lady’s Smock

Plants: bramble, ivy

Trees: birch, elder, hawthorn, willow