Rowan Berries

Berries of Rowan, also called Mountain Ash, Sorbus aucuparia.  Hayes Common, 28 August 2011.

Rowan berries are the first woodland fruits to appear, sometimes in mid-summer. They last for quite a while. This is actually quite a small bunch, and the trees are covered with them.

You can see that these leaves have been eaten from the inside by leaf miners, which are often the larvae of tiny micromoths.  Their channels start off tiny, where the egg was laid, and grow along with the miner up to the point where they pupate and then emerge.

The berries are being enjoyed by a wasp.