Insects and Flowers

Beetles, Byturus ochraceus, in a Bulbous Buttercup flower.  Darrick Wood, 11 May 2015.

 Just two photos this time.  I was pleased to get this shot of these tiny beetles.  Usually I find them with their heads buried in their food, which you can see that some of these are doing.  But one of them has its head clearly visible.

I am fairly sure of the species name, but not completely confident, so my apologies if it is incorrect.

Hoverfly, Sphaerophoria species, female, on Meadow Saxifrage, Saxifraga granulata.  Darrick Wood, 11 May 2015.

I love hoverflies on flowers.  They provide great contrast in forms, textures and colours.  You can tell this Sphaerophoria is female because there is a gap between the two compound eyes.  It's not possible to identify the species from a photograph.  It's eating the pollen from the stamen of this Meadow Saxifrage - you can see its tongue reaching out.

Flower Closeups

Fodder Burnet, Poterium sanguisorba ssp. balearicum.  Darrick Wood, 10 May 2015.

These are flower closeups.  They do not give an impression of the plants as a whole in any way, but they do show the beauty of detail.  The first is Fodder Burnet, a close relative of the more common Salad Burnet.  The heads have flowers of two different genders.  First, the female flowers open at the top.  You can see the red stigmas on the head in the middle.  Then the stamens droop out of the male flowers.
 

Wood Forget-me-not, Myosotis sylvatica.  The Knoll, Hayes, 10 May 2015.

These Wood Forget-me-not flowers are a light sky blue, and are larger than those of the other wild Forget-me-nots. It's a common wildflower and can also be seen as a garden plant.  They seed themselves quite well in my own little garden.

Hoary Cress, Lepidium draba.  West Wickham Common, 11 May 2015.

Hoary Cress appears to be tolerant of salt.  I found this display at the edge of a main road.  It makes a white splash in much the same way that Cow Parsley lines country lanes.

Crosswort, Cruciata laevipes.  Field below Darrick Wood, 11 May 2015.

Crosswort is easy to find in Bromley county.  Look for yellow patches in meadows.  The leaves are yellowish too, and the plant as a whole almost glows.  It grows well on the chalk, but this patch was in a clay meadow.

Field Horsetail, Equisetum arvense.  Fertile cone.  Field below Darrick Wood, 11 May 2015.

In the same field I found this much more primitive flower.  It's a fertile cone of a Field Horsetail, a plant that reproduces with spores rather than seeds, as ferns do.  Plants in this family are the distant descendants of those that turned into coal.  Their vegetative shoots look nothing like this!

Two Tiny Gems

Slender Parsley-piert, Aphanes australis.  Joyden's Wood, 27 April 2015

Joyden's Wood is a very pleasant and varied environment.  You can walk through the woods, past an area of heath, or examine the very short grass in what is known as the Picnic Area.  There, you can find several tiny plants, two of which I have not seen anywhere else.  This is not because they are rare, but because you have to look hard to spot them!  The mosses in this photo will give you an idea of the scale. 

This green plant, Slender Parsley-piert, has flowers which are also green, helping its disguise.  In the top photo, it is in full bloom.  But it is widespread here, which helps it to be seen.

Slender Parsley-piert, Aphanes australis.  Joyden's Wood, 27 April 2015

Here's an enlarged picture with flowers at the centre.  The lobes surrounding the flowers are oblong, distinguishing this from Alphanes arvensis, Parsley-piert without the slender, which has triangular lobes. 

This plant is widespread in the Picnic Area, but there is another which seems to be a lot less prolific.

Bird's-foot, Ornithopus perpusillus.  Joyden's Wood, 12 May 2015.

You might think this Bird's-foot, having a coloured flower, would be easier to spot, but the whole rosette is only 3 cm across and the flowers are about 2mm each, so in fact you have to get down on your knees to be sure they are there at all.

Bird's-foot, Ornithopus perpusillus.  Joyden's Wood, 12 May 2015.

The plant is named after the appearance of the seed pods, which will be along later.  It is a lot less common than the Slender Parsley-piert, but still has 44 known sites in Kent, for those prepared to get down and look. 

More Late Spring Flowers

Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus.  Hayes Churchyard.  4 May 2015.

 Some more of what's flowering all around.  This Bird's-foot Trefoil even grows in lawns, as long as the owner doesn't use a selective weedkiller.  It's the seed pods that resemble a bird's foot; not visible yet.

Three-cornered Leek, Allium triquetrum.  Roundabout Wood, 8 May 2015.

This Three-cornered Leek (or sometimes Garlic) has a strong oniony smell and is quite edible.  It turns up in many local woods and although it is decorative, it's an invasive pest, so why not eat it to death?  Well, local woods are usually well used by dog walkers, so some caution and a thorough washing would be advisable.

Danish Scurvygrass, Cochlearia danica.  Verge of Heathfield Road, Keston.    4 May 2015.

Many roads are lined by this small white flower, Danish Scurvygrass.  It spreads along the very edges of the grass verges because it is tolerant of salt and its seeds are spread by traffic, which taken together are making it very successful.  Without the roads it would just live at the coast.  It contains vitamin C and (it is said) used to be eaten by sailors to prevent scurvy.

Sheep's Sorrel, Rumex acetosella.  Keston Common, car park and grass nearby.  4 May 2015.

This humble plant gives a reddish tint to areas of acidic grassland.  Those lovely leaves are described as "hastate."  That ought to mean "like a spear" but in botany, it means having the shape of a halberd.  But if you look up halberds, you will be hard pushed to find one of this shape.  So, that name for the shape is not entirely helpful.

Common Vetch, Vicia sativa.  Keston Common, grass near car park.  4 May 2015.

This is one of several vetch species in this area, and so far this year, the only one I have seen in flower. 

The last one today, Wood Speedwell, is similar to the Germander Speedwell shown in the previous post.  The differences are, this one has evenly hairy stems, leaves with stalks, and flowers which are more mauve than blue.  But they are close enough in appearance that many people confuse them, especially when not in flower.

Wood Speedwell, Veronica montata.  Roundabout Wood, 8 May 2015.

Despite the Latin name montana, it does grow in the woods.

Late Spring Flowers

Meadow Saxifrage, Saxifraga granulata.  Hayes churchyard.  4 May 2015.

Many Spring flowers are all around, and the full Summer bloom is not far away.   Here are some I found at the start of May.  The first, Meadow Saxifrage, is scarce in Kent but can be found in (at least) two places near me.  This group is in the churchyard in Hayes, where it is widespread and well established.

Cuckooflower, Cardamine pratensis.  Hayes Churchyard.  4 May 2015.

It competes in size and location with the Cuckooflower, also called Milkmaids or Lady's Smock (Why, I wonder?).  In Latin it's the Meadow Cardamine.  The colour of the flower varies from white to this slightly bluish pink.

But one of the biggest hits of this season is the glorious Bulbous Buttercup.

Bulbous Buttercup, Ranunculus bulbosus.  Keston Common.  4 May 2015.

This is the earliest buttercup to flower en masse.  The woodland Goldilocks Buttercup is earlier, but that is scarce and fleeting.  This one can fill fields with its bright golden glow.  It can be told apart from the Creeping Buttercup, also common, by its fully reflexed sepals, all turned back to touch the stem below them; and most of the Creeping Buttercups come out later.

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys.  Hayes Churchyard.  4 May 2015.

Also coming out now, following on from the Common Field Speedwell (which is a foreigner from Persia) is this small bright blue flower, Germander Speedwell, sometimes called Bird's-eye Speedwell.  There are half a dozen common Speedwells and several scarcer ones which are not all that difficult to find, and actually people sometimes mistake this Germander for the Persian species, so you can tell this one by: 1. Flowers in racemes - many of them developing in turn from one flower-stem. 2.  Leaves with no stalks, or hardly any. 3. Twin lines of hair on the stems, on opposite sides, their positions alternating between leaf nodes. 

White-flowered Herb Robert, Geranium robertianum var. bernettii.  Keston, 4 May 2015.

Last for today: an unusual variety of a very common little Geranium, Herb Robert, that normally has reddish-purple flowers.  There are two white-flowered varieties.  The other one, var. alba, is sometimes sold commercially as Celtic White; it has no red pigment at all in the leaves or stems.  This one, var. bernettii, does, as you can see. I saw this in the same spot four years ago, so it seems to be persistent, not just an occasional sport.

A Couple of First Sightings

Flame Shoulder, Ochropleura plecta. Hayes, 29 April 2015

I'm not seeing many moths yet in my garden trap, but here are a couple of common favourites turning up again for the first time this year.  These are both fresh and pretty specimens and more of them will keep coming for several months. 

The Flame Shoulder is easy to recognise with its distinctive striped wings.  The caterpillar eats a range of plants and has no trouble finding food.  The caterpillar of the Pale Mottled Willow eats seeds of many sorts and can establish itself where humans store grain, for example.

Pale Mottled Willow, Paradrina clavipalpis. . Hayes, 25 April 2015

This one is on my measuring paper, with 5mm squares. This is a lot easier than trying to get a moth to pose next to a ruler.  Beginners sometimes have trouble recognising it, but those white flecks around the kidney-mark are very distinctive; there may be one or several and they might be in different positions, but if you see them you will know.  There is a row of dark triangles along the leading edge of the wing to confirm the ID.