Dotty

It's amazing what turns up in the back garden from time to time. Often, these interlopers take the form of insects and a couple of days ago, I found this, hiding under the watering can rose.

Following some extensive searching on-line, I think I have identified it correctly as a Dot Moth (Melanchra persicariae).

Common and widespread in Britain, it is a frequent visitor to urban gardens. Their larvae feeding on many of our garden plants. Two years ago, we had a caterpillar of this species in the garden...

... but this is the first adult I've seen.

Damsels

The countryside is filed with Damselflies at the moment. as we walked around the lakes of straw's Bridge this morning, there seemed to be hundreds of them flitting about. This one obliged by settling on a leaf for me to take its photo.

It turned out to be a Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans. Common in Britain, they congregate around rivers, lakes, ponds and canals and are tolerant of slightly polluted water. This species is most easily identified by the sky blue eighth segment of its abdomen.

The lakes were looking beautiful this morning, despite the rather overcast conditions.

Its all looking very green right now...

And the resident Mute Swans were still on the look-out for food from anyone who ventured by.

Snake!

Don't worry, this blog post does not have anything remotely reptilian about it. The snake referenced in the title is the name of a rather intriguing little insect called a Snake Fly (Raphidia notata).

On our walk this morning, we stopped for coffee at the Mapperley Reservoir picnic area and this little charmer, was found already occupying our bench when we arrived - so we shared the seat.

Snake Flies are supposed to be fairly common in the British Isles, but this is the first I have ever seen - so another new 'tick' for the list. About an inch long, they feed on aphids, scale insects and a host of other garden pests, so they are a good friend to the gardeners among us.  There are four species of Snake Fly in the UK, three occurring on conifer trees, and this one which prefers Oaks. This one turned out to be a female as it has a long ovipositor or egg-laying tube, looking like a sharp tail sticking out of its abdomen.

Despite Malcolm's suggestion that I should squash it, we left her still sitting on the bench when we continued on our walk.

Country Colours

No walk this morning, as we had other things to do, but I thought we'd have a few more pictures of our recent walks around the area.
Along the old railway lines, where much improvement work has been done over the past year or so, the wild flowers are spectacular. Without a doubt, the most numerous are the Ox-eye Daisies.

In some places, they are just breathtaking...

particularly when set against a backdrop of Red Campion.

Growing tall and proud along the fence-line are several Great Mullein plants. Statuesque and beautiful, they too, make a wonderful display.

These spikes of large, yellow flowers, contrast with the grey, velvet-like hairy stems and leaves.

These flowers are popular with the bees - as well as with us!

Common

We start the new month, with some 'common' flowers from our recent walks around Shipley Park. Starting with an exceptionally pretty little flower to be found along the old railway lines - Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea).

Small and rather delicate to look at, this is a common plant (as the name suggests), found growing in fairly dry, gravelly conditions and is a member of the Gentian family.

I have mentioned the Common Spotted Orchids several times in recent days and have posted a few pictures of them growing in the meadows around these parts. A couple of these delightful plants have taken root in our front garden, one of which had started to flower. Unfortunately, this flower spike was broken off  recently - we think by a passing cat or dog. Disappointing as this was, it did give us a chance to get a closer look at the individual flowers as it stood in a glass of water on our windowsill.

Lastly, a plant which is easily overlooked but is still rather common. The English Stonecrop (Sedum anglicum) is a succulent plant which hugs the ground closely and grows among stones and pebbles, making it even harder to spot.

The succulent leaves are often tinged with red as in this case, making them slightly easier to see, particularly when growing among the grey stones of this old car park.

Warming Up

After such a cool spring, things have started to warm up a bit now, with the promise of a lot more heat to come over the next few days. Possibly a little too much for my liking, but Malcolm will be happy.
So, this morning, we took the flask with us and set out for Mapperley Reservoir.

Without a doubt, the most striking thing about the reservoir at the moment, has to be the vast number of Water Lilies.

It seems wherever you look, there are hundreds of them.

Swimming about in amongst the lily pads, thousands of fish fry are to be found, using the pads as a nursery with many hiding places if needed.

Having enjoyed the water, it was time for the flask to come out and for us to take in the sights of the picnic area - seen here, a few weeks ago when there were fewer leaves on the trees.

Setts and Spots

Along the green lane which leads to Brook Farm, near Mapperley Village, the careful observer will note the unmistakable excavations of a Badger sett.

Fresh soil has been scraped away from the hole as the Badgers within have obviously been doing a little housework.
It seems that everywhere at the moment, Common Spotted Orchids are blooming - and blooming marvellous!

This morning's walk around Straw's Bridge, took us through the wild meadows of Pewit Carr. This meadow is absolutely breathtaking with flowers and the orchids are among the more common - and beautiful.

Growing among the Orchids and grasses are the Yellow Rattle flowers. Semi-parasitic, they take some of their nutrients from the grasses, thus keeping them in check and allowing the other flowers to get a foot-hold.

Looking closely at the Yellow Rattle flowers (Rhinanthus minor), you find that the upper lip of the flower has two, violet coloured 'teeth', adding to the rich colours of the meadow.