The Garden Safari Sat. 7th. & Sun 8th, July

This will be he third Garden Safari that we have taken part in, I think there was one before we moved to the village. As you can see, once again it is raising money for the Pilgrims Hospices. The last two have been very successful and as well as raising money they bring a fabulous atmosphere to the village. I think this year there will be about 30 gardens open, and I hope I'll be able to sneak of for a few minutes to see some of them.

This was our garden two years ago, mainly Pam's work and design, it was a mass of Echiums and other structural plants. This year we will be in a partly transitional state, but hopefully the garden will still have interesting features. Providing the weather isn't too bad I will be running a couple of moth traps overnight and hopefully there will be a few interesting beasts to see, along with a bit of wildlife around the ponds.

Hawk Moths

Last night was good for different Hawk Moths, seven in all. There were two Privet Hawk-Moths, two Lime Hawk-Moths, one of them is above.

Also in the trap were two Elephant Hawk Moths, named after the long "snout" of the caterpillar.

Most spectacular of all was an Eyed Hawk-Moth. When it is threatened it spreads its wings and shows the eyes, making it look like a larger, fierce animal.

The Peppered Moth Story

The peppered Moth, Biston betularia, became famous when it was used to demonstrate the theory of natural selection. Moths are more variable within species than most animals. The Peppered Moth is a good example. It varies from almost black specimens to the normal back and white "speckled" specimens. All-dark individuals became the dominant form in certain parts of northern England and it was postulated that this was due to industrial pollution making the dark moths better camouflaged than the paler forms. Nowadays, the melanic form f. carbonaria is declining again in these areas and this would appear to coincide with cleaner industries. However, since the original work, the experiments to demonstrate advantages of the dark moths have been shown to be flawed and the situation is still one of controversy. Much has been written and this rather modest animal has assumed a significance well beyond what might have been expected. A complete on-line lecture by Prof. Laurence Cook of Manchester Metropolitan University explains the complex research clearly.

I have caught a very dark example, but not since I've lived here, but the ones I catch are quite variable. below are three example from the last few days.

This is the palest of the ones I've caught this year.

This is about the average colour I catch.

This is the darkest one I've caught this year.

This one from the 2nd June 2004 is the darkest I've caught at St Margaret's.

A bit of Botanising

I'm not a good botanist, but I can manage to recognise Poppies, I think these are Common Poppies, Papaver rhoeas, and they are a fantastic sight, as you walk from the monument down to Hope Point.

On the way it is worth looking out for a spike of Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis, there are a few just about out at the moment. I'm told that this year hasn't been a particularly good year for orchids so it was good to find these in full bloom.

On the other hand, my plant mentor, Phil Chantler, says that Broomrapes have done well. There are certainly a lot of what I think are Common Broomrapes, Orobanche minor, but although this is probably correct thet are a complex group and I know nothing of flower anatomy to check properly. Broomrapes are interesting because they are parasites on the roots of other plants so they lack chlorophyll and hence any green colouration, and their leaves are vestigial. Above-ground stems are produced only for the purpose of flowering and setting seed. The Common or Lesser Broomrapes often uses members of the Dandelion family as hosts.

Azure Damselfly

This Morning was hot and sunny and for the first time this year I noticed blue damselflies dancing over the pond. They were Azure Blue Damselflies (Coenagrion pulchellum). Here are two mating, the female drops eggs into the vegetation, while escorted by the male.

We also get a second blue damselfly, the Common Blue (Enallagma cyathigerum). They are very similar, but the Variable Blue has a U shaped mark on segment two, as shown above, while the Common blue has a mark like a mushroom, which I hope to photograph later.

Wallets Court

Now a Hotel, Wallets Court is an old country manor house, mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is set in extensive grounds just before you enter the village from the A258. It has managed to retain much of the atmosphere of the Elizabethan era. Built in 1627, Walletts Court Hotel features a carved porch, original wall painting, even a priesthole, and it has many historical associations. The restaurant has a good reputation, although as yet we haven't eaten there. They boast an award-winning cuisine, which they say is chosen with a Jacobean flavour, that is served in the beamed candlelit restaurant. Bedrooms are divided between the main house and converted barns, but as you would expect the price is at the top end of the range. There is also a gym and swimming pool and membership is available to non-residents of the Hotel. I need to explore the history to a greater degree because there must be many interesting stories associated with Wallets Court, especially with the building going back 480 years.

Red Admiral and a Hummer

As well as the Painted Ladies the Red Valerian also was host to several Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth. The Red Admiral is closely related to the Painted lady. It is a very widespread species but it has trouble surviving the winter in the UK (although some do) and so the population is boosted by migrants from mainland Europe. It is indeed a strong migrant, it has been recorded flying at night and also in sub zero temperatures. I occasionally find one in my moth trap when I check them in the morning.

In the picture below you can see how cryptically the underside of the hind-wing is patterned. When at rest the fore-wing is covered by this and the butterfly becomes well camouflaged, despite its bright colours.

I saw the first Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) of the year yesterday. It is a species of hawk moth with a long proboscis, and is capable of hovering, making an audible humming noise while it does so.

These two features make it look remarkably like a hummingbird when it feeds on flowers. Most years someone phones me to tell me they've got a Hummingbird in their garden, and they usually take a lot of convincing that it is in fact a moth. It flies during the day, especially in bright sunshine, but also at dusk, dawn, and even in the rain. These two pictures were taken with flash, almost freezing the wing movement. The caterpillars feed on Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum) and after the first influx later records are probably of moths bred locally.

The garden was full of baby birds today, including Blue Tits, Great Tits, Log-tailed Tits, Wrens, Robins, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, House Sparrows and Starlings, and I've probably forgotten some, so hopefully many of our garden birds have done well so far despite the recent change to wet and colder weather.