A to Z challenge 2023 - A is for . . .

A to Z challenge 2023 – A is for . . .

My theme for this challenge is Nature in all much of her wonderful diversity. My posts will reflect the fact that I am resident in the south of England.

All photographs in this post are the property of the writer.

One of the delights of a garden pond is that it attracts wildlife. Birds come to drink and bathe and feast on insects. Some birds come to feed on the fish! Insects fly in to feed on other insects as well as to drink. Amphibians mate and lay their eggs on water plants and small mammals drink and sometimes swim. Rats are strong, fast swimmers!

                                     Female Southern hawker

Aeshna cyanea, the Southern or blue hawker is a large, beautiful dragonfly with a wingspan of about 110 millimetres, considerably more than its body length of 70 millimetres. They can be seen between May and November, often well away from water, hunting through woodland rides into the summer evening. They mate in still or slow-moving water, the female laying her eggs nearby. The most propitious time to see the Southern hawker is between July and October. They have voracious appetites and feed on insects they catch on the wing. Like all dragonflies, they cannot walk, using their six legs to perch on plants or to hold prey.

The male is dark with blue and green markings, and the female is brown with green markings.

The female lays her eggs in rotting vegetation or wood in late summer or autumn. The eggs hatch in the spring and the nymphs feed on tadpoles, small fish, insects and aquatic invertebrates. After two to three years, they emerge as adults in July or August. They live for about six weeks.

They are widely distributed across Europe and are extremely common. They are known to be curious and will approach people in their territory for closer inspection! Although it might seem alarming to have a large insect flying close, Southern hawkers are harmless, at least to large mammals like humans. They do not bite or sting and there is little likelihood of them tangling themselves in a person’s hair or clothing.

My second ‘A’ is Aleuria aurantia, commonly called orange peel fungus. It grows to about 5 centimetres, with an average cap width of 10 centimetres. It looks exactly like orange peel and is usually seen in the woods from August to November.

It is quite common in Britain and Ireland and is an edible member of the Peziza family. Fried in butter, it develops a smoky, meaty texture.  Some of the Peziza are poisonous but are brownish in colour and never the bright orange of Aleuria aurantia.

Orange peel fungus smells like mushrooms and is locally common, in that where there is one, there will be many. Frequently, it grows near paths, woodland tracks and disturbed earth, particularly if there are rotting trees nearby.

The spores are microscopic and borne on the upper surface of the cap, so are easily blown away when ripe enough to be released.

As with all fungi, if in doubt, avoid eating!

My third and final ‘A’ is Aegithalos caudatus, the long-tailed tit. This pretty little pink-tinged bird always reminds me of a shuttlecock. Long-tailed tits can be seen all across the UK except for the far reaches of Scotland. They are usually in small, busy flocks, darting into shrubs and trees to feast on the insects therein, although they do occasionally eat seeds in the colder months of the year. Their preferred foods are the eggs and larvae of moths and butterflies. At night, when it is cold, they roost together for warmth.

Long-tailed tits’ domed nests are built low down in gorse bushes or brambles, or high in the forks of tree trunks. They are intricate structures of lichen, feathers, spider egg cocoons and moss. Hundreds of pieces of lichen camouflage the exterior of the nest and the inside is lined with thousands of feathers. However, the nests are subject to a high degree of predation of around 83%. If a nest fails after the beginning of May, the breeding pair will not attempt another clutch, but will help at other, successful nests, often those of related birds.

These enchanting little birds weigh less than a £1 coin. It is always a joy to see them, with their ridiculously long tails, and to hear their high-pitched calls as they communicate with each other

 

Identification problems . . .

I saw a moth on Barry’s hat this morning and of course I had to try and identify it – without success so far, I have to say.

side view

detail - so delicate

Anyway, in the course of my research I came across this note –‘passes winter as an egg’ and that made me laugh. I started thinking how difficult it would be trying to metamorphose backwards, as it were, and fit into a receptacle now patently far too small. In human terms that is a ghastly thought, not to mention eye-watering.

I also discovered that the Ghost moth, among others, has no tongue and cannot feed. What a sad life that must be. I suppose it’s akin to human parents raising their young and then popping their clogs. I know it feels like that sometimes and often we feel redundant. Let’s be honest, we are redundant once the bank of Mum and Dad serves no further purpose and our young people have flown the nest and are busily growing their own credit ratings and treating overdrafts as a challenge rather than a limit (or was that just me?)

It is sobering to realise that so many beautiful creatures live very short lives. Dragonflies spend more time as somewhat unattractive nymphs. They live in the murky depths of ponds for three or four years, terrorising the more peaceable inhabitants. Then they emerge from their hard cases as diaphanous beauties, bringing colour and pleasure to onlookers, though not to the unfortunate insects they hunt without mercy. 

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)

Not as great a beauty as the Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

What a stunner - but completely helpless on the ground for dragonflies cannot walk . . .

Laying eggs

So much beauty, such a little life

They mate, they lay eggs, they die. However, they have no thought for the future, no understanding of their ephemeral existence. What do I know, though? Maybe they have a very complex belief system and look forward to dragonfly heaven where food is plentiful and life never ends. Would I have found them so attractive had I lived/existed in prehistoric times when they had wingspans up to 75 cms? Nonetheless, they are fascinating beasts.

However, and I hate to repeat this cliché, it’s all relative . . . We live but a blink of an eye when compared to galaxies. Who knows what the Mars probe will reveal? (provided it lands safely, of course!)

Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

Thank you to Lisa from 'Lisa's Chaos' who organises and hosts this meme. Click here to see more macros.

Here are more shots of the Southern Hawker that visited our garden to find a place to lay her eggs.

 For Mellow Yellow Monday I selected some nasturtiums. 

To see more yellows please click here.

Camera Critters #127 Southern Hawker

I was replenishing the bird feeders today when my attention was caught by a large, apple green dragonfly which I later identified as a Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea). 

There was no male nearby but she had obviously been fertilised. She was clattering her wings quite noisily and seeking a place to lay her eggs. Rather than depositing her eggs on water plants she was ovipositing in the moss growing between the bricks on the bridge. 

Sometimes Southern Hawkers will lay eggs in rotting wood or on reeds. 

Here she is jabbing her ovipositor into the moss.

You can see her damaged wing quite clearly here on the left of the photo.

Though they breed late summer in vegetation near water they hunt well away from water and can often be seen late into the summer evening hawking through woodland rides. They are very common in southern and central England and Wales, but scarce in Scotland and only visitors to Ireland.
The eggs hatch in the spring and the larvae then feed on tadpoles and invertebrates. After two or three years the adult will emerge to begin its busy, merry life.

On close inspection of the photographs we discovered that our garden visitor had a damaged wing so I guess she is nearing the end of her short six weeks of life.
Aeshna means ugly or misshapen and cyanea means dark blue. The male is usually green with blue markings though sometimes all blue males are seen. 
I don't think they're ugly at all - they're one of Nature's brightest jewels.
Thank you to Misty Dawn for hosting this meme. To see more Critters please go here.