Mint

 

Mint

 Last evening, as I was cutting mint for our supper’s new potatoes, I discovered a caterpillar. It was quite large and fairly unprepossessing but when I identified it I discovered it was the caterpillar of the mint moth (Pyrausta aurata). Mint moths are very pretty little day-flying moths that feed on various culinary herbs.

If the caterpillar survives long enough to pupate, it will join other second generation mint moths and fly in late July (I think – it’s quite difficult to find a detailed life history of a mint moth!)

 Mint moth

This particular caterpillar was feeding on the underside of an apple mint leaf.

 

Apple mint

 I love mint. I know some gardeners regard it as a garden thug, but I’m not a proper gardener and am pathetically grateful for anything, no, not anything, but many things that deign to grow in our ground.

 I don’t think we’ve ever had couch grass – actually, at some points in the year we don’t have any grass. Reseeding is not merely annual, it is ongoing. The plant that pops up everywhere just to irritate me is a sedge.

 Spearmint

Anyway, mint grows beautifully in our garden. Apart from apple mint, we have spearmint, black peppermint, grapefruit, pineapple and eau de cologne.

 Pineapple mint, just emerging. 

I hope the grapefruit mint will put in an appearance, too.

 Eau de cologne mint

I wondered how eau de cologne mint could be used. It’s quite strongly scented. I found that it can be used in pot pourri, mint teas, herb vinegar, fruit salads and jellies. The leaves make an excellent addition to a relaxing bath and crushed leaves rubbed over arms and legs are a good insect repellent.

It is also reputed to be the best mint for making mint julep, for which there are many recipes online but I grow it simply because I like it.

I shan’t be adding it to salad or new potatoes, though!

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

 

A to Z challenge 2023 – M 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.

Magpie (Pica pica)

Although it may be described as a black and white bird, the magpie displays other glossy iridescent colours of purple, green and blue on its wings and tail. 

The long tail amounts to half the entire length of the bird, except for young magpies, which have short tails. Juveniles also look rather washed-out, with their white parts looking quite grubby.

Juvenile.

For some reason Rudyard Kipling's poem came to mind, or, rather, the refrain:

'Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up and down again!'

There are several collective nouns for magpies – conventicle, gulp, mischief, tidings or tribe. I like the alliteration of ‘mischief of magpies’.

A mischief of magpies will frequently gather in spring to decide territorial rights and social hierarchy. This is important because magpies do not stray far from the areas in which they hatch.

There are those boots again!

Magpies often pair for life, and when preparing to breed, male and female build a large, untidy nest from branches and twigs and line it with mud and leafy material. Both parents feed the young.

I suggest that most of us know the nursery rhyme about magpies, which counts to seven, but the longest rhyme is local to Lancashire.

One for sorrow, two for joy,

Three for a girl, four for a boy,

Five for silver, six for gold,

Seven for a secret never to be told.

Eight for a wish, nine for a kiss,

Ten a surprise you should be careful not to miss,

Eleven for health, twelve for wealth,

Thirteen beware, it’s the devil himself.

 

Mint moth (Pyrausta aurata)

The caterpillars of this tiny pretty moth feed on herbs like mint, thyme and marjoram and this is where adults are likely to be found resting during the day when they are not flying. The moths also fly at night.

The mint moth is sometimes called the small purple and gold and can be seen on the wing from April to September, and occasionally a month either side.

It occurs patchily across England, Wales, southern Scotland and the Inner Hebrides. Sunny summer days are the best times to try and spot them.

Moss

I know very little about moss, but a closer look reveals a miniature world of wonder.

Little Things

Little Things

Seeing things through a four-year-old’s eyes is endlessly fascinating and often very amusing. Frankie went to play in the conservatory as usual the other day and came running back in great distress. He had seen a ‘big, black thing’ on the floor. I went to investigate and found the cats surveying a large stag beetle with five and a half legs. I don’t know whether the cats were responsible for the amputation but the beetle seemed unfazed and I picked it up and deposited it in the garden. The next day it was back again. 

I returned it to the wild. A couple of days later a female stag beetle was being studied by the felines and a day after that another male with six legs. Clearly the cats are budding entomologists.

Stag beetles are an endangered species, though they are doing relatively well in the south of the UK. They may be further endangered by our cats, although the cats have not attempted to eat them. I should think they’d be rather crunchy. There have been no further beetle guests in the conservatory.

We spotted a tiny, pretty day-flying moth on the herbs and discovered it was a Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata). It’s very common but we had never seen one before. 

A few days later I noticed an unusual spider on a tomato leaf. In fact, there were two, but it was the colourful one that caught my eye. 

It was a Candy stripe spider (Enoplognatha ovata), an appropriate name for such a pretty creature. Its companion on the leaf was more soberly dressed in silver, not so flamboyant but nonetheless attractive.

Again, the Candy Stripe spider is quite common but we were pleased to make its acquaintance. If only all spiders were so pretty – and stayed outdoors.

When Frankie saw the enlarged photos of the moth and the spiders it kindled his interest and it wasn’t long before he was reporting sightings of spiders everywhere and asking Barry or me to take photographs. The smallest one he found was a Money spider or Dwarf weaver spider in the conservatory and its presence was duly recorded for posterity. 

He named it ‘Tiddles’ and was pleased to see it near the front door the next day though we suspect it was probably a friend or relative of the conservatory resident.

We told him how Susannah, his mummy, had a pet spider when she was little. 

She called it ‘Sid’ but again we think there were probably several ‘Sids’. Sid was a Garden spider or Cross or Diadem spider (Araneus diadematus), an orb web weaver, and was probably a female. The females weave the webs and remain in the centre or nearby with one leg hooked on the web, waiting for prey. Sometimes Cross spiders eat their mates directly after mating.

Clearly the fascination with arachnids is genetic. I must remember to tell Frankie that Cross spiders will bite if threatened. Apparently the bite is like a mild bee sting.

Frankie was watching a bumble bee recently and asked if he could stroke it. 

Their furry bodies do look quite inviting. 

Anyway, not long ago I think he attempted to stroke what he thought was a bee but it was a wasp which expressed its disapproval of his presumption by stinging him. He howled, poor little boy, but the lesson has been learnt.

Does my bum look big in this?

Is this one better?