DESPERATELY S E E K I N G ; WATER S H R E W A N D HARVEST MOUSE
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Perrow, M. R. & Jowitt, A. J. D. (1993). The small mammal Community in beds of Common reed (Phragmites australis), with special reference to the Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) and Water shrew (Neomys fodiens). Mammal Review, (in press). Rowell, T. A. & Fojt, W. J. (1988). Management of reed. In: The peatland management handbook. ed. by T. A. Rowell, pp. 1-10. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, England. Shirt, D. B. (1987). British Red Data Book, 2 Insects. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, England. Toorn, J., van der & Mook, J. H. (1982). The influence of environmental factors and management on stands of Phragmites australis. 1. Effects of burning, frost and insect damage on shoot density and shoot size. J. Appl. Ecol., 19, 477. Trout, R. C. (1978). A review of studies of wild Harvest mice (Micromys minutus (Pallas)). Mammal Review, 8(4), 143. Adrian J. D. Jowitt & Martin R. Perrow, E C O N , Ecological Consultancy, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ.
Immigrant butterflies Large White butterflies (Pieris brassicae L.) appeared in vast numbers in 1992. Owen Douglas and I happened to visit Happisburgh cliffs, Norfolk, on July 23 at the height of the influx of these not too populär immigrants. It was an extraordinary sight: thousands and thousands of these insects along the cliffs, stopping momentarily at flowers but almost immediately moving on under some mysterious compulsion. The Overall movement at that point was along the cliffs rather than from the sea and inland. Nine days later on the riverbank at Santon Downham Warren, on the Norfolk side, a Clouded Yellow butterfly (Colias croceus Geoffr.) passed quickly by me. I lost it almost immediately and careful searching of lucerne fields over the following weeks produced no more, but a reliable observer reported one in his garden in St. Dominic Drive, Brandon, Suffolk. Düring my wartime boyhood in Surrey Clouded Yellows seemed to be a normal sight but the Santon Downham specimen was the first I have seen north of the Thames. Locally, 1992 was also an excellent year for Holly Blue butterflies (Celastrina argiolus L.) which I suspect are becoming much more common than they were 10 years ago. Another interesting feature of 1992 was the vast numbers of dragonflies in many parts of Breckland, including Santon Downham churchyard and in the King's Forest. They comprised two species: the Common Darter ( S y m p e t r u m striolatum (Charpentier)) and the Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta Latreille). J. L. Raincock.
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W O O D L I C E IN SUFFOLK
21
Nora C h a p m a n , Jenny Crisp, Mr & Mrs I. Dyson, Malcolm Farrow, Sheila H a n n a n t , Mr & Mrs Smart and Arthur & Janet Watchman. Finally I would thank the SNS for the bursary which enabled me to collect records f r o m many of the most westerly areas of Suffolk, a long and expensive journey from Lowestoft. References Harding, P. T. & Sutton, S. L. (1985). Woodlice in Britain and Ireland: Distribution and Habitat. Huntingdon: ITE. Hopkin, S. P. (1991). A key to the Woodlice of Britain and Ireland. Field Studies. 7, 599-650. Sutton, S. L. (1972). Woodlice. London. Ginn (republished by Pergamon Press, O x f o r d , in 1980). Taylor, E. (1983). T h e Crustacea of Suffolk: Part II. Oniscoideaor woodlice. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc., 4, 28-30. P. Lee Rochdale Cottage, Camps H e a t h , Lowestoft N R 3 2 5 D W
The Firethorn leaf-miner in Suffolk A n article by D r David Nash in White Admiral No. 19, 5 - 7 describes the mines caused by the Firethorn leaf-miner (Phyllonorycter leucographella) on the leaves of the common garden shrub Firethorn (Pyrocanthus sp.). This minute golden-brown moth was first discovered in Britain in 1989, and had been found in southern Essex, but by the summer of 1991 had not spread into Suffolk. In a letter to Howard Mendel dated 25th February, 1993, David Agassiz wrote: 'I have recently been carrying out our annual survey and to date have found the mines (of the Firethorn leaf-miner) in four places in the county: Woodbridge, common in Nottcutts G a r d e n Centre! Ipswich, against B & Q störe in the town centre, Nayland and Old Felixstowe. I see this Covers both vice-counties.' Firethorn Leaf-Miner Project, Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks. SL5 7PY.
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NOTES AND COMMENTS ON SOME SUFFOLK MOTHS IN 1992
25
14th December 1992. This species is 'never' seen until late January at the earliest, and more usually in February. Such information is very valuable, as are all records of moths, so please send any you have (even that casual sighting) to the County Recorder, Arthur Watchman, Onchan, Back Lane, Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, IP7 7BA, or to the Suffolk Biological Records Centre, c/o The Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3 Q H . Acknowledgements I thank those recorders whose records have helped to compile this report: Mik & Julie Bentley (M&JB), Luke Broom-Lynn (LB-L), Russell Cryer (RC), Rafe Eley (RE), Nick Gibson (NG), Mrs. Gooch (Mrs. G l ) , Mrs. Gotts (Mrs. G2), Gerry Haggett (GH), Tim Hoit-Wilson (TH-L), Mrs. Kendray (Mrs. K), T. Langford (TL), Mrs. E. Leddley (EL), David Lees & Alan Pearson (DL/AP), N. Mason (NM), Richard Michette (RM), Audrey Morgan ( A M ) , Nigel Odin (NO), Mike Parker (MP), Adrian Parr (AP), L. V. Scurrell (LS), G. Shepherd (GS), Robert St. Leger (RSL), Bob Warren (BW), Peter Wilson (PW), and in particular Arthur Watchman (AW) whose detailed comment on species and general numbers is so valuable. M. R. Hall (MH) Hopefield, Norwich Road, Scole, Diss, IP21 4DY.
Suffolk names for fossils My query regarding the local name for Belamnites {Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 28, 53) i.e. 'Did Suffolk country folk call Belamnites "thunderbolts"?' was answered by Eric Parsons, who referred me to George Ewart Evans' book The Pattern under the Plough. Evans recorded that Suffolk Belamnites were known as 'thunderbolts" or 'thunderpipes', and were often thought to be prehistoric arrows in some villages. Evans also mentions the internal casts in flint of fossil sea urchins. These fossils of the regulär dome-shaped echinoids such as Echinocorys spp. are often found when gardening or field Walking in Suffolk, where they were known as 'Fairy loaves', and sometimes as 'Farcy-loaves' (probably a corruption of "Pharise's l o a f ) . In my home county of Sussex we called them 'Shepherd's crowns' and cottagers would put them on a window ledge to keep out witches. They usually were effective in doing this. My colleagues at Broom's Barn Experimental Station often picked up these fossils and oddshaped flints which ended up on a window ledge; perhaps the sign of a folk memory! Editor.
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Willow Tit on Honeysuckle In September 1992 there was a fruiting clump of Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenus) with numerous red fruits near the toilet block at Minsmere. A Willow Tit (Parus montanus), with its characteristic dull cap and paler margins of the flight feathers, flew into the clump and took into its bill one of the fruit. It then flew into a Hawthorn, landed some 20 ft. above ground, and pecked at the fruit, an activity which took about 20 seconds. W h e t h e r it was feeding on the soft red flesh or attacking the seed inside I could not see as the branch was some 2 in. in diameter and the bird was above my line of sight. After feeding it flew off and then returned to the Honeysuckle, taking another fruit, but this time Aying off into some woodland. From the striking action of the bird's bill one is inclined to suggest that the Willow Tit was feeding on the seed. Marsh Tits have been reported to take Spindle berries (.British Tits, C. Perrins (1979), Collins New Naturalist) but there are few records of Willow Tits taking such seeds. Dr Alan Beaumont.
Co-existance of hörnet and wasp Just after Christmas I was beetle hunting in the wooded area close by Flixton Marshes among rotten stumps. On lifting a piece of loosened bark of a rotting tree lying on the ground I found a specimen of that most dreaded m e m b e r of the Vespidae, the hörnet ( V e s p a crabro), a fine hibernating queen in a State of torpor lying in a chewed-out Chamber quite large in size. It is well known that these queens will hibernate in hollow trees, which are also a favourite place for nesting. Incidentally, hornets are not usually aggressive. Inside the hollow Chamber, no more than an inch away from the hörnet, lay a hibernating queen wasp (Vespula sp.). It is strongly believed that, on occasions, hornets will take the smaller wasps as food and I was therefore surprised to find them hibernating together. I assume that the hörnet was there first, since had the wasp been there first the Chamber would have been smaller. It seems stränge that the lesser creature, being the prey, had taken up residence with the predator. Tony Brown.
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GREEN N I G H T S H A D E S
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and we can expect it to become an increasingly common addition to our weed flora. It is a successful weed in many parts of Britain and has occasionally hybridised with 5. nigrum to form large sprawling sterile plants with seedless berries. T h e hybrid was described and named by A . C. Leslie (1978) as S. x procurrens. It has been recorded in Suffolk from Eriswell in a market garden with both parents in 1980 (Hyde, Hyde and Simpson, 1981). References Edmonds, J. M . , 1986. Biosystematics of Solanum sarrachoides Sendtner and S. physalifolium Rusby (S. nitidibaccatum Bitter). Bot. J. Linn. Soc., 92, 1-38." Hyde, E . M . , Hyde, M. A . & Simpson, F. W., 1981. Some recent Suffolk plant records. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 18, 231-241. Leslie, A . C., 1978. T h e occurrence of Solanum nigrum L. x S. sarrachoides Sendtn. in Britain. Watsonia, 12, 29-32.
Grey Squirrel feeding on Oak Apple Whilst in Minsmere in June 1992, we, my wife and I, heard a Grey Squirrel in an English O a k (Quercus robur). It was feeding on an O a k Apple, the pink gall caused by the wasp Biohiza pallida. O n examining the small amount of dropped gall it was obvious that the animal was actually feeding on the gall and not simply breaking the gall open to feed on any larvae or inquilines which may have been inside. In Squirrels (Monica Shorten (1954), Collins New Naturalist) it states that the most important source of food for the Grey Squirrel is the O a k , but whilst it mentions acorns, catkins and young leaves, no mention is m a d e of any of the numerous galls formed on these trees, perhaps ' A n O a k Apple a day keeps predators away'? Dr Alan B e a u m o n t .
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NOTES ON T H E FUNGI OF THETFORD FOREST
Ramsbottom, J. (1953). Mushrooms London.
and toadstools.
61
Collins New Naturalist,
Dr G. D. Heathcote, 21 St. Mary's Square, Bury St. E d m u n d s , IP33 2AJ
Fingered Speedwell, Veronica triphyllos L. in Breckland v.c. 26. I may have been hasty when I recorded: 'It is feared that V. triphyllos may be extinct on this field' (Trist, 1989). I referred to the Broom Road field which at the time was the only remaining site in the County. T h e plants still to be seen on T u d d e n h a m Gallops are f r o m a seedling put down for study and as a seed bank by the late Alex Watt in 1967. David and Yvonne L e o n a r d , the rare plant surveyors for English Nature (in litt. 1991), reported to me that they had found five flowering plants of V. triphyllos within an area of Im 2 in an arable field corner on Caudle C o m m o n , Lakenheath. This was the f o r m e r site of V. triphyllos and this find had put it back on the Suffolk list. T h e site is about 0.8 km south of the Broom Road field and east of Caudle Farm. I do not recall seeing this Veronica on Caudle C o m m o n since the late 1970s. In 1992, following three visits to the site, Yvonne Leonard found no V. triphyllos and the number of V. praecox plants was considerably less than the 1991 record. Whilst Marg Rutterford and I were recording V. triphyllos on the Broom Road field over the years 1974-1988 there were a number of occasions when both method of cultivation and changes of crops influenced the number of both V. triphyllos and V. praecox, which in some years was nil. There is therefore hope that V. triphyllos will again occur. P. J. O . Trist. Festuca
ovina
In 1984 two sets of plants of Festuca ovina from Landguard C o m m o n were sent to Dr. (now Professor) C. A. Stace at Leicester University for determination, and at that time he declined to name them (Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 21, 49). Publication of New Flora ofthe British Isles (Stace, Cambridge University Press, 1991) has shown that these taxa were F. ovina ssp. ovina and F. ovina ssp. hirtula (Hackel ex Travis) M. Wilkinson. The discovery of F. ovina ssp. ophioliticola in 1988 (Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 26, 72) establishes the existence of all three recognised British subspecies of F. ovina at Landguard. Plants of Oenothera found beside View Point R o a d in 1992 proved to be O. fallax R e n n e r , providing one addition to the catalogue of species previously recorded. A . Copping.
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NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS New Amaranthus species for Suffolk Düring the early part of 1992, a consignment of coir fibre arrived at Felixstowe Docks from Sri Lanka, Coir fibre is the husk which is stripped off the outside of coconuts and is often dumped as a waste product. In recent years, the more environmentally conscious members of the horticultural industry have been running trials to test its suitability as an alternative to peat-based composts. (In fact, coir was used extensively by the trade before peat-based composts were invented!) The consignment at Felixstowe never reached its original buyer and was eventually bought by a Company that deals in vegetable waste products, including waste from the soya bean industry which is sold on as fertiliser for spreading on arable fields. This Company sold the product on to Notcutts Nurseries who used it as a component of a potting medium for containergrown plants on their Container unit at Ufford near Woodbridge. Düring the summer, I began to notice unusual plants appearing in these pots - other than the ones that should have been there - and realised we had an exotic line in weeds. Most obvious at first were the two Castor-Oil Plants, Ricinus communis L., that shot up above the crop plants, but before long, a wider ränge began to appear. The more interesting ones I transplanted into their own pots to protect them from being 'weeded out' and grew them on at home. This was vital for the identification of two species of Amaranthus that appeared as they flower in late summer and need to be fruiting before a positive identification can be made. Towards the end of the year, samples of two species of Amaranthus from the coir fibre and a further two species found growing around the Notcutts Propagation Unit in Woodbridge were sent to the Ipswich Museum and from there to the national referee for Amaranthus. Confirmation of the species soon came back and they proved to be as follows: In the coir fibre: Amaranthus blitum L. - a prostrate species with a distinctive notch in the leaf apex. Amaranthus spinosus L. - an unusual species with long, slender flower spikes and vicious spines. At the Propogation Unit: Amaranthus albus L. - a rare, red-stemmed form of this species. Amaranthus deflexus L. - a perennial, mat-forming species. A. blitum, A. spinosus and A. deflexus are all new species for the county. The latter shows how species can be easily missed on private land as to my knowledge, it has been growing at Notcutts Nurseries since at least 1981 and now carpets the ground to the exclusion of all other species in some areas. Several other interesting species of plants were grown on but succumbed to cold weather before being identified. One species, however, was of particular interest. This was a Single specimen of Oak-leaved Goosefoot Chenopodium glaucum, a species which has not been recorded in the county for many years. Perhaps there is a small relict population in the Felixstowe area.
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NOTES A N D OBSERVATIONS
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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 29
or perhaps more likely, the seed originated from the haulage lorries used to cart soya waste; this incidentally, is almost certainly the origin of the A. spinosus. M. D. Crewe. 1992 was an excellent year for Pigweed records with several new sites for the Common Amaranth (A. retroflexus L.) and the Green Pigweed (A. hibridus L.). Malcolm Searle found A. albus in his garden at Great Barton (3rd recent record for v.c. 26) and Jim Pope found Purple Amaranth (A. cruentus L.), another species new to the County, at Orwell Poultry Farm, Levington. Specimens of all the Amaranthus species mentioned in this article are now in the herbarium at Ipswich Museum (Botanical Editor).
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