Professor Sir David King is Director of Research in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, at the top of the science academic ladder. You would not expect any less in the Chief Scientific Advisor to Her Majesty’s Government. He has won respect and admiration from many environmentalists for his forthright views on climate change and in particular for the way he reminded Tony Blair that climate change is a greater threat than terrorism . However, he is not infallible. This became clear when he dogmatically led the opinion that the H5N1 bird flu outbreak at the Bernard Matthews turkey farm was introduced by wild birds, and even stuck to the view as evidence mounted that the source of the outbreak was contaminated turkey waste from Hungary. He is a proponent of “hi-tech” farming especially, but not only, the use of genetic engineering, a view held by most of those running the UK’s National Farmers’ Union, much of Defra and by the former Prime Minister himself. Organic farming practices and wildlife are inconvenient obstacles to progress. Perhaps this is behind Sir David’s unexpected volte-face on badger culling to control bovine tuberculosis (bTB). He now says that, contrary to previous scientific advice, culls of badgers should be carried out to control the TB epidemic in cattle. Where is the fresh evidence to support this change of direction? What happened to the tighter controls on livestock movement? What is the progress on effective pre- and post-movement TB testing? Where is the research and investment in husbandry and bio-security? All of the above were non-badger related approaches to tackling bTB recommended in the 2003 report of the Government’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. This latest pronouncement is made without justification and is not supported by any new scientific findings. This is not what we expect from the top scientist in the land - we should be given clear explanations of the evidence on which recommendations are based.
***
Congratulations to Viola Tuckey for being so eagle-eyed! She was first in Suffolk to spot the Rosemary leaf beetle - way back in June, before the ink was dry on the summer White Admiral that included an appeal for records; so, apologies to those who sent in records later. The sighting was made at Lower Holbrook. The photograph on the cover of this newsletter shows two specimens from the colony observed by Miss Tuckey.
SNIPPETS
• The People’s Trust for Endangered Species is currently sponsoring a census of moles or, more to the point, molehills. Details are available on www.molewatch.org.uk.
• Mark Cocker’s new book, Crow Country, is receiving high praise from reviewers and could be a popular item this year in the Christmas stocking of many a birder.
• The grey squirrel’s displacement of red squirrels marches steadily northwards. The first confirmed red squirrel death in Scotland from squirrel pox virus was reported this summer.
• The World Conservation Union says that one in four mammal species are likely to be extinct within 50 years. Extinction rates are now estimated at 103 to 104 higher than natural due to human actions, mainly habitat destruction. In Britain Defra has listed hedgehogs in a Biodiversity Action Plan ‘at risk’ category.
• The 2007 East Anglian Daily Times wildflower competition was won by a churchyard project at Great Waldingfield led by Dr David Taylor. The judges said the project was the strongest entry in terms of protecting and enhancing populations of wildflowers.
• Plantlife International has published a list of Britain’s 150 most important areas for wild plants (‘Important Plant Areas’ or IPAs). East Anglian entries include Wicken fen and the Norfolk Broads. See www. plantlife.org.uk
• Mistley Walls on the outskirts of Manningtree in Essex has become a birdwatching hotspot. Large numbers of waders such as black-tailed godwits, golden plover, curlews and avocets can be easily seen on the mudflats of the river Stour.
• The Game Conservancy Trust has introduced a field-recording scheme for farmers. Individualised summary cards to keep in the tractor cab give information needed to work the field in compliance with Environmental Stewardship Rules. Go to www.cabcards.co.uk for details.
• Nesting attempts by the common cranes at RSPB Lakenheath failed this year but six chicks hatched at Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust and will be released at protected sites in 2009 as part of a breeding programme to boost numbers.
• At the recent SNS conference (“Is Arable Farming Incompatible with Wildlife?”) John Cousins who chaired the event, and who is a member of Suffolk FWAG, made it clear that all farmers except those extremely committed to wildlife conservation are certain to abandon the set aside scheme and will cultivate every piece of land, even those that previously were too uneconomic to consider.
• British farmers have placed orders for 200,000 extra tonnes of fertilizer this winter - bad news for all ecosystems, especially aquatic ones.
THE OLD WAY
Dust sends its messages along the lane.
The nettles droop beside, such scraggy heads
As the wagon leaves, in passing, white again. His shadow goes before a man who treads
His uphill way – Oh! With such cart-horse pain –On the cracked clay patterned with gaping lines
Till he comes to the forty-acre fierce as a plain Where, hour on hour, his pitchfork heaves and shines, Heaves and shines till that sun itself reclines.
Alasdair Aston
COMMON HAWKER IN SUFFOLK 2007
On July 28th 2007, I was walking with Debbie Franklin at Burgh Castle, TG4604, when we saw a large hawker fly by and land on a nearby bush. The strikingly yellow costa, broad eye contact and large size made me suspect that this was a Common Hawker, although I really needed to try and get a photo as confirmation, as I knew that this was an important record and would be a county first. Fortunately I had my camera with me, and managed to get one acceptable shot, a closer approach moments later was not as successful as the hawker instantly flew off (photo on p 16). Common Hawker was recently removed from the county list as all previously claimed records are now thought to be misidentified Migrant Hawkers. Over the border in Norfolk the Common Hawker is still fairly numerous in the Winterton area, which is the most likely origin of this individual.
Thanks to Adrian Parr and Keith Morris for commenting on this record, and confirming the identification.
Ricky Fairhead
8 Sharon Drive, Lowestoft NR32 4EE
BARN OWL PELLETS FROM ORFORD NESS
Each year between one and three pairs of barn owls nest at Orford Ness. They use the buildings on site as nesting sites, which means that their pellets are easily collected. For several years pellets from there have been sent to The Mammal Society for use in their ‘owl pellet prey identification’ training events, but in the last three years, a group of volunteers has collected and studied the pellets on site during a working holiday.
The examination of 43 barn owl pellets collected in June 2007 revealed the remains of 137 small mammals (average of 2.81 prey per pellet in 2007, compared with 2.95 in 2006). The maximum number of prey found in one pellet was 8 (4 field voles, 3 pigmy shrews, 1 common shrew). There were 5 field voles in 2 pellets, and 4 prey occurred in 11 pellets.
In common with all previous years, field voles were the dominant prey of the barn owls at Orford Ness. In June 2007, 98% of the pellets contained field vole remains, and these voles made up 88% of the prey (up from 75% of the prey in June 2006). Common and pigmy shrews were the next most common prey found in about 10% of pellets, but both amounted to less than 5% of the barn owl prey items. Other small mammal species found in fewer than 5% of the pellets in 2006 and 2007 were water vole, bank vole, water shrew, wood mouse, house mouse, rabbit and brown rat. Rabbits are very infrequently taken by barn owls at Orford Ness, with the remains of just one juvenile found in one pellet out of the 200 or so examined in the last five years. Surveys for water voles at Orford Ness have revealed that this declining
species is actually doing very well in the brackish ditches in the marshes, with lots of latrines and burrows in evidence. It is not surprising therefore that the barn owls have caught some of these, although the numbers are low, with remains of only four water vole being found in the 70 pellets examined in 2006 and 2007.
The examination of owl pellets gives a good indication of what these birds are feeding on and the year-to-year changes if data are collected regularly. It also provides some information on small mammal occurrence in the area, although the owls may fly some distance to find prey; thus some prey might not be taken on site. The barn owls at Orford Ness seem to be doing well in 2007, and at the end of June one pair had fledged three offspring and another appeared to have two juveniles ready to leave the nest.
Stuart Warrington
The National Trust
THE LARGE GARDEN BUMBLEBEE IN SUFFOLK
The Large Garden Bumblebee, Bombus ruderatus, is one of the rarer British bumblebees. It is the subject of a UK Biodiversity Action Plan aimed at reversing its seemingly inexorable trend from being a reasonably widespread if localised species of lowland England prior to the 1960s to a species threatened with extinction ten or so years ago. It was recorded by Claude Morley (as Bombus hortorum var. subterraneus) but modern records are, in keeping with national trends, precious few. Heather Paxman recorded it around Woodbridge in 1993 and Ted Benton took a specimen from Icklingham in 2005.
During this summer I have recorded two males from Maidscross Hill near Lakenheath; one the typical form, which very closely resembles the very common Small Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum, with the other being the striking all-black form (known to Morley as B. hortorum var. harisellus). The species appears to forage on a variety of long-flowered plants, including Comfrey, Marsh Woundwort, Rosebay Willowherb and also Red Clover. Simple arable field margins sown with Red Clover as conservation headlands may be a significant factor in the reversal of fortunes of this species. In the last 3-4 years an increasing number of records of this bumblebee have been made in Essex and it is hoped that this trend may continue in Suffolk.
This bee is not easy to separate from the very common Bombus hortorum, with both species typically being black with three yellow hair bands and a white “tail” or tip to the abdomen. Key factors in identification are that the two yellow bands on the thorax (middle part of the body) are of equal width and the yellow band on the abdomen is restricted to the first segment. The males have a gingery-brown “beard” of hairs on the underside of the mandibles, as opposed to black hairs on those of B. hortorum. Whilst all-black male hortorum are said to occur, this more obvious colour pattern is more likely to be that of a melanic B. ruderatus.
Adrian Knowles Hymenoptera Recorder
2007
A review of the brown hare at Orford Ness in the Society’s journal in 2006 (Suffolk Natural History 42: 31-36) revealed that there was a strong population on this site, but that numbers had dropped significantly between 2005 and 2006. A re-survey was carried out in June 2007 to see how the population had fared, using a team of volunteers to carry out a ‘walk-over’ survey of the whole 770 hectare site. The results show that the population had declined again to about one third of the numbers seen in June 2005. The favoured areas of the property were once again sites E (the shingle areas from around the laboratory buildings to north of the lighthouse) and F (Orford Beach, south of Havergate Island).
It was noted in 2007 that no juvenile hares were spotted which suggests that the cold and wet May had affected breeding. There was plenty of vegetation and the grasses had grown so well that it is possible that some hares were missed in the 2007 survey if they had stayed down in the vegetation as the survey team passed by. Brown hares often have three (or even four) litters in a summer, so that if June and July are warmer, they may yet successfully rear leverets. We do hope that the weather relents and allows the brown hare to bounce back on the Ness.
Table 1. Observations of Brown Hares at Orford Ness in each area of the site 2005 to 2007
(See Suffolk Natural History vol. 42 for a map and description of the sites)
Stuart Warrington, The National Trust. stuart.warrington@nationaltrust.org.uk
RHACOGNATHUS PUNCTATUS (L), AN UNDER RECORDED SHIELD BUG ON SUFFOLK HEATH LAND
I was visiting Dunwich Heath on the fifth of April this year, in the area adjacent to Minsmere North marsh, at approximately TM 469680, and found a specimen of Rhacognathus punctatus on the footpath.
This very variable Hemipteran is known to be predatory upon the Heather Beetle (Lochmaea suturalis) and the closely related Lochmaea capreae, which may be found feeding on the leaves of Sallow. Another “leaf beetle” Chrysolina brunsvicensis is known but I have not yet found the latter in this area of the county, although the marshy habitat at Docwra’s ditch does seem suitable for it. The Heather Beetle was extremely abundant last year, and seems to be again this year so there is no shortage of prey for the bug to feed upon.
Having mentioned that this species is variable, a short description will not go amiss - length 7-9mm, coloration usually bluish green with a metallic bronze lustre, overlaying a slightly orange-red background. Despite the variability there are two characteristics that enable the bug to be identified - to a greater or lesser degree there is a reddish line down the centre of the thorax and on all the tibiae there is always an orange- red band.
Whilst looking through the list of Suffolk records that Martin Sanford had given me, I was surprised to note the relatively few records for the county of this species. The earliest record I have is from Elvedon, 1903-1904, by Mr Harwood. Ted Ellis recorded it from three Suffolk localities, Dunwich, Walberswick and Covehithe on 31-08-1949. J.M.Campbell found it on Westleton heath, 18-08-1986, and the most recent record, prior to my find, was by an anonymous observer, at Martlesham Heath in 1988.
I hope that this small snippet may encourage Suffolk naturalists to be more aware of the Hemiptera of the county; they do make splendid subjects for digital photography, and I would be very pleased to assist in any queries regarding identification.
Acknowledgements
Martin Sanford, SBRC for his help with records. National Trust, Dunwich Heath, and David Sutton, Warden for access to site and help.
References
Southwood T.R.E. & Leston D. Land and water Bugs of the British Isles. Warne & Co. Ltd. 1959.
Nigel Cuming
GARDEN BEES AND WASPS
My recent move from the edge of Colchester to Capel St Mary brings with it not only the attraction of reduced journey times and costs to visit favourite haunts, but also the prospect of being able to do some “recording” by the simple expedient of stepping out of the kitchen door. In even the most modest garden there is much to occupy the careful observer.
The most obvious presence in any garden is the bumblebee. Recent studies have shown an increasing dependence on gardens for many species. As far as the bumblebees are concerned the attractions are obvious. The avid flower gardener will be striving to fill his or her plot with a profusion of blooms from early spring until late autumn and this is just what the bumblebees need: an “all you can eat” buffet throughout the active season. It is not difficult to attract at least six different types to a garden, even if putting names to those types can be a little more challenging. Some species, such as the Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) can emerge very early in the year if there is a spell of warm weather, and there is often not much on the menu in February, but here the lowly White Deadnettle, sprouting out from under a hedge or other hiding place, can be invaluable so don’t be too hasty to weed it out.
Next to arrive on the scene as spring unfolds is a group conveniently summarised as the mining bees. This includes a host of small to medium sized insects that burrow into bare ground with the females labouring on their own to construct a nest and raise their own progeny. For this reason they are also called “solitary bees”, to compare them with the social structure and cooperation amongst the bumblebees and the Honeybee. Even quite small dry, bare patches in between bedding plants can be used, with miniature “volcanoes” of soil particles often indicating where excavations are in progress. One of the common visitors to gardens in spring is the Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva), a beautiful coppery-orange to rusty-brown bee that often burrows into the small “cliffs” created by the more assiduous gardeners who cut crisp vertical edges around their lawns. I recently discovered a nationally rare “cuckoo bee” or brood-parasite of this bee in my mother’s garden in Gloucestershire, so who knows what you might find!
My garage is a rather elderly construction of reinforced concrete posts and slabs and even this offers opportunities for nesting bees. In retrospect, this garage type provided me with my first contact with solitary bees when, as a young teenager in Luton, I noticed that our family garage had unused bolt holes in it blocked with soil. Many years were to go by before I learnt that these mud walls were the work of a solitary bee: the Red Mason Bee (Osmia rufa). It is distinctly to the gardener’s benefit to provide homes for this species, because it is one of the more prolific pollinators of fruit trees. Today, it is possible to purchase any number of bug homes and bee nesting tube structures (such as those made by the Oxford Bee Company) to encourage this and similar species, but a bundle of broken bamboo cane ends hung up under a dry overhang may be just as attractive and within the scope of even the most parsimonious of natural history budgets. These bees often nest in cavities in old walls, with several females frequently sharing a common entrance burrow in soft mortar although they each work on their own nest tunnel once within the wall.
Another group of bees that may utilise these garage bolt holes and other opportune crevices are the leaf-cutter bees. They may come to the attention of the garden most readily as the cause of the semi-circular chunks missing from rose bush leaves. They use these leaf sections to “wallpaper” the sides of their nesting tunnels, which may be an old beetle hole in wood, crevices in walls and occasionally in the ground. More occasionally they use empty peg holes in wooden patio furniture and even the end of an outside tap! I have recorded Megachile centuncularis from my garden. It has a striking brush of long orange hairs on the underside of its abdomen, with which it carries pollen back to its nest tunnel.
As the summer unfolds, those annoying yellow and black wasps appear just in time to spoil barbecues and picnics. These socially nesting species may appear bothersome (and you do have to watch out if you are one of the unfortunate few who suffer extreme allergic reactions to stings) but these industrious workers are a real boon to gardeners. As predators in the garden ecosystem, they rid our plants of thousands of potential pests such as saw-fly larvae, caterpillars of moths and butterflies and beetles. I await, of course, a retaliatory article from Tony Prichard or Rob Parker, extolling the virtues of your garden as a wonderful place to let moths and butterflies flourish, letting the caterpillars run free!
There may also be a large number of much smaller, inconspicuous wasps, again leading a solitary rather than social existence, in the garden. Like the mining bees, they may nest in burrows in the ground but many nest in old beetle burrows in dead wood, hollow dead plant stems or even the straw thatch of an old cottage’s roof. One such thatch-nester is Psenulus pallipes, a small, slender black wasp. I have just recorded this species in my garden (despite not having a thatched roof), this being only the second modern record for Suffolk. Given the number of thatched buildings in the county, this species must surely be more widespread than this would indicate. It stocks its nest chambers with aphids as food items for its larvae, so it is another boon for the gardener.
The lack of good quality handbooks makes the study of mining bees a difficult subject, but there are a few good books dealing with solitary wasps, ants and bumblebees, such as those in the Naturalists’ Handbooks series. The need to examine most things under a microscope is also off-putting, but if any member is interested in pursuing the study of these insects further, please contact me and I’ll try and arrange a specific field meeting or workshop event accordingly. If enough people are interested, a small study group could be formed. Even if precise identification is beyond your grasp, there is scope for study and data gathering whilst enjoying your garden. How many Red Mason Bees share the same entrance hole in a wall? How much time do bumblebees spend foraging? Could the prey items being brought back to a wasp’s nest? How long does each foraging trip of a mining bee take before it returns to its underground nest tunnel?
Adrian Knowles Hymenoptera Recorder Jessups Cottage, London Road, Capel
St Mary, Ipswich, IP9 2JJ
LONGHORNS AT LIGHT TOGETHER WITH MITES AND MISBEHAVING HARLEQUINS
Agapanthia villosoviridescens (Deg.) (photo p. 18) is a large (10–22mm) longhorn beetle which develops in the stems of thistles and a range of common umbelliferae. Formerly very localised and, in Suffolk, chiefly found in the Breck, it has recently been occurring in new areas of Suffolk as well as nationally. The beetle photographed was attracted to a MV moth trap run by Richard Stockton this summer and is shown sitting on an egg box from the trap which gives an idea of its size. The beetle is not one which is well-known to be attracted to light - unlike Odontaeus armiger photographed and reported from a MV trap in this year’s forthcoming Suffolk Natural History - and I suspect the Agapanthia was in the immediate vicinity of the lamp and simply crawled to it.
Until this year, I was only aware of one coastal record from the county. On May 20 2007, Colin Jacobs found and retained an Agapanthia on the Carlton Marshes SWT Reserve. In recent years, almost certainly as a result of global warming, an increasing number of continental insects are establishing themselves in this country. There are some 21 species of Agapanthia on the European mainland (many of which superficially resemble villosoviridescens) and at least one of these viz. cardui, given its distribution, could establish itself in this country as a result of migration. When asked, Colin readily sent me the beetle to check but it proved to be villosoviridescens. No matter – the next one sent to me may not be!
Martin Sanford at SBRC tells me that he is receiving plenty of harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) enquiries this autumn often as a result of the beetles entering houses in search of over-wintering sites. Harlequins are especially prolific in the autumn and two years ago adults were still emerging from pupae at Brantham in mid-December. Since this spring, I have had harlequins on a recently pruned sallow in my garden. They were feeding on the very large black aphid Pterocomma salicis - black with white spots and bright red legs- a species which occurs on 2-year old shoots of Salix spp. As a result, I have been able to observe the interaction of the harlequin adults and their larvae with the other ladybirds present on the tree, namely 7-spot, 2-spot, 10-spot and the so-called Pine ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus) which, despite its popular name, also frequently develops on deciduous trees. Harlequins were, on more than one occasion, observed feeding on their own pupae but appeared to ignore pupae of Exochomus observed on the trunk. Immature adults of all species were observed later in the year.
As every good naturalist knows, being a vigilant observer as often as possible in all situations, especially in the right places at the right times, yields results. In August, 2006 a male Harlequin was photographed by Steven Pascoe mating with a female 2-spot in a field of winter beans in Norfolk and the details passed on to Mike Majerus and Peter Brown. An account of the significance of this find has recently appeared (A.E.S. Bulletin 66, August, 2007 pp. 156–159).Whilst this mating is in itself noteworthy, it is especially so in this particular case given the concerns expressed about the possible long-term adverse effects of the harlequin upon our
native ladybirds. The 2-spot ladybird is host to a sexually transmitted mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae which is known to occur only in this country on the highly localised, scarce 7-spot (Cocinella magnifica) which occurs in and around the nests of ants (especially those of the wood ant, Formica rufa).The mite lives under the elytra of the ladybird and sucks haemolymph (“blood”) from the ladybird. The female mites lay eggs under the elytra and nymphs hatching from these can be transferred to another ladybird during mating. The mites cause a female to become sterile within three weeks of becoming infected.
The mite is common in parts of Europe where 2-spots have two or three generations a year facilitating mating between generations. In Britain, the 2-spot often has only one generation per year. Adults over-winter and as there is little or no mating between the over-wintered, aged adults and their offspring, mites cannot be passed on. If the European population of the harlequin were to become infected with the mite as a result of mating with 2-spots and if the mites caused sterility in female harlequins then, theoretically, there is the potential for the number of harlequins to be severely reduced. The chance of the mite spreading from our scarce 7- spot population to the harlequin is remote but harlequins from the continent are frequently arriving in Britain either having flown over the Channel, or else, been imported with produce. If some of these are infected with the mite, they could pass it on to our established population of harlequins. Biologists are now planning to investigate whether the harlequin is susceptible to the mite and what, if any, effect it has upon its reproduction.
Acknowledgements
Sincere thanks to Colin Jacobs and Richard Stockton for their useful records.
David R. Nash
3 Church Lane
Brantham
CO11 1PU
WHAT IS A WATER BEAR?
If you go down to the woods today... well what can you find? The obvious things are trees, flowers, the sound of birdsong, perhaps a brief glimpse of a deer’s tail at is disappears into the undergrowth. Yet if you stop and look carefully there is another world, literally right under your feet. The ground, tree trunks, rock and logs are often clothed with cushions of moss and tufts of lichens, which are often passed by without a second glance. If time is taken to study mosses and lichens more closely, they are seen to be home to a wide variety of almost microscopic animals.
There are the worm-like nematodes; eight legged mites, relatives of the spiders; collembolans, primitive insects known as the springtails, with a terminal spine that can catapult them away from danger. Perhaps the most remarkable group of animals inhabiting this microscopic jungle are the tardigrades. The name tardigrada means slow step, but they are more often called water bears because of their slow, lumbering gait.
Water bears are semi-terrestrial animals which live in the surface-water film found on mosses and lichens, in litter, or between grains of soil. They have been found close to the North and South Pole, high in the Himalayan Mountains, and in desert oases close to the equator. Some purely freshwater species are found in river and lake sediments or crawling over the surface of water weed. Marine tardigrades may be found in sandy beaches, on intertidal rocks and underwater sediments down to depths greater than 4,000 m.
Tardigrades are bilaterally symmetrical animals, usually between 150 and 300µm long. The largest species may reach lengths up to 1,200µm, while the smallest marine species barely attain 100µm. They have four pairs of stubby legs which usually end in claws. At least one species has no claws at all, and in some marine tardigrades the legs end in flattened disks or elongated paddles. The body is covered by a cuticle which contains chitin. The cuticle may be sculptured to show incredibly complex patterns, which are useful when identifying species.
It is easier to mention the two orders of tardigrade separately. The more primitive Heterotardigrada have a definite head from which arises a number of cephalic appendages. The dorsal cuticle may be smooth, or form a series of sculptured plates. These plates may have dorsal and lateral spines or filaments. The legs may end in elongated paddles, or discs, but generally there are four single claws.
The Eutardigrada are generally cigar shaped without an obvious neck region. The body shows a slight segmentation, restricted to the cuticle. The cuticle sculpture is
Hypsibius evelinae, a member of the Eutardigrada
limited to granulation, swellings, reticulation or short spines.
Tardigrades have eight legs which suggests that they are related to the arachnids. However, they have a distinct combination of characteristics which has resulted in them being placed in a phylum of their own. For example, the cuticle is covered in mucus, and there is a ladder like ventral nervous system as in the annelids; the cuticle contains chitin as in insects; the feeding apparatus is similar to many nematodes. Many of the internal organs consist of a fixed number of cells; growth is due to enlargement of cells rather than by an increase in cell number.
Many species feed on detritus, or they graze on algae and bacterial films. There are several, particularly the larger species, which are carnivorous, preying on nematodes, rotifers and other tardigrades. The mouth opens into a cuticle lined buccal tube which leads to a muscular triradially symmetrical pharyngeal bulb. On either side of the buccal tube is a stylet, which can be everted through the mouth and is able to pierce cell or body walls. The food can then be sucked back into the pharyngeal bulb.
Many tardigrade species are parthenogenetic, the populations are almost completely female, with males being found infrequently if at all. The females lay fertile eggs and this enables a rapid increase in numbers to occur under favourable conditions. Measurements of tardigrade populations have recorded over 12,000 per m 2 in soil, and over 2 million per m2 in mosses. Eggs are often laid in a cast-off adult cuticle. They hatch in between three and forty days. Juveniles look similar to adults, but they may lack certain adult characters. Growth takes place as a series of instars punctuated by moults. There may be up to twelve moults during the lifespan, which is thought to be about a year. Animals become sexually mature after the third moult.
Semi-terrestrial tardigrades are widely distributed and in many areas they are subject to infrequent hostile changes in environmental conditions such as freezing temperatures and exposure which leads to the animals being dried out. To counter this they have developed a remarkable survival mechanism - cryptobiosis. At the onset of unfavourable conditions the tardigrade contracts into a barrel shape, the tun. Up to 97% of the body water is removed and the cuticle becomes impervious to moisture. In the cryptobiotic state there is no detectable metabolic activity and individuals have been known to survive up to 120 years like this. In this stage tardigrades become resistant to extremes of conditions that would be fatal to normal animals, and would not normally be encountered. They can survive a range of temperatures between 150oC to almost absolute zero (-273oC), and can tolerate electromagnetic radiation far in excess of that fatal to humans. Yet with the onset of normal conditions they regain their active life within an hour or so.
Tardigrades were discovered in 1776; 300 years on there are over 530 species known worldwide.
In Britain 74 species have been found and while their distribution in Scotland is fairly well known, corresponding species lists for England are few and irregular. There are published records for Cambridgeshire, Kent, Shropshire, Sussex, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. As yet there are no Suffolk records.
D. J. Lampard
CHANGE AND DECAY IN ALL AROUND
Eight years ago I cut down an Oak tree in the garden leaving a stump about 60 cm high and 55 cm wide; counting the annual rings revealed it to be about 30 years old. Standing beside a path, the gradual changes which subsequently took place were noticed on a daily basis.
Within two years the first signs of wood rotting fungi were seen when a Mottle Gill (Panellus spp.) appeared. (I have just discovered the British Mycological Society’s website of English names which adds a whole new dimension to naming fungi). This was soon followed by the Hairy Curtain Crust which persisted for two or three years and in October 2004 by another large, spectacular orange-capped gill fungus which escaped identification.
This year, however, has been outstanding; the stump is now in an advanced stage of decay and the bark has separated from the sapwood which, in wet weather, takes on the consistency of a wet sponge. One April morning, a song thrush was seen on top the stump, pecking away; to see a thrush in the garden is a noteworthy event, but this one was clearly finding something to eat. It was pulling out lumps of rotten sap wood from the stump, picking them to bits and selecting something from the fragments. This continued for half an hour or more; and while it was not possible to see what it was eating, it was clearly finding a good meal. After it had left, a lump was detached from where it had been busy. It was picked to pieces under a microscope and yielded four small slugs, two earthworms, three woodlice, one centipede, a multitude of springtails, mites and other tiny things, two pseudoscorpions, but the most frequent organism (12) was a millipede which was eating through the wood, making a long gallery, filled with frass, and which was the most likely food item.
I sent some of the millipedes to Paul Lee who identified them as Cylindroiulus punctatus a common species, typically found in rotting wood. My knowledge of the diet of the thrush does not extend beyond snails but Paul told me that millipedes have been recorded from the diet of song thrushes and that they appear unaffected by the noxious chemicals produced by the millipede’s defensive glands.
Later, in July, what looked like three blobs of an oatmeal biscuit mix appeared overnight on the rim of the stump (see photo). The surface of these myxomycete plasmodia looked like a mass of random fibrils which darkened to a bay/tawny colour and within two days the ‘skin’ had disintegrated releasing a mass of chocolate coloured spores. An attempt to identify it and find out more about myxomycetes ended in defeat; their structure is so specialised and they are seen so infrequently (I have seen three in 12 years) that it is hard to develop any expertise. Perhaps the Society could find a Recorder?
The pièce de résistance, however, was an enormous bracket fungus which first appeared at the beginning of July at the base of the stump. This, a Giant Polypore (Meripillus giganteus), eventually grew to about 40 cm wide and deep with several overlapping brackets (photo, 25 July). Afterwards, this part of the fungus went into decline and by the end of August was no more than a black shapeless mass. As it
died away further brackets sprang out from between the next pair of prop roots and by now (20 September) the stump is encircled by brackets at several stages of development.
All this does not exhaust the stump’s interest and fascination. ‘Sawdust’ dribbling down the bark indicates that some boring insects, yet to be seen, are busy and as the stump has aged, its lichen and moss flora has changed. Over the last few days a vole has been seen entering a hole protected by the lifting bark.
In a year or two nothing will be left other than the central core of heartwood, but Oliver Rackham in his book ‘Woodlands’ writes that a dead oak stump takes more than a century to disappear, so, what next?
Fruiting bodies of Meripillus giganteus that appeared in July 2007
Plasmodia of unidentified myxomycete, also appeared in July 2007
Photo by Michael Kirby
White Admiral
Common Hawker observed by Ricky Fairhead, the first record in Suffolk
The caterpillar of the White-letter Hairstreak feeds on leaves of elm, so the butterfly is seen less often these days. Rowena Langston recorded this at Hinderclay in June 2007.
Photo by Ricky Fairhead
Photo by Rowena Langston
The new Suffolk Fungus Group’s first foray
From left: Phil Sweet, Tig Sweet, David Chittock, Audrey Barker, Neil Mahler, Brian Fountain, unnamed local enthusiast. John Garrett was behind the camera.
SNS WINTER MEMBERS’ EVENING
THURSDAY 15th NOVEMBER, 7.30 pm
BUCKLESHAM VILLAGE HALL
A social evening that provides an opportunity to chat with fellow members and officers of the Society, and to look at exhibits and be entertained by slide shows and presentations.
*NOTE CHANGE OF DATE AND NEW VENUE!*
Contact Adrian Knowles, telephone 01473 310179, if you wish to make a short presentation.
Photo by John Garrett
This Longhorn Agapanthia villosoviridescens was attracted to a moth trap
See article on p.10
Photo by Richard Stockton
STORM PETREL LIVES TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
After some intriguing reports of Storm Petrels off the Suffolk coast at Thorpness the previous day, courtesy of the excellent BINS information service, I set off on Saturday morning to see if I could locate them for myself. The date was 07/07/07, surely the luckiest day ever!
On arrival the weather was excellent and I set up my ’scope on the cliff and began scanning the sea with my ‘bins’. It was nearly an hour before I located a bird skimming across the water. This was a first for Suffolk for me and I was somewhat excited as I settled down to watch this enigmatic little sea bird feeding 200m or so off shore. After about ten minutes I decided to pan ahead of the bird to see if I could find any more, and within a few seconds I picked up an Arctic Skua flying low and fast over the water. As I tracked its progress south the Storm Petrel appeared in my field of view and the Skua, now in attack mode, grabbed it in mid-air and dropped onto the water shaking the petrel from side to side. Amazingly it escaped and flew a few metres but was soon taken again by the skua, its fluttering flight no match for this agile pirate. This happened four more times, and my heart was in my mouth as I watched the drama unfolding in front of me; I remember saying to myself “fly little bird fly”, and then it escaped one more time and the skua broke off the attack and carried on its journey.
I know we shouldn’t get too emotional when watching nature in the raw but this seemed a one sided contest with only one outcome, and I certainly didn’t want to see my first Suffolk Storm Petrel going down the throat of a skua.
Ashley Gooding
(This article is reproduced from the September 2007 edition of The Harrier with kind permission of the editor).
JOINT SNS/MILDEN HALL FARM WATCH GROUP MEETINGS
13th April – The Great Snail Hunt
Ten children and four parents gathered for a snail hunt at Milden Hall near Lavenham. We found copious numbers of garden snails, door snails on tree bark (and underneath loose tree bark) and are quite well camouflaged until you get your eye in, garlic snails under logs in woodland (with glossy shells and their garlic smell is a bit of a giveaway). And lots of yellow white-lipped snails on nettles and other vegetation.
After looking very closely at the snails, discussing their quite strange courtship behaviour (did you know they fire chalky ‘love darts’ into each other?), observing them closely and trying to identify them (more difficult than you think with no snail expert around!), we finished with a thrillingly close snail race (no snail was harmed in the rush to the finish).
29th April – Dawn chorus in Groton Wood SWT nature reserve
Seven children and five parents managed to get up early for a 5.30am wander in the bluebell-covered Groton Wood. Without last year’s bird expert to guide us, identifying the birdsong was challenging and very much a group effort. No nightingale or cuckoo this year but we did distinguish green woodpecker, whitethroat, blackbird, wren, chiffchaff, blue tit, great tit and plenty of wood pigeon. And the bacon-buttie at the end was a treat.
Juliet Hawkins
GOD’S SQUARE - a geological walk
Unusually for June this year, Saturday 14th June dawned bright and clear as 11 participants gathered for an afternoon GeoSuffolk/SNS geo-tour around the Abbey and Cathedral precincts in Bury St Edmunds. To add to the occasion, we were greeted by the rousing sounds and march-past of Kingston & Malden Scouts & Guides band, part of the celebration of a centenary of scouting. Leader Bob Markham produced copies of a super plan of the area with the geofeatures detailed and labelled to assist us during the walk.
We started by looking at an excellent example of Ginkgo biloba, with its unusual veining, a ‘living fossil’ that has been around from at least the early Jurassic (200 million years) and must have been a dominant feature of Mesozoic landscapes.
From there we walked to the Dunkirk Veterans Association Memorial, which although inscribed as “mined at Caen” is clearly not pale creamy Jurassic Caen Limestone but Carboniferous Limestone with abundant Lithostrotion corals and other fossils.
The Abbey ruins themselves are of much interest, flint rubble walls with extensive use of Barnack Stone, a coarse cross-bedded Middle Jurassic fossiliferous
oolitic limestone from Lincolnshire.
The John Appleby rose garden contains a fine oolitic limestone sundial and USAF war memorial of distinctive coarse dark Swedish granite. The Yorkshire flags with their small-scale ripple structures were also noted.
The tour continued with a walk through the Great Churchyard, which dates from the C12th, to look at some of the monuments and memorials (a fascinating guide is produced by the Borough Council Leisure Services). Externally, the south wall of the Cathedral nave contains some (real) pale, fine grained Caen Limestone, and beautiful decorative flushwork can be seen at higher levels. Of particular interest is the new tower, which uses Clipsham and Barnack Stone (believed exhausted over 400 years ago) externally, and Ketton Stone internally, all from the Jurassic of Lincolnshire and quarried from just south of Peterborough. Over 7,500 tonnes of stone were used, with 600,000 ‘Suffolk Cream’ bricks made from the Upper Carboniferous Etruria Marl of Staffordshire. A further limestone, Doulton Stone, can also be found above the North Transept.
A final stop was to St. Mary’s Church. Here we looked at the alabaster-like marble memorial to the Suffolk Regiment on its Devonian limestone plinth, in which corals and algal masses could clearly be seen. Great slabs of dark grey Carboniferous Limestone, with corals and other fossils, and an unidentified brown Jurassic limestone with echinoid spines commonly make up the flooring. Also seen was a memorial brass set into gastropod-rich Purbeck Marble in memory of Frank Pretty of Sutton Hoo fame.
This was a fascinating tour of some of the geology of Bury St Edmunds, following on from the urban walk earlier in the year (see White Admiral 66, p27-28), and there was something for everybody. Bob is to be congratulated for entertaining and educating us so well.
Roger Dixon
16 June 2007 - BEETLE ALONG TO BENTLEY
With heavy rain at 10:30 a.m., rain again at 12:00 and a thunderstorm at 14:45, it did not bode well for the planned field meeting. However, the storm cleared, and thereafter the rain held off, giving eight stag beetle enthusiasts the opportunity to observe stag beetle activity in the field.
The meeting began in the new village hall, Bentley, with a power-point presentation illustrating the life-cycle and ecology of the stag beetle. There was then an opportunity for everyone to look at displays showing the results of the latest research into the ecology and behaviour of this endangered species and to examine some of the apparatus being used. The radio-tracking equipment being used this year to investigate stag beetle dispersal was successfully put to the test, searching for activated transmitters hidden in the hall. Live stag beetles and larvae, collected earlier in the week, were photographed, and participants were treated to a display of stag beetle flight, when a male took off, circled, and then proceeded upwards to finally cling to the ceiling.
Leaving the hall, a short walk took us to a nearby garden, where stag beetle mark-release-recapture fieldwork had been carried out in 2006 and was ongoing in 2007 in parallel with radio-tracking the insect. In the garden, a male beetle was radio-tracked to its hiding place under a pile of dead branches, from where it was extracted to examine the transmitter attached to its pronotum. Shortly after, another male beetle, this time marked, but without a transmitter, was recaptured and recorded, having been found under a large log, Then, at almost 22:00, there was great excitement when we were able to ‘net’ an unmarked male in flight, which provided the opportunity for members of the group to weigh, measure, mark and release a beetle (weight 2.38g, length 39mm excluding the ‘antlers’). Beetle ‘finds’ concluded at 22:10 with the capture of second unmarked male at the base of a tree. This too, was duly weighed, measured, marked and released (weight 4.04g, length 45mm). At 10:15 we left the garden well satisfied with our evening’s observations of stag beetle activity.
Although the number attending was not high, the meeting was very successful and was enjoyed by all.
Thanks are due to John Blackmore for arranging the village hall facilities. To Mike Ewart for arranging the loan of the digital projector and loading the presentation data onto the laptop, to John Standeven for operating the digital equipment, and to Bob Mawkes, who kindly allowed the group to invade his garden. Last but not least, I am grateful to those who, following the meeting, sent me their stag beetle records over the rest of the season.
Colin Hawes
Lead for the Stag Beetle Biodiversity Action Plan in Suffolk October 2007.
DRAGONFLY AND BUTTERFLY WALK, Minsmere RSPB, 23rd June 2007
Seven expectant folk had ignored the forecast of rain and fortunately, the weather was reasonable until the end of the walk. The main target was Norfolk Hawker, a species that has become established on the reserve in recent years. We were not disappointed: everyone enjoyed excellent views of three individuals on the loop around the woodland and wetland edge. A variety of other common dragonfly, damselfly and butterfly species were encountered despite the rather dull conditions.
Robin Harvey
FIELD MEETING IN DUNWICH FOREST, AUGUST 5 th 2007
Seven members of SNS met in the forest car park, near to “Bridge nursery” tea room, grid ref TM467710. Weather conditions were, for a change, ideal. Our walk was to take us through the forest rides, to the bird hide situated on the northern edge of the forest at the junction with the Walberswick reed bed, opposite Westwood Lodge.
The wide forest rides, drenched with sunshine, proved to be very conducive to insect life in general. Very evident, owing to their presence in large numbers, were the dragonflies. Common Darter was perhaps the most numerous species recorded; flying at a rather greater height were Migrant Hawkers, seemingly in larger numbers than they were last year in this locality. Ruddy Darters were less numerous than Common Darters (the two species were easily separated by the rather brighter red abdomen, terminating in a club shaped expansion in the males). A few examples of the large Southern Hawker were spotted, as they dashed up and down the forest rides seeking prey.
Having our butterfly recorder with us proved a real bonus (thanks Rob), and as would be expected, a respectable number of nineteen butterfly species were recorded, but all in low numbers. The complete absence of Small Tortoiseshell went to prove that this summer had not been a good one for butterfly species in general. The species list is:- Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Holly Blue (three individuals seen), White Admiral (one rather battered example flitting through the sun dappled woodland), Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet.
The sunlit, compacted soil of the forest track was suitable a habitat for the Red data book digger wasp, the Bee-wolf to excavate its burrows. (This status must surely be under revision, as this species has become so widespread in suitable habitat). On the path near the hide a fine example of the Large Emerald moth was found, and a fast flying male Oak Eggar moth was seen briefly as it flew between the conifers.
Some time was spent in the bird hide, but it was rather disappointing as the birds had decided to be elsewhere.
Some sweeping was carried out on the way back to the car park, and several species of cricket were found. The Dark Bush-Cricket was most numerous, and this caused some puzzlement as some of the individuals were of variable colour. The most uncommon species, the Long-winged Cone-head, of which we found a single female, was perhaps one of the finds of the day, as it is a recent addition to the Suffolk list. The females are easily separated from those of the more abundant Shortwinged Cone-head which we found to be plentiful, in that the ovipositor of the former is long and almost straight, whereas in the latter it is rather stouter and upcurved. Several Roesel’s Bush-crickets were found, this being easily distinguished by having a cream-coloured margin to the pronotum. Speckled Bush-crickets were numerous, and a few specimens of the Oak Bush-cricket were seen.
Hemiptera were very scarce and only one species of note was found, Neottiglossa pusilla (sorry, this has no common name), another record for an under recorded species for the county.
It was a very enjoyable day; thanks to all the participants.
Nigel Cuming
NATURAL HISTORY AT HAWSTEAD, SUFFOLK, IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY
I was asked to write a heraldically correct description of the coat of arms of Sir George Gery Milner-Gibson Cullum of Hardwick House, 8th and last Baronet. The West Suffolk Hospital is now on the site of the old Hardwick House. With such a name one could guessed that it would not be an easy task. However, it was finally done from a book plate in an original copy (one of 230) of The History and Antiquities of Hawsted and Hardwick in the County of Suffolk by The Rev. Sir John Cullum, Bart, F.R.S. & F.S.A. (2nd Edition, 1813).
This book showed the amazing width of interest and work done by Sir John. In addition to family and church history he covered the geology and natural history around Bury St Edmunds, the farming, and much more.
He first briefly lists the trees, and comments on the large size of some Wild Cherry (Prunus avium). Apple orchards apparently thrived well, and: “cider is sometimes made, but not excellent”. He then gives this charming introduction to the other vegetation:-
“To these more majestic productions of vegetation is subjoined a list of those of more humble growth. Some of them are medicinal; some rare; and a few of them perhaps so common as to be found in all parts of the kingdom. Whatever they be they form part of that gay robe with which the earth is vested; and although we may not be able to discover all their uses, at least they are too beautiful and various to be trampled on unheeded.”
He lists 48 local plants, with five more in an appendix. They were mainly flowering plants, but included seven non-flowering. I checked a sample of 25 from the list against Simpson’s Flora of Suffolk and was surprised to find that 48% had been recorded in Suffolk for the first time by Sir John. Most were easily recognised, with little change in common name and I was pleasantly surprised how few scientific names had changed. However, Sir John’s Earth Nut Bunium flexuosum has become Earthnut or Pignut Conopodium majus (Gouan, Loret) and his Water Hemlock (Phellandrium aquaticutum) is now Hemlock (Conium maculatum L.), and there may be other taxonomic changes.
I had hoped to find some local common names new to me but Simpson gives most of those used by Sir John. Campanula trachelium L. was an exception, called “Great Throatwort” by Sir John and “Nettle-leaved Bellflower” or “Bats-in-the-Belfry'” by Simpson. This is a good demonstration of the importance scientific names for I found that Figwort (Scrophularia nodosa L.) was also once known as “Throatwort” (see Culpeper).
Sir John’s non-flowering plants included Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale), to which he also gave the name “Shave-grass”, four species of fern and two fungi, the Morel (Phallus esculentus), now Morchella esculenta, and the Crimson Cup Peziza ( Peziza
Figwort
coccinea) which Roger Phillips calls the Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea Fr., Lamb), although he gives Peziza as a synonym. Sir John gives an excellent description of the soils at Hawstead, and writes: “In both these strata are found small snake stones (Helmintholithus Ammonites), crow-stones (Helmintholithus Gryphites), and small irregular fragments of chalk almost as hard as limestone”. I would be most grateful for an explanation of this statement. Unfortunately local birds are not listed, and only one received a mention , “The Land Rail, that scarce and delicate bird, is found here (Pinford End) in autumn.” Finally, and surprisingly, he ends the chapter on natural history with a comment on the high level of infant mortality in the parish, one in six infants dying under two years of age.
The book also describes a seven foot stone statue of a urinating giant (fed from a nearby pond), placed in front of Hardwick House to amuse Queen Elizabeth 1st , and a lot more fascinating local history.
I can only echo the comment by the printer that “Sir John Cullum was a profound Antiquary, a good Natural Historian and an elegant Scholar; the ‘History of Hawsted’ sufficiently evinces.” Few could hold down a ‘day job’ and write such a book today.
Geoff Heathcote
A HERBALIST’S VIEW OF PLANTAINS
The medicinal value of the plantains is attributed mainly to the mucilage that they contain. Mucilage is plant polysaccharide which easily absorbs water to form a gel. The gel is soothing to mucous membranes so that the leaves of both our native species, Plantago major (Greater plantain) and Plantago lanceolata (Ribwort), may be used in remedies for inflammation of the digestive tract. What is harder to explain is their apparent effectiveness in soothing sore throats and coughs, since the mucilage cannot be digested and absorbed. The effect is believed to be mediated by some sort of nervous reflex.
A tropical relative of our plantains is Plantago psyllium, from which we obtain psyllium (isphagula) husk. This contains large quantities of mucilage and is the basis of a popular over-the-counter remedy for digestive problems. It is mixed with cold water and left to swell before the mixture is drunk.
Caroline Wheeler
Global warming, climate change, shifting jet stream or just one of those blipswhatever it was, the result was a pretty awful summer. It reminded me of those summer holidays of my school days which gave British summers such a bad press and helped to build the package holiday industry. After a beautiful April we had a poor May but looked forward to a flaming June.
June started dry but was cloudy and cool. The average daytime temperature was 21.4ºC, which was 4ºC above the lowest I have recorded in twelve years. At 11.4ºC the night time average was the highest that I have recorded over the period.
The disappointing thing about the month was the lack of sunshine. Iit was frustrating to be covered by a never ending blanket of cloud.
Rainfall was high; in fact it was the fourth highest level in twelve years. The total in Ringshall was 85mm, which was enough to keep the plants growing well although the lack of sunshine meant that my runner beans had their worst year ever. By the middle of the month rain was heavy in parts and caused severe flooding. In other parts of the country these were devastating.
The winds were variable and sometimes quite strong. They varied in direction as well as strength.
In the archives I discovered that in 1982, 108mm of rain fell in 100 minutes at West Bradenham in Norfolk on the fifth of the month. This contributed to a record June rainfall of 216mm.
July is always an interesting month as it contains the prophetic St Swithin’s day. It also heralds the start of the school holidays. The average daytime temperature of 24ºC was quite acceptable, certainly if you don’t like the extreme heat of previous Julys. Again, the night time average of 13.5ºC was among the warmest that I have recorded.
The average rainfall of 2.2mm was third behind 2004 and 2005. However, this can be a wet month. In 1941 nearly 96mm fell in two hours at Writtle in Essex. This year the rain in Ringshall fell over 15 days which is just about half the month. Flash floods and violent thunderstorms affected parts of the county. The greyness and rain makes the temperature figures all the more surprising.
The wind came almost exclusively from the south west. It turned easterly for only six days. There were four days on which I recorded no wind at 9.00a.m.
August was a month which again brought less sun than expected. Temperatures were near to the usual for Ringshall, however, at 26.5ºC the average was the second
highest I have recorded. The night time average was 12.7ºC, which is towards the high end in my records.
At 50mm the rainfall was high but nowhere near the 133.5mm that I recorded last year. Scattered showers have been a feature of the rainfall this summer. These showers may have been very heavy and prolonged in areas. Some of the August showers were driven by very strong winds, which also were very local in their effect. The rain was heaviest between the 13th and the 25th. I recorded no rain on other days.
Wind direction was divided equally between the southwest and the northwest. On four days only did it blow from the southeast. Seven days started with no recordable breeze.
September proved to be a delight. There was a warm, golden quality about it, which went some way to compensate for the earlier grey, wet and windy summer.
The day time average temperature of 20.5ºC was comfortable and the night time 12.8ºC was the highest that I have recorded.
Unfortunately some rain fell to spoil the party although this time it was actually needed, or at least some of it was. There was 33.5mm, most of it at the end of the month. This made it one the driest Septembers that I have recorded. Even with these rainy days it was a pleasant month with sunshine to fortify us for the coming winter.
The wind was exclusively from the west and was evenly divided between the south and north quarters. In fact I recorded a perfect symmetry this month which as far as I am concerned is a first and worthy of note. On ten days the wind came from the southwest, on ten days it was from the northwest and ten days started with no recordable breeze!
Could this symmetry be a sign of things to come? If so I hope that it is a sign of better weather with no floods and tornadoes. Whatever the weather I wish you all a pleasant winter.
Andrew Toomey
WHITE ADMIRAL NEEDS YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
Please send contributions to White Admiral to the Editor at the address on page 1. All material is gratefully received and will be considered for publication.
Deadlines for copy are 1st February (spring edition), 1st June (summer edition) and 1st October (autumn edition).
The opinions expressed in White Admiral are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society.
REVIEW OF NICK BAKER’S EXPLORER KITS
Christmas presents for children – from a child’s perspective! I was recently given a fantastic Bug Hunting explorer kit full of really useful little gadgets to help me study bugs, beetles, and other insects. It contains a hand lens so I can actually see things really close up, a magnifying pot which is good for the things that won’t keep still, and a nest of cardboard pots so I can take some minibeasts back home to ask my Mum what the creatures are. Also included are bug tongs to look at creatures that often fall off leaves when you get anywhere near them, a paintbrush for gentle bug handling and tweezers for after I’ve had some practice! There’s a small notebook to write down my observations of creatures doing things. The kit also comes with a guide by Nick Baker full of tips and tricks for finding wildlife and activities to do. Oh, yes, and a green duffel bag to put all the things in – I suppose so I won’t be seen in the green grass!
The Animal Tracking explorer kit is a good one for Christmas because that’s the best time for seeing tracks in mud and snow – but it’s a bit fiddly so not really my thing! But there is also a Pond and Rock Pool explorer kit for the summer which looks better. I think any of my friends who like wildlife would really like to be given one of these explorer kits for Christmas or a birthday because they’ve got so many things in them!
These kits (c£15) are made by Interplay and sold in lots of places including Early Learning Centre and if you do an internet search you can find them online.
Daisy Hawkins (aged 11)
MICROSCOPE BARGAIN
Just before Christmas in 2005 and again last year the discount store LIDL had stocks of a Bresser Biolux NG microscope at less than £40. Current list price is £100.00. The microscope comes with X10 and X16 eyepieces and X4, X10 and X40 objectives. There is built in illumination via a LED and brightness is adjustable. Optical quality is very good. Also supplied is an ‘electronic eyepiece’ really a webcam so images can be viewed on your PC. The 2006 model also had a mechanical stage and came in a wooden box. If available again this year no doubt there will be further improvements. It is a lightweight instrument so suitable for taking on holiday and I have adapted the lighting on mine to run from two AA batteries. No guarantee the LIDL will have them again this year but worth looking out for...
Richard Fisk
FRANCIS SIMPSON - A NEW BOOK
To commemorate the twenty-first year since the publication of ‘Simpson’s Flora of Suffolk’ I have produced a slim volume of Francis’ writings taken almost exclusively from the SNS transactions and newsletters of the Ipswich and District Natural History Society. Together with a few illustrations these selected writings cover a surprisingly wide range, far more than the botany that was his speciality. After an introduction, which includes several of the true stories about his adventures, there are comments from those who knew him well. Also included are several of his field meeting reports and, with flora studies are longer extracts giving his views about conservation, past glories of the Suffolk countryside, and the wilful destruction he opposed wherever and whenever possible.
The selection hopefully shows a range of emotions from humour to anger. Also included is a section demonstrating that, like his long-time friend Ted Ellis, Francis was a superb all-round naturalist: his study of Suffolk cormorants shows this clearly. There is just one extract from his book and a concluding obituary from Martin Sanford.
Copies will be on sale at the October conference and the November Members’ Evening. The book can also be obtained directly from me at ‘Valezina’, 112, Westerfield Road, Ipswich, IP4 2XW, the cost being £5 or £5.50 by post.
Richard Stewart
LETTERS, NOTES AND QUERIES
Landguard library
One of the rooms at Landguard Bird Observatory has been converted into a small library. Its primary function is to provide a dry environment for the data archives collected by the bird observatory. There is also enough space to archive books and journals of relevance to Suffolk that might be useful to researchers; books on a wide range of natural history subjects have been donated by Ipswich School and a number of private individuals.
I am on the scrounge for copies of White Admiral numbers 1 to 19, Suffolk Natural History numbers 1 to 22 and copies of Suffolk Bird Reports pre-1978, volumes 48 to 51, 53 and 55 onwards. Any books about Suffolk’s natural history that you think we might not have would also be useful. We have copies of most of the books produced by SNS (except Richard Stewart’s excellent Millennium Atlas). If you possess any of the above and are keen to make some room on your bookshelves please get in touch. The library will be made available to members of SNS and SOG who are interested in researching any aspect of Suffolk’s natural history.
Can anyone direct me to a list, with photographs if possible, of all known Suffolk blood sucking insects? I would like to identify a particularly painful pest. In the first instance to satisfy my curiosity and second to assure me that it is not a carrier of any known disease. I am plagued by this creature in my own garden in Ipswich. Neighbours do not appear to have the same problem, therefore it is very locally known as “Mitchells Vampire”. I have never seen this creature before, or experienced a bite like it, either in this country or elsewhere.
It does not look like a midge or a mosquito, and when landed it looks more like a 0.5 to 0.75 cm shiny oval beetle. It leaves an open holed wound wherever it bites, followed by a very large lump on the skin that remains very painful for approximately three days.
Known habits:
• Emerges at dusk
• Inhabits my Garden
• Has flight ability
• Lands on victim and compacts itself into a black shiny oval shape while it sucks blood.
Any information would be appreciated.
Barry Mitchell
Ipswich
Aggressive gulls
In my note ‘Going to town’ in White Admiral 59 I commented on the Lesser Blackback gull colony in Beccles. At that time they resided on the roof of a disused plastics factory. That building was demolished last year but the gulls did not go away, some nested on the piles of rubble left behind and others moved onto neighbouring rooftops. One pair nested in the angle between the roof and chimney on my house. This year they became something of a nuisance. The (presumed) male discovered that it could see it reflection in one of my bedroom windows, from a perch on a neighbour’s bathroom extension, from where it began launching attacks on the ‘intruder’. The only solution was to paint this window with white greenhouse shading to eliminate the reflections. Whilst the chick (only one apparently) was small the bird that was ‘on watch’ sounded an alarm call whenever I went into my garden and dive-bombed me. Other birds attracted by the alarm came flying round in circles ‘screaming’ support. Unfortunately mine is a very tall house, so getting onto the roof to provide some deterrent before next season is not practical and no doubt I will have the same problem again.
Richard Fisk
Research in the garden?
What is your idea of natural history? Is it chasing new arrivals or rarities in faraway places with strange sounding names? There is, of course, a satisfaction in seeing something new or rare and adding a dot to the distribution map. The primary mission of the SNS with its large body of recorders is to document and report the distribution of plants and animals, the rarer the better, but beauty, details of life cycle or ecology are often not mentioned or followed up.
There is another way, championed by the late Dr W.B. Turrill who worked at Kew and was author of several books and articles including the New Naturalist ‘British Plant Life’. In the preface he wrote that he “is himself convinced that much energy is wasted by field naturalists in the study of British plants through undue emphasis being placed upon rarities and ‘new records’. There are so many problems awaiting solution that could be investigated, and many of them solved, by careful thought-out experiments and patient observations on our common plants that it seems a great pity not to direct attention to the fascinating fields for research provided by ‘buttercups and daisies’ ”.
There is still much to find out about common plants and animals by the ‘back garden’ naturalist who inspects the garden daily, walks the local footpaths or takes the dog for a routine walk.
Perhaps the SNS might encourage ‘study’, an important element of its constitution, as well as recording. Perhaps it could find a ‘back garden advisor’ similar to a recorder, but helping with journal sources, relevant equipment and other aspects of ‘careful thought-out experiments and patient observations’.
Michael Kirby
New Fungus Group
Sunday September 21st saw the new Suffolk Fungus Group have its first foray which was held at Captain’s Wood. Eight of us turned out for the event which was a welcome start for the group and the omens are looking good for the rest of the ‘season’. Unfortunately the rains did not come until after the foray but good numbers of fungi were still found and luckily the best find, Scytinostroma portentosum the Mothball Crust, was still smelling strongly of naphthalene, and I took great delight in getting the group down on their knees to have a good whiff! This is the only site in Suffolk where it has been found so far. It is known in only three other counties. The Suffolk Wildlife Trust did well to purchase Captain’s Wood. We all look forward to our next foray to be held at Brandon country park.
A photograph of the group is on page 17.
Neil Mahler
THE SUFFOLK BIOLOGICAL RECORDS CENTRE
RECORDS PLEASE—Harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis
So far this autumn the SBRC office has received more reports than previously of Harlequin ladybirds, suggesting that the population explosion predicted two years ago may have happened. It will be useful to know the extent of this across the county.
• The Harlequin is larger than the majority of our native species - approximately 6-8 mm. Our native 7-spot ladybird is similar in size, but the harlequin does not have the same arrangement of spots.
• The Scarce 7-spot are always found near wood ants nests, but the harlequin is not.
• The body is much rounder than most British ladybirds.
• It can be red, orange or mainly black (melanic). Native melanic ladybirds are rarely seen and they are usually much smaller.
• It can have anything from 0 - 19 black spots, which vary in size. If it is black it will usually have 4 red patches.
• The legs of the harlequin are brownish and the hind rim of the underside is quite red. Our other large ladybird, the ‘Eyed ladybird’ has black legs.
• It has a distinctive white mark on its head. Our native cream-spot ladybird always has a reddish fore-body with no white patches.
Include full date, your name and address, and grid reference of at least 6 figures. All Ordnance Survey maps have instructions on how to read a grid reference. A photograph or a specimen (in a matchbox or similar container) is also helpful.
Martin Sanford
SUFFOLK NATURALISTS’ SOCIETY BURSARIES
The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society offers five bursaries, of up to £100 each, annually.
Morley Bursary - usually awarded for studies involving insects (or other invertebrates) other than butterflies and moths.
Chipperfield Bursary - usually awarded for studies involving butterflies or moths.
Cranbrook Bursary - usually awarded for studies involving mammals or birds.
Rivis Bursary - usually awarded for studies into the County’s flora.
Simpson Bursary - in memory of Francis Simpson; this will be for a botanical study where possible.
Any member wishing to apply for a bursary should write, with details of their proposed project, to the Honorary Secretary. As applications are normally considered at the Council meeting in May of each year, proposals should be with the Hon. Sec. by 30th April.
Applications made at other times will be considered but, even if considered worthy of an award, may not be successful if all the bursaries for the current year have already been taken.
The following two conditions apply to the awards:
1. Projects should include a large element of original work and applications must include a breakdown of how the bursary will be spent.
2. A written account of the project is required within 12 months of receipt of a bursary. This should be in a form suitable for publication in one of the Society’s journals: Suffolk Natural History, Suffolk Birds or White Admiral.
THE SUFFOLK NATURALISTS’ SOCIETY
FOUNDED IN 1929 by Claude Morley (1874 -1951), The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society pioneered the study and recording of the County’s flora, fauna and geology, to promote a wider interest in natural history.
Recording the natural history of Suffolk is still one of the Society’s primary objects, and members’ observations are fed to a network of specialist recorders for possible publication before being deposited in the Suffolk Biological Records Centre, jointly managed at Ipswich Borough Council Museum.
Suffolk Natural History, a review of the County’s wildlife, and Suffolk Birds, the County bird report, are two high quality annual publications issued free to members. The Society also publishes a newsletter, White Admiral, and organises an interesting programme of field excursions and lectures.
Subscriptions: Individual members £15.00; Family membership £17.00; Corporate membership £17.00. Joint membership with the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group: Individual members £26.00; Family membership £30.00.
As defined by the Constitution of this Society its objects shall be:
2.1 To study and record the fauna, flora and geology of the County
2.2 To publish a Transactions and Proceedings and a Bird Report. These shall be free to members except those whose annual subscriptions are in arrears
2.3 To liaise with other natural history societies and conservation bodies in the County
2.4 To promote interest in natural history and the activities of the Society
For more details about the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society contact:
