A wasp nest and British butterflies
September 2009
There was a steady but diminishing passage of swallows heading south throughout the month. And a few pairs of house martins were still feeding late broods at the end of the month.
Sightings of interest, included the first Grey Wagtail of the year on the 26th feeding along the brook, a flock of 17 yellow wagtails feeding around the feet of some cattle which were disturbing insects from the grass, a flock of about 150 golden plovers first seen on the 18th, a snipe on the 14th,a whinchat on the 23rd and a barn owl on the 28th.
Sightings of red kites and or buzzards are a more or less daily occurrence but to see eight buzzards spiralling around a thermal together was exceptional only to be followed later that day by four red kites.
Insects
Butterflies were benefiting from the warm, dry weather, with good numbers of several species being recorded, especially red admirals, which had had a poor early season. The progeny of the painted lady invasion were still to be seen in diminishing numbers.The summer moths were declining and being replaced by the autumn and winter moth species.
Red Underwing
Red Underwings are large moths which occasionally fly in the day. In their normal resting posture and on their preferred substrate which is on walls and trees they are difficult to see, if disturbed they reveal a brilliant red pattern.
Red Underwing
Several species of moth belonging to the Thorns appear in autumn. These moths look more like butterflies in the way that they hold their wings.
Dusky Thorn
Large Thorn
Another group of moths which appear in the autumn are the Sallows.
Centre Barred Sallow
Barred Sallow
Sallow
Orange Sallow
Autumn is a good time to see evidence of species which have been hidden until exposed by leaf loss as was the case of the wasp nest disturbed by a hedge cutter. The nest was the size of a football and fortunately deserted.
Wasp nest
A wasp nest this size probably held a few thousand wasps at its peak.
The nest is made annually by the worker wasps which all die off over the winter. The over-wintering queen starts a new colony by herself in the spring, by making a small nest from chewed wood pulp and paper, manufactured into shape and size with her mandibles and gauging size by using her legs. Once established the queen lays eggs which she has to feed until the workers have developed and are capable of foraging, building and defence. Then the queen becomes an egg laying machine and the nest grows rapidly as worker numbers increase.
Mammals
There were a few mammal sightings, mainly of rabbits, the occasional muntjac deer and a weasel on the 29th crossing a path. Two freshly dead common shrews and a mole were found, possibly related to the prolonged dry weather reducing their access to food, which is mainly invertebrates and especially worms. In prolonged dry weather conditions worms burrow deeper and go into summer hibernation, aestivation, to prevent water loss; they then re-emerge in more clement weather conditions.
