Autumn Life

I almost walked into this caterpillar as I was walking in the woods. It was casually swing back and forth in the breeze preventing all attempts for my camera to keep it in focus. I finally had to use flash which kind of spoils the result. The out of focus picture shows the caterpillar doing a good impersonation of a silver birch.

It is the caterpillar of the Peppered moth and has just finished its session of leaf eating and is making its way down to the ground where it will bury itself before emerging as a moth next May.

This moth can appear in either of these two forms. It was thought that during the 19th century it had evolved into the dark form in the north of England so as to merge in with the sooty background. As the air pollution has cleared it was thought the moth would revert to its original lighter pattern. However there must be some doubt about this theory as you still see both variations.

Here is evidence that the Himalayan Balsam is not all bad. Or is it?

Bees are very active at the moment and are busy collecting nectar from the balsam. As it has been a poor year they are dependent on this flower for much of their food. When the bee emerges from the flower it is covered in white pollen which it carries to the next plant. Bee keepers like this plant as it is a source of rich nectar and provides a very sweet honey. However it is not all good news. The balsam is an invasive foreign invader and out competes native plants. There is also evidence of a double whammy for the bees favour these flowers and ignore native wildflowers, which do not get their vital pollinating service.
NA

No sun - no chestnuts!

This is one of only two Sweet Chestnut trees, Castanea sativa, in Buck Wood.

They aren't related to the Horse-chestnut, which is Aesculus hippocastaneum. We've only identified one of those in Buck Wood, near the Open Air School site, which is surprising because they grow very easily from the conkers so popular with children. Maybe the children at the Open Air School were too well disciplined to play with conkers?

But back to the sweet chestnuts, which are striking trees with dramatic leaves and long yellow catkins earlier in the year, and often with a crop of small but edible chestnuts in the autumn.

They are however, very dependent on sunny weather to grow and mature - and this year that's been sadly lacking! So this picture is from a previous year. But it shows how prickly the cases of the nut are, much more formidable to open than non-edible chestnuts, but worthwhile when the nuts inside are big enough to eat. However, there isn't a single one this autumn, so my fingers will be saved from injury, and the chestnuts will come from the shops. Which isn't nearly so much of a treat!

CA

Acorns - and oaks

This is a good year for acorns, and the squirrels in Buck Wood are definitely in collecting-stores-for-winter mode at present.

Acorns are the easiest way of identifying the types of oak trees that are in the wood. There are around 500 different species worldwide, but two predominate in Buck Wood, although that's an oversimplification!

This first photo shows the acorns of the Sessile Oak, which is probably the commonest in our wood. The acorns fit snuggly against the branch, and have no stalk, which is what 'sessile' means - although to complicate matters, the leaves do have a stalk.

Then we have the English, or Pedunculate Oak. The acorns grow on a long stalk or 'peduncle', often in pairs, as shown here. However the leaves don't have a peduncle, but grow close to the twig. Which confuses those of us with bad memories as to where there are - or aren't - stalks. This species is also known as the Common Oak, but in Buck Wood we don't have many, compared with the Sessiles.

But what we seem to have most of is a hybrid between the two, so the acorn in this photo is growing on a short stem, but as you can see, the leaves also have stems. So it isn't straightforward.

However, the squirrels are happy, and as far as I can tell, make the most of whatever they find!

Of course there's one that's easy to identify, and that's the lovely whiskery cup of the Turkey Oak acorn. We might only have one or two of these trees now, as I suspect some were cut down the clear-felling under the power lines, but I live in hope of discovering more, and that they'll regenerate. But if you see these very distinctive rounded acorns you can be sure that it's one of Buck Wood's Turkey Oaks!

CA

Ladybugs

Walking down the main footpath I noticed this ladybird on a young sycamore. As you can see it is orange and not the usual red variety. It is, as you might guess, an Orange ladybird.We have over 20 different kinds of ladybirds in Britain varying from the common 7-spot to the 24-spot, Adonis,Kidney-spot, 2-spot and Striped. They are harmless creatures whose main purpose in life is to eat as many greenfly as possible. Very occasionally huge numbers appear - I think the last time was in the late 1970s - then some problems can occur and there have been reports of people being bitten. But don't worry it is only a mild nip!

As it happened the very next sycamore I looked at had this beastie crawling on its leaves. It is the larva of the Orange Ladybird. It too has a voracious appetite for greenfly, etc. When it has fully gorged itself it pupates and re-emerges as the ladybird seen above.

These too are harmless to man, but beware the Harlequin ladybird and its larva. The Harlequin is an introduced species which is causing havoc in the ladybird world. It is bigger, longer lived and reproduces more frequently than our natives. As a result it is out competing - not to mention eating - our friendly locals. Measures may have to be taken to combat its spread. Another nasty habit of this beastie is that it is not adverse to giving a sharp nip to humans - as my daughter found out earlier in the year as she picked up one in the larva stage. NA

Autumn's coming...

This morning seemed typical of an autumn morning in so many ways - even the bird song has changed, and robins seemed to predominate with a tune that has definitely become the one we hear in winter rather than summer. The sky was clear and blue, but looking upwards through the trees it was noticeable that the leaves overhead are changing colour. Underfoot it was damp with a heavy dew, which was clinging to the grasses and few remaining flowers. It also makes you realise what a great deal of activity goes on in the Wood during the night (not the human kind, unsuitable for this blog), but spiders for example, with a frenetic weaving of webs between branches and twigs. These will break down and disappear during the day, but reappear tomorrow, noticeable only when misted with dew. CA

Abundant Amethysts

This blog really isn't intended to be all-about-fungi, but at this time of year it's tempting to focus on them to the exclusion of everything else!

And that's especially the case when the fungi are as attractive as these Amethyst Deceivers. This year there are masses scattered along the path through Buck Wood alongside the canal. They stand out because they live up to their name, as vivid as amethysts, and so much brighter than most other fungi. The only others in this area are some very chewed-up russulas, which would have been attractive had the slugs not found them first.

The Amethyst Deceiver, Laccaria amethystea, is related to The Deceiver, Laccaria laccata, which is very similar but an undistinguished tan colour, which merges in with the autumn leaves. It's probably just as common if you look for it, but well camouflaged and easily trodden-on!

Both of them are edible, though apparently tasteless and not worth eating. Far better left to glow gently at the sides of paths and bring some welcome colour to the woodland.

Very common earthballs

Maybe this year is going to be another one that's not too good for fungi - like last year, too damp generally, and the earth too wet. But whatever the conditions, earthballs seem to thrive.

These are the Common Earthball, Scleroderma citrinum, but the Scaly Earthballs, Scleroderma verrucusa, are also easy to find in Buck Wood - they're scalier, and sit closer to the ground.

The one on the right here is old, it's already exploded its cloud of spores into the air and is deflated like a punctured ball. Eventually it will be an unpleasant gooey yellow mess.

The name is one that aptly describes the fungus, and although we'd refer to it as the Latin name, it's actually from the Greek: sclero which means hardening, and derma meaning skin - verruca is obvious, and is Latin; citrinum is also obvious, meaning yellow, like citrus fruits.

And, by the way, they're poisonous - apparently some people mistake them for truffles, but I don't think that's likely hereabouts!

CA

Hard life underground

As we walk through the wood we seldom think about what is underfoot, apart from avoiding all the mud which the latest rain has created. However, what we walk on has a direct bearing on the woodland we see today. Eons ago the geological processes created the framework for our woodland. What type of trees and plants are able to grow and thrive is dependent upon the type soil and the underlying rocks. The soil in Buck Wood may seem deep and packed with nutrients but in most places it is just over an inch thick. Below this is a tightly compacted layer of sand and rock. Anyone who has tried to plant bulbs in the wood will be aware how difficult it is.

This creates problems for one of our much loved but seldom seen animals - the mole. You tend to see evidence of moles in fields

where they leave their mole hills. Last week I was surprised to see this trail across the footpath. The rocky surface was obviously too hard for the mole and it had create its tunnel overground. I don't expect this route will last too long and it will have to find an easier place to live.

NA

Fungi at the Open Air School site

Over the last few weeks this tree stump has become covered in varicoloured bracket fungi - possibly because it was damaged by vandals during the summer, giving an entry to the spores. It's one of a row of stumps at the Open Air School site, where the trees were blown over in a gale years ago. Most of them have regrown from the remains of their trunks lying on the ground - they're known as 'phoenix trees', The whole site must be very fertile, judging by the amount of regrowth since the school burnt down 40 years ago, and by the amount of tidying up members of the group do every month!

The site also seems to be a good one for fungi this year - these 'Dead Man's Fingers' are growing around a couple of ground-level stumps. They're very dark now, but when they first appeared they were brown with slightly pinkish-brown tips, and spookily realistic.

Our Centenary Day on Saturday was successful, and the sun even shone for a while. It was interesting that many visitors had been at the school either when it was a special school or after the war when it was a temporary school for many children. Everyone had happy memories of being there.
CA

Reflections

This blog hasn't got off to a good start. When the main writer has fractured foot bones which stop her walking as far as Buck Wood, and the secondary writer has consequently to spend more of his time walking the dog in the Wood, it doesn't bode well for a regular piece about the ever changing woodland.

However, the foot is improving, and the walks and blog will resume eventually. And I shall hope for better weather when my woodland walks begin, and that the torrential rains haven't put paid to the diverse autumnal fungi that I'm looking forward to finding.

Meanwhile, a picture to show that even when it rains Buck Wood can be lovely.

CA