Nature Notes September 2024
Nature Notes, September 2024
We visited our favourite ‘local patch’ on a warm sunny day in late August. Buxton Heath always turns up interesting wildlife, whatever the time of year and our visit was no exception. Although it was late in the season, the fen was busy with bees on the purple flowers of Devil’s Bit Scabious and pink Water Mint. Bright blue male Keeled Skimmer Dragonflies were still defending their territories along short lengths of the boggy water course, while Common Darters were egg laying in shallow pools. The extreme weather we had been having seemed to have confused some of the plants, as there were several golden blooms of Marsh Marigold in the wettest places; which normally only flowers in spring. Lower down, alongside the stream, patches of Grass-of-Parnassus were in flower, their white porcelain-like petals etched with pale green veins. They are the most elegant of flowers and well worth the struggle through the mire to reach them. We then crossed the rivulet and climbed the hill to the top of the heath where there was much Bee Wolf activity. The track was pitted with entrances to their tunnels which they stock with Honey Bees as food for their larvae. We walked on across the heath and into adjacent Great Wood. The wide ride we call ‘Insect Alley’, lived up to its name; Dark, Speckled, Roesel’s and Bog Bush Crickets were all heard through the bat detector. Where there is a plentiful supply of food, their predators will gather. We found no less than five Wasp Spiders in their webs amongst the long grass and heather. These only arrived in the county a few years ago but have spread widely into places rich in grasshoppers and crickets, as this is their staple diet. To catch this type of meal, you need an extra strong web, so Wasp Spiders spin a zigzag band of silk, the stabilimentum, which helps the web withstand the impact and struggling of the incoming insect. Their name comes from the beautiful yellow, white and black markings on the abdomen, presumably as a warning to their predators that they contain toxins.
Judith found that sometimes wildlife comes into our houses unbidden, when a green and brown Hawthorn Shieldbug flew over her shoulder and onto the inside of her window! She carefully put it outside.
Do let me know if you see any interesting wildlife (rachel.42rr@btinternet.com)
