Nearing the middle of April the verges and banks became even brighter with a fine display of plants essential to life - attracting the pollinators. Dandelions flowered together with Lesser Celandine, Blackthorn blossom covered the hedges with an even denser white whilst Willow catkins burst into life and blossom was flowering on fruit trees - all attracting insects, amongst them the most colourful:
A Peacock Butterfly nectaring on one of the finest flowers for wildlife, the Dandelion.
12th April 2020
The importance of such common flowers cannot be overestimated. Later they would be joined by daisies forming dense carpets attracting a large diversity of insects including many species of bee.
On 12th, many common whitethroats were singing, together with blackcaps. A moorhen was busy in the river 'islands' of twigs and two song thrushes were singing too. A great spotted woodpecker and a green woodpecker were in the old trees whilst below them the Peacocks were not the only butterflies to be seen ranging along the banks. Speckled Wood butterflies were chasing Holly Blues over the river and up into the trees. Huge Bumblebees were flying low over the Dandelions, young nettles and wildflowers including dog Violet, Wild Garlic and just flowering Garlic Mustard, then up to the blossoming Blackthorn:
Blackthorn blossom like snow in the wind. Actually this
is typical of a fine dense Blackthorn hedge which each year grows
new twigs, chosen by the Brown Hairstreak butterfly to lay its eggs on in the autumn. The butterfly itself will be seen much later in the year.
This is a scarce butterfly which is being driven to near extinction by hedge trimming and 'tidying'.
Blackthorn is also chosen by blackcaps, whitethroats, other migrant warblers and the bullfinch as habitat during the summer, the thorns providing protection from predators.
Garlic Mustard:
A spring and summer wild flower, together with the Cuckooflower, is often overlooked but is an essential food plant of butterflies such as the Orange Tip and the Green-veined white.
Flowering Garlic Mustard -
an important food plant of the Orange Tip butterfly usually grows in semi- shade in damp places.
The leaves are nettle-like but have a sharp garlic scent.
Stinging Nettles themselves are also a very important food plant for butterflies.
Comma, Red-Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies all use the Nettle as caterpillar food.
Butterflies lay their eggs under the tender young Nettle leaves which provide the ideal food for the caterpillars when they hatch.
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