Autumn 2015 Newsletter is available HERE

South Yorkshire Branch
Newsletter
Autumn 2015
Editor Pauline Rutherford M.B.N.A.
Issue number 12
Shippams Meat Paste and Pickled Onions - Reminiscences from the Fifties
By Trish Macduff
It's not often I see a jar of Shippams paste, or a large jar of pickled onions these days but when I do, I am invariably
overcome by a huge wave of nostalgia! Although no longer commonplace in the food cupboard, in my youth they
were a mainstay. But it wasn't the contents that invoke these feelings of nostalgia; it was the empty jars
themselves. Beneath the sink in the classroom at school, with its own distinct damp odour, there was always an
assorted pile of old newspapers, unclean paint pallets and always a splendid collection of jars, jam jars housing a
raggle taggle selection of ill treated splayed paintbrushes, but the other more important ones were kept for the
specimens on our nature table.
I can remember now, the feel of the little vertical ridges on the meat paste jars which came in two sizes. The larger
ones were idea for many types of flowers, primroses, wood anemones, poppies, and the smaller ones for tiny little
violets, daisies, speedwells, or perhaps the decapitated head of a dandelion, and the largest of the jars, usually from
pickled beetroot or onions, were first choice for sticky buds, rosebay willow herbs, or the armfuls of bluebells we
used to pick in springtime. There was no concern about lack of space, we had various tables permanently dotted
around the school, there to take us townies through all the seasons, from sticky buds to the gorgeous chestnut
green leaves of spring, and their cream or pink flowers, the small spiky green chestnuts as they formed, and the
magnificent shiny brown conkers – which I know were often stolen for conker fights in the playground! Then the
beautiful crisp leaves would find their way onto the table in autumn thus completing the recording of the life cycle
of the horse chestnut tree. Monday morning, the nature table monitor would throw out the old dead specimens
and replace with those brought in that morning and pupils with the best handwriting were commissioned for
writing the labels on folded pieces of cardboard.
Conkers!
Photo by P. Rutherford
The Magnificent Horse Chestnut in Autumn Colour
Photo by S. Rutherford
Another fond memory of a Shippams meat paste jar came from taking one into school before it was quite empty.
The teacher had asked if anyone found anything with mould on at home, to bring it in for closer examination. I
knew better than to ask my mother, she would have been mortified my taking in mouldy food to school, she would
worry people that people would think we must be poverty stricken if she was feeding us food like that! The
teacher was very impressed by my wonderful blue green fluffy specimen who had grown to fill the jar right up to
the lid - and yes my mother did find out, and I was in a lot of trouble! Fortunately I remember getting a house
point for taking in the mould, which softened the blow.
I was born near the centre of Bristol, a huge town with its sprawling residential areas. There were no front gardens
to the terraced houses. Our local park was all concrete, the only wildlife that I can recall were pigeons flapping
from one side of the park to the other and its row of planes trees, which we loved in autumn for its little round
seed balls which we opened up and delighted in stuffing the “itchycoos” down peoples shirt collars! In the early
fifties, many of the bombed sites from the Second World War were still undeveloped, and our daily walk to the
shops for fresh meat and bread, in the days before refrigeration, provided the opportunity to observe the ragwort,
the sow thistles, poppies and the rosebay willow herbs and splendid displays of dandelions. I can remember my
disappointment when these sites were built on, and I found the bricks and mortar far less interesting than all the
wild flowers it previously homed.
The garden of our terraced house was small, but each year the stone wall came to life with trailing ivy-leaf toad
flax. I loved the shape of its leaves, the perfect little flowers, an exquisite shade of mauve with its yellow centre.
With careful picking to retain its stem, the tiny flowers made perfect posies for my bridesmaid dolls. However,
these flowers weren't grand enough for the bride herself, her bouquet of pure white was made from what I
called, in the absence of a name, “trumpet lilies” which I thought were very romantic flowers. I didn’t understand
why my mother ridiculed them so much until later in life, when I realised they were convolvulus. This bindweed
and the forsythia in the corner of our garden my mother hated with a passion, as neither could be controlled to
look neat and tidy. I recently drove past a magnificent old house, its front wall towering over the roadway, its long
frontage was absolutely covered in ivy leaved toadflax, I've never seen it blossom in such abundance, the sight of it
made my spirits soar. However, a few weeks later passing the house again, when looking out for this wonderful
sight, my spirits sunk – the owner had taken weed killer to the whole wall, and the plants were a brown frazzled
mess. All those bridesmaids’ posies! Murderer!
Ivy-leaf toad flax
Photos by S. Rutherford
I can remember our family getting its first car, and the wonderful freedom it brought us to travel out of the city at
weekends. No longer dependent on walking or buses, we could travel further afield for our picnics, to the coast
twenty miles away, or fishing expeditions with my brothers, and as the boys became older, weekends dominated
by cricket matches out in the neighbouring villages, usually out in the countryside. These matches seemed to last
all day, and I roamed the cricket field where the boundaries met the rough grass which I scoured for new species of
flowers. I usually went home with some unknown flower, and hoped I could keep it looking lively long enough to
identify it from a book from school or the weekly trip to the local library. I can remember my excitement at finding
deadly nightshade, cuckoo pint and a solitary henbane – and finding out they were all deadly poisonous! But each
was proudly displayed on the nature table at school– no health and safety in those days, and nobody was poisoned,
nobody died!! Fishing trips by the riverside were also a good excuse for looking for flowers, as I had realised here
you found a different type of plant by the waterside - the wonderful yellow flags and purple loosestrife, the marsh
marigold and water lilies. Around this time, I won a book token at Sunday School. In the area where I lived, there
was no such thing as a bookshop, so this necessitated a trip into town to the Big Shops, where I had no difficulty in
choosing a book simply called “Wild Flowers.” By today's standards this was not a good book! The colour plates
were few and far between, most of the flowers were represented by a black and white sketch, not always terribly
accurate, the information was scant, but this book started a long love affair with bookshops. I looked at the herb
robert, the red campions, the forget-me-knots that I already recognised, and saying the wonderful names aloud of
exotic sounding plants like vipers bugloss, bog asphodel and Venus’s looking glass and praying one day I would be
able to find one!
For my other source of information, I had to wait for the weekly stocking up of groceries. I couldn't wait for the
loose tea to be decanted from its pack into the tea caddy. Not because of my love of the drink, but for the wonderful
Brooke Bond tea picture cards that came into between the paper packaging. I can remember the delightful
anticipation easing the card from between the layers, the joy when it was a new card, the disappointment when it
was a duplicate, and the thought of having to wait another whole week before any new cards arrived. It was a
great testament to my parent’s prowess in tea drinking, that seemingly we had no trouble filling endless
collections, wildflowers, British birds and butterflies, freshwater fish besides more exotic creatures from around
the world.
There is usually one person who inspires you in a subject you come to love. My teacher in my final year at primary
school encouraged me in my love of flowers, and always looked to me on a Monday morning to see what I had
brought in to share. He always seemed to recognize whatever I had found over the weekend; he immediately knew
its name and could always tell me many facts about it. There weren't many weeks of the year when there was
“nothing” to take in, if there were no flowers, there were poppy seed heads, ash keys, or old man's beard in
autumn, or one of my favourites to this day, the gorgeous coral coloured spindle berry, beautiful stark winter twigs,
and of course the non deciduous conifers and their cones, the gorgeous dark green needles of the yew and its
spherical red berries. I took his knowledge for granted at the time, after all he was a teacher and they know
everything. I recently made contact him with again, thanks to social media, and now in his late eighties, he still goes
out taking photographs of wildlife to make a fund raising calendar for his church – I had no idea when I was a
school child; he was such a real nature enthusiast.
In retrospect, I felt it was a shame that my love of wildlife wasn’t fostered at secondary school. After our weekly
discussions about our surroundings in primary school, I was shocked to find there was no nature table, and no
lesson that encompassed flowers or birds. All the after school clubs were sport based, so my love of nature was
something that I pursued alone. In my teens none of my peers could name any wild flower or bird, I suppose they
were all proper townies! If only my parents or teachers could have pointed me towards a bird group or nature
group – which I m sure must have existed somewhere!
Over fifty years on from these tales, I still marvel daily how easy it is now to access information, twenty four hours
a day, how gratifying is it, to learn not only what an unknown plant, or bird is, to learn virtually all there is to know
about it in great depth, with a touch of a screen. It is a constant joy to me, to look at wonderful images on the
internet of not only wildlife from local areas, but from the whole country and worldwide, any time of the day or
night. And perhaps even better than that, is the chance to learn that there are thousands of thousands of like
minded people with whom to get together and share this love and knowledge.
BNA Northumberland Adventure:
(The one where it was quoted 'it’s too early for a Shag')
By Mark Dudley MBNA
It was a dull overcast day as the South Yorkshire B.N.A set out for another Northumberland adventure, only six
months from the mid-week adventure in November. The faces were slightly different with Ann, Trevor, Marika and
David joining the survivors from the last coastal visit Steve, Pauline, Mike, Nora, Jean, Catherine and myself. Pauline
had booked the weather and by mid-afternoon the group was basking in blue skies as we turned rocks and paddled
through the rock pools in our willies (see Pauline my spell checker did not correct this either)!
The group arrived at 11.30 prompt at St Mary's island and after a slide down the causeway by Mike (ouch!) the
group gingerly scoured the left side of the causeway as the rocks were found to be very slippery. Close by were
Sandwich Terns (Sterna sandvicensis) feeding young, Golden Plover (Pluvalos apricaria), Oystercatchers
(Haematopus ostralegus), Cormorants (Not Shags) (Phalacrocorax carbo), Redshanks (Tringa tetanus), Turnstones
(Avenaria interpres) in transition and a nice pair of Great Black Backed Gulls (Larus marinus) along with a couple of
Franks (Ardea cinerea). The rock pools seemed empty, but Ann & Marika kept the group going by identifying
seaweeds. On the upper shore were the Green seaweeds. Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactuca). Upper to Mid shore red
seaweeds Coral Weed (Corralina officinalis) and Sea Beech (Delesseria sanguinea), mid to lower shore were most
of the brown seaweeds Serrated Wrack (Fucus serrated), Spiral Wrack (Fucus spiralis), Bladder Wrack (Fucus
vesiculosus), Channeled Wrack (Pelvetia canaliculata) and Kelp (Laminaria digitata) family. Well that’s what the
textbooks say and is known as zonation, an adaption by each seaweed having different pigments for absorbing
light. The phytoplankton living near the surface filters out the red and blue light, so only greenish light is available
for those deeper in the waters. So, seaweeds instead of using chlorophyll have different pigments phyoerythrins in
red and fucoxanthin in brown seaweeds, which are more able to absorb the green light at these lower depths. Many
seaweeds also have bladders, gas filled pouches that help their fronds to float maximising the potential to absorb
light.
Channeled Wrack.
Pictures by Mike Squires
Common prawn.
Hermit crab inside a periwinkle
Picture by Kevin Hinchcliffe
After sandwiches the sun came out and the rocks dried a little more, so the group explored the right side of the
causeway. Whether it was because the sun was out or it was just a better rock pooling area the creatures seemed
more obvious. The first highlight was the Grey Chiton (Lepidochitona cinerea) stuck on the underside of rock. A
slug like creature resembling woodlice, and a survivor of the great Cambrian extinction 500 million years ago, it’s
not changed much since. The group were also fascinated by the translucent prawns (Palaemon serratus) with their
blue and orange legs, although not easy to catch. After which the group dispersed in search of further delights.
I found a Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) on the underside of a rock, next to some yellow siphon type eggs, it wasn't till
later I realised that these eggs were being laid by the Dog Whelk in the picture. Apparently they lay hundreds most
of which are infertile, which then become food for the fertile ones when they hatch. The crabs seemed small mainly
Shore (Caricinus maenas) and Edible (Cancer pagurus) ones, but it was the hermit crabs (Pargurus bernhardus) that
were difficult to avoid, every periwinkle seeming to house one. David did find a naked hermit crab which when
presented with two slightly different sized shells; choose one that had two bedrooms and an en-suite bathroom.
Apparently a hermit crab can be persuaded to move home by any another hermit crab from a rigorous rap on the
shell, and in order to avoid conflict will vacate the shell to a more powerful crab. One species I remember from rock
pooling in my younger days was Beadlet anemones (Actina equine), after looking for most of the afternoon I only
found one on the lower shore. It looked like a shiny fruit gum attached to the rock.
Grey Chiton.
Dog whelk.
Pictures by Mark Dudley
Common limpet
The shells in the pools were, mainly Common Periwinkles (Littorina littorea), the odd Mussel (Mytilus edulis) and I
seem to recall someone finding a Flat Periwinkle (Littorina obtusata). But it was the upside down Common Limpet
(Patella vulgata) displaying its large muscular foot which was a unusual find as they are so difficult to dislodge
from the rocks, so a side of the limpet not often seen. I hope I put it back in the right spot as they have been
recorded returning to the same spot or ‘home scar’ after grazing algae off the surrounding rock surfaces with their
tongue like radula. This ‘home scar’ helps them avoid predation and withstand wave action.
But the find of the afternoon was the fish, it's not often I catch fish in rock pools, but when Catherine turned over a
rock and said she could see one I was intrigued as I couldn't. It was so well camouflaged I handed her a net and out
she pulled a beautiful leopard type fish. It was taken back to the group on the causeway for identification, where
Steve and the rest of the group had been showing people passing by all the rock pool delights. Rachel had even
been demonstrating her diving skills, but unfortunately did not meet the Olympic qualifying standard (hopefully
your shoulder is ok now). There was even a wedding on that afternoon in the lighthouse, which must look odd in
the photographs suits and dresses alongside people in shorts and sandals carrying buckets and spades. The fish
was identified as a baby Short Spined Sea Scorpion (Myoxocephalus Scorpius) also known as a Bull Rout and can
grow to 1ft in length, ours was just a baby. It was identifiable from its white barbels on the side of the mouth, I
could not quite get the spine on its back but then it is called the short spine so probably why.
The group ended the afternoon by observing a flock of starlings on the lighthouse each jostling for position.
Another great event organised by South Yorkshire B.N.A. group tour director Pauline Rutherford.
Short spined sea scorpion
Pictures by Steve Rutherford
St Mary’s Lighthouse
View from a Comfy Chair
By the Chairman
The group dynamics has been changing in a very organic way as individuals have increased their knowledge of the
natural world and have become confident with sharing that knowledge through to the rest of the group. It has been
a privilege to work with Roy, Kevin and Mark on the walks that they have led on Bats at Broomhill (Kevin) and the
Fungi at Warncliffe (Mark and Roy) showing their skills at ID and telling the stories that help us to remember.
These three have been recognised by the BNA for the work and understanding within the natural world and we
have three more outstanding Naturalists of our group working towards that recognition in Di, Nora and Mike,
however, I must commend others here for their brilliant contributions to the group. Two, Rachel and Catherine,
have had the benefit of working in the field with MBNA’s on a full time basis, and the results of that have been
evident to all of us recently. I refer to the contribution to the fungi ID with Rachel mixing very comfortably with
Roy and Mark and each of these celebrated naturalists discussing the complicated features of the specimens we
found with her. Catherine shone when the MBNAs met for some work in the Brecklands when looking at some of
the shield bugs and she was able to identify one of the bugs as a spiked shield bug ahead of a bevy of distinguished
naturalists, a great find. I have enjoyed reading the article from Trish, her fourth article for these publications and
proving a very popular contributor. Well done and thank you also goes to Marika and Ann for their understanding
of the coastal creatures found on the North East weekend and sharing that information with us. I am looking
forward to Pauline and Marks walk on lichens and mosses in November as I know how much work both have put
into their understanding of their subjects.
Coastal Plants in Northumberland, 22nd August
By Nora Boyle
Boulmer Beach
After a night of thunderstorms and heavy rain we awoke to a lovely sunny day with just enough breeze to make the
air temperature comfortable. Our destination for the first part of the day was Boulmer Beach, a location we visited
on our bird watching trip in November last year. The intention for the morning was to walk down the beach
looking at some of the specialised plants growing high up on the shore and in the first layers of dunes, then leave
the shore and walk back along the coastal footpath through the grassland, looking again for plants and also birds
and insects.
As we walked along the beach, the tide was quite a long way out and the shore was littered with kelp and seaweed.
The first plant we encountered was Red Goosefoot (Chenopodium rubrum) with its succulent habit, typical of plants
accommodating drier dune areas. Beside it was the carcass of a black headed gull with its red beak and white
primary feathers with a solid black border.
As we moved further along the shore we came across a creeping plant with a small yellow flower and dark green
compound, toothed leaflets. This was Silverweed (Potentilla anserina) also known as Silverweed Cinquefoil, with
red coloured runners which root at the nodes making it easier to colonise the ground. Most of us were slightly
confused by the fact that the upper surface of the leaflet wasn’t silvery as in most other specimens we had seen but
I now understand that the leaves of Silverweed are variable and can be either green or silvery green.
Silverweed
Lyme Grass
3 Photos by K. Hinchcliffe
Marram Grass
All along the edge of the dunes we could see several grasses, including the conspicuously glaucous leaved species
Lyme Grass (Elymus arenarius). This is a psammophylic or sand loving plant and is one of the three major grasses
involved in the primary succession of the dunes lower down the beach. With its deep roots, lyme grass plants are
more able to contend with the constant cycle of wind blowing sand away resulting in root exposure. Also it has a
greater tolerance for salt than Marram Grass (Ammophilia arenaria) which is one of the other major grasses
involved in creating the dunes; the third being Sand Couch. Marram grass is commonly found along the North Sea
Coast on calcium rich sandy soil. The long cylindrical straw coloured spikes of the flowers of this grass which had
gone to seed stood out clearly above the leaves slightly higher up the dunes.
Looking from a distance we could see the different structures, textures and colours of the dune grasses. At one
point we stopped to examine the soil between some tank traps which had been placed to stop invading tanks from
easily moving inland and it was obvious how matted it was with the roots of colonisers. Close by, we observed
another of the pioneer plants, Sand Sedge (Carex arenaria), which is efficient in binding the surface of the sand
with its horizontal network of rhizomes and shoots emerging at regular intervals.
Sand Sedge photo by N. Boyle
Sea Sandwort By K. Hinchcliffe
Galls on Perennial Sow-thistle by K. Hinchcliffe
Many coastal species are also succulent to conserve water because even though they are surrounded by water they
can’t use it because it’s too salty. An example is Sea Sandwort, (Honckenya peploides), a fleshy, prostrate plant with
leaves pointed in angular shapes up the stem.
As we left the beach and headed for the coastal path which would take us through wildflower meadows, we found
some Perennial Sow thistle whose leaves had been galled by the midge Crystphora sonchi.
Amongst others, here we found Rest Harrow (Ononis repens), one of the vetch family with is small pink flowers and
spiky toothed leaves, Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris) with swollen nodes below each flower head, Pignut
(Conopodium majus) with its distinctive frondy leaves and Sea Plantain (Plantago maritima), a species of plantain
tolerant of salt spray and occasional submersion in sea water.
Here was a haven for bees including Common Carder and Field Cuckoo bees, butterflies including Meadow Brown
and Wall Brown and migrating moths such as Silver Y. Newly arrived moths were found hovering at flowers to
refuel after their journey.
We spent quite a while in the meadow looking at various invertebrates before making our way back to the car park
for some of Pauline’s delicious cake.
Druridge Pools, Cresswell
Later in the day we travelled to another site to look at plants specialised to live in sandy dunes. Here we found well
drained soil mixed with sandy soil creating conditions suitable for meadow plants associated with dunes such as
Sticky Storksbill, (Europium lebelii) with leaves to which sand adheres. Near to the plant we found a scavenging
carnivorous beetle with club shaped yellow antennae. This was a Sexton Beetle, (Nicrophorus investigator), which
buries small carcasses by digging a shaft under them and pulling them down. Red Bartsia, Doves -foot Cranesbill,
(Geranium molle), a low sprawling plant with pale pink flowers and Houndstongue, (Cynoglossum officinale), with
its strong mousy smell were also found.
Sticky Storksbill
Sexton Beetle
2 Photos by K. Hinchcliffe
Wall Brown Butterfly
Photo by P. Rutherford
Numerous invertebrates were found on flowers or leaves such as the Buff-tailed bee, butterflies such as Small
Copper and again the day flying moth Silver Y. At least one night flying moth was found. This was Udea lutealis,
discovered because it is easily disturbed during the day. On some nettle leaves we found some Small Tortoiseshell
caterpillars, and Mike discovered a delightful small purple pansy, called Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor), hidden
amongst the grasses.
By this time the afternoon was creeping onwards and despite the desire to observe more of the inhabitants of the
area, thoughts turned to having something to eat and reluctantly making our way back to South Yorkshire. It was
the end of another exciting day with the BNA.
Editor’s note, Sticky Storksbill is nationally scarce and only found in a few coastal regions in UK. Well done to Steve
for finding it!
Bats at Broomhill 12th September
By S. Rutherford MBNA
The evening started in the now traditional Yorkshire BNA way, around food, with group members meeting and
welcoming are new friends from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire BNA branch at the Old Moor Tavern.
Replete we ventured out of the pub and across the road; again a tradition of South Yorkshire we walk a short way
and pack as much into that area as we can. After a short introduction Kevin led the group into Broomhill Park
where we were greeted immediately by the soft cupped clatter of a common pipistrelle hunting along the tree line.
Kevin then took us through a little of the ecology of bats and used one of the powerful torches to show potential
roosting sites on the two black poplar trees next to the play area. A second pipistrelle was then picked up but this
time registering “55” on the detectors, the soprano pipistrelle. Noting the slightly faster repetitions on the
echolocations as well as the higher pitch allowed everyone to become familiar with these closely related bats.
Thoughts then turned to other species that we may be contacting in the area, again Kevin gave account of the
brown long-eared bat, its flight pattern and echolocation and then walked us along the hedgerow ‘til we found a
hunting brown long-eared. One or two fly-over’s of the larger Noctule bats gave us a tantalising but short call of
“chip chop, chip chop” but we had to wait until we came back to the park area before we had them flying around us
hunting. There was a marked change to the echolocation calls at this point as it changed from the slow rhythmical
chip chop call at around 24 KHz to a faster repetition of chip, chip, chip at a higher 40 KHz. This, it was discussed,
was as the Noctule flies higher there is less clutter in its way and the bat has to “see” with the echolocation over a
greater distance. Lower frequencies travel further. As the bat flies in lower to hunt in the same areas as say a
pipistrelle, it has to “see” the clutter that it is flying around, branches, play equipment and even people. To achieve
this, the bat raises the echolocation so it travels less distance and increases the frequency to build up a picture of
its surrounding area.
The final bat to be found gave a great display in the torch light flying under the bridge we stood on, it was the
Daubenton’s bat feeding on the clouds of midges over the river. A lovely end to a fantastic night.
Thanks to Robert Tansey and the rest of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire BNA for joining us and thanks too to
Kevin for leading the walk.
Steve with two members of Notts & Lincs BNA Branch
Photo by P. Rutherford
Updates for 2015
By Mike Squires
As another season of observation draws to a close, I thought it timely to present an ‘end of term report’ on two of
my particular areas of interest at Old Moor.
Firstly, an account of events concerning the Alder Leaf Beetle followed by a report on the progress of the
Leguminosae family during the period of spring to autumn 2015.
Alder Leaf Beetle – Agelastica alni
In the spring of 2013 I became fascinated by the ‘Little Dark Blue Beetles’ at Old Moor and decided to find out more
about them. This wasn’t easy as there has been very little written about them, but I was surprised and excited to
find that apart from a handful of sites in the North West (VC58, VC59 and VC60), Old Moor was at that time the only
other place in Britain where they were found in profusion.
What I discovered in the period to the end of October 2014 can be found in an article that I wrote and had the good
fortune to have published in the Country-Side, spring and summer 2015 magazine. By the time that this article was
published however, changes had been made to the habitat of the beetles at Old Moor that would have a profound
effect on their environment and behaviour.
During the early winter of 2014 many of the Common Alder on the reserve were cut down, leaving only a short
stub above ground. At first I was concerned for the future of my little friends, but fortunately, by the time it was
done they were in hibernation at the base of the trees.
The vast majority of the beetles were living on the Common Alders with a very small number found on Birch and
only isolated specimens on anything else. So what happened? A great many of the little creatures awoke from their
slumbers in the spring of 2015 and found that their home had gone – no foliage – just a stump! This was the signal
for a migration second only to the Wildebeest on the Serengeti. I had never seen them flying before, but on one
sunny day in late April I recall comparing them to the great ladybird plague of 1976. They were flying all over the
place. At one time I counted a dozen of them on my jacket. This frenzy continued for a week or so as more and
more beetles emerged, gradually reducing in intensity until all the homeless beetles had found a new place on
Birch, Hazel, Willow and anything else with leaves. Then, as the season progressed, most of the Beetles left their
temporary homes and found their way back onto the remaining Common Alder with a few staying permanently on
the birch.
Mating Pair of Alder Leaf Beetle
Photos by M. Squires
Female Laying Eggs
There seemed to be an exceptionally large number of final stage larvae this year compared to the two previous
seasons. Again, most of these were on the Alder with a few on the Birch. It could just have been of course that the
same numbers of larvae were sharing far fewer Alder trees than they had in previous years. The lack of larvae on
other tree species suggests that the second migration to a permanent host tree took place before the egg laying
process. Despite the quantity of larvae though, the number of new season adults to emerge in late summer/early
autumn seems small compared to previous years.
Although Old Moor has been a ‘hotbed’ for these beetles for five years or so, there have been increasing reports in
the last year or more of colonies spreading through South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. At
the present time though, no other places, except the North West areas mentioned earlier, have reported them in
the same vast numbers as Old Moor.
Editors Note: there was a group visit to Shire Brook Nature Reserve in Sheffield on 27th June, and there were a
large number of these beetles found here too. (These have now been recorded)
Leguminosae (or Fabaceae) – Plants of the Pea Family
In my original survey of this family during May, June and July of 2013, I recorded sixteen species at Old Moor. This
became seventeen in June 2014 when Pauline discovered some Hop Trefoil – Trifolium campestre, during one of
our BNA meetings on the site. This year, I’m pleased to say, the count became eighteen when I found a small patch
of Smooth Tare - Vicia tetrasperma, alongside the path near the ‘Bittern bus shelter’ on 22 June. During the three or
four weeks following this, several more patches were found alongside this path and also near the path to the Reed
Bed Hide.
Smooth Tare (number 18 on Mike’s list)
Photos by M. Squires
Hop Trefoil (number 17 on Mike’s list)
Despite the cold spring, most of the species flowered in profusion two or three weeks later than normal. Meadow
Vetchling and Tufted Vetch did particularly well after a slow start, but perhaps the most prolific this year was the
Birdsfoot Trefoil, covering the wildflower meadows and the uncut verges in a carpet of gold – and attracting lots of
Common Blue butterflies as a bonus.
The other true vetches – Common, Bush and Tiny (Hairy Tare) continued to flourish throughout the reserve, as did
the Black Medick, Ribbed Meililot, Red and White Clover, Broom and Gorse.
The Hop Trefoil was seen to be widespread and abundant this year too. I would like to think that there has been a
rapid increase in the occurrence of this pretty little yellow clover, but it could be that I am just better at spotting it
now. Maybe it’s a bit of both?
Goat’s Rue made a good recovery after what I thought were ill timed control measures. Unfortunately, control of
this species, which is a midsummer nectar source and beautiful in flower, but very invasive, is necessary. A visit to
the Rabbit Ings reserve at Royston, where it is uncontrolled and rampant, shows why.
On the downside, Kidney Vetch whilst still fairly common continued its decline and Alsike Clover showed no signs
of spreading from the one small patch at the North of the ponds.
Most disappointing though is the Bitter Vetch (ling). Last year I recorded that it could be spreading, but this year it
was back to two small specimens in the same location about one metre apart.
One final comment. At my last visit to Old Moor, on 9 October 2015, before writing this, there was still a good
quantity of Red Clover in flower along with isolated specimens of Birdsfoot Trefoil and Meadow Vetchling, and one
single specimen of Hop Trefoil.
Editors Note: Mike’s article on Leguminosae can be found on the BNA Website – Members Page in the “articles”
section.
Coming up……..
7th November – Mosses and Lichens at WGC
12th December – AGM and Winter Walk at WGC
And for the start of the New Year…….
9th January – Owl Pellet Dissection in the classroom at Wentworth Family Farm
13th February – Winter Walk at Adwick Washlands
Editor - Copy date for Winter Newsletter 22nd January 2016 please send me your articles.
Also your photos of anything you have seen out and about so I can post them on Facebook.
f
Follow us on Facebook – no need to have an account just visit BNA South Yorkshire