Berries,Butterflies and Badgers

Rowan Berries

Along the wayside and in the woodland the Rowan trees are heavy with plump ripe red berries  providing a feast for the Blackbirds.2013 has been recognized as a 'Mast' year where plants have produced bumper crops of fruits and nuts such as acorns, blackberries, hazel nuts,apples hips and haws.The combination of the wet summer last year and the dry warm one this year are thought to be responsible.Not only will there be lots of apples and blackberries for us,but also for the birds,badgers,foxes,squirrels,mice and many others including insects.In the orchard, wasps and butterflies are feeding on the sugars of fallen,fermenting apples and plums.The generally warm and sunny weather of August and September has been kind to our butterflies trying to recover from the disastrous weather of last year.Still the white species predominate but other species seen include.....Red Admiral, Small Copper,Comma,Brimstone,Speckled Wood,Peacock,Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell.
Back in August I was fortunate to observe the courtship behaviour of the Small White butterfly.After alighting on a leaf wings open, the female surprised me by suddenly extending her abdomen upwards so that the tip was elevated about ninety degrees above her body as shown in the photo that I managed to take.

Small White Butterflies (male left,female right)

The male fluttering above her descended several times positioning the tip of his abdomen against that of the female.In that position sperm can be transferred and stored in the female ready to fertilise her eggs.Another remarkable fact I learnt about butterflies recently concerns the migratory behaviour of the Painted Lady. On it's spring   migration from  Southern Europe and Africa to the UK and as far north as the Arctic Circle,and the return autumn migration, this butterfly has been shown to fly at an average height of  350 m above ground level with some individuals flying at  an amazing altitude of 1 km!The incredible round trip of 9000 miles is under taken not by individual butterflies,but as a series of steps by up to six successive generations of butterflies.
And lastly I  discovered a hole in my lawn recently and initially suspected 'Peter Rabbit' was to blame.However, on closer inspection I noticed several dis orientated bumble bees crawling about in the hole whereupon my suspicions turned to another inhabitant of the Wild Wood. A large paw mark in the excavated soil confirmed my suspicions ........Mr Brock was the culprit! It is well known that badgers will raid bumble bee nests for their honey and wasp nests for the grubs.