The Natural Stuff Diary

Although the weather has been very dry there are lots of interesting fungi around. Here I am with a cauliflower fungus(sparassis crispa) .The pretty creature can only be found at the base of various species of conifers such as the Douglas fir trees in the New forests Arboretum. It is a very good edible species and I often cut of little portions to take home to eat.There is still a big problem with over collecting of fungi in the Forest especially by East Europeans who seem to think that they can take whatever they like in as much quantity as they like to sell to local shops. I only take small amounts, one  or two within a small group and always cut them at ground level so not to sever it from the mycellium.(The underground roots that are the main part of the fungus.The fleshy growths are just the fruits.

The Wirligig beetle (Gyrinus natator), is a sweet little creature that whizzes around in tight circles on flowing and still water. It eats mainly mosquitoes. They are plentiful on small New forest streams.

Dragonflies are still active and the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) can be seen in large colonies breeding in the still waters.They can be seen perched almost anywhere.

Also This golden ringed dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) was resting nearby.

The unusual weather patterns of late causes many flowering plants to bloom at odd times. The common Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum) is no exception and  can often be seen in flower in the autumn. The shrub is so well naturalized now in England that it is impossible to eradicate. The southern heathland is full of it and the poor acid soils and warm heath temperatures are perfect for growth and are similar to its natural Himalayan home. Large areas of heathland have been taken over by the plant but it prefers the shady damp areas that have more often than not been taken over already by pine trees ,and it then becomes an understory to what would be a barren area. The plant has its uses and I would protest greatly if it were to be eradicated from some areas as it does more for nature than people are aware of. The large dense areas of jungle like cover that it produces can be vital cover for deer and large cats as well as small birds, and the summer flowers are vital for bumblebees. The tiny colourful leaf hopper (Graphocephala fennahi) is very abundant on the leaves and flowers of the plant and they in turn are food for small birds such as warblers and tits, and also spiders and wasps.

The sika deer (Cervus nipon) are now starting to rut and there is much activity and exitement. The stags regroup from all male or female  groups to stags attaining many females for breeding and they guard them from other males.The primordial sounds of the whistling and bleating echos across the heaths and forest , is a must to hear. With much dashing about by stags ,many get hit on the roads and here is a poor three and a half year old stag that had  just been hit by a  speeding car.It died shortly and it was not wasted, the head skin and antlers I took for taxidermy purposes and the best meat for my freezer.

Many fungi are fruiting and this Shaggy ink cap or lawyers wig (coprinus comatus) adorns lawns and natural short turf. It is good to eat when white and firm.

Again another heath fire happened a few days ago. A small area of prime reptile habitat was destroyed by  a careless person.

This is an area of Studland heath.The little sea can be seen in the background.

Many heath fires are started deliberately, and others are started by careless morons that drop their cigarette buts. Here we can see such a but that may have started this very fire. The wind had possibly moved the but from its original position by an inch or two.

How I wish smoking were made illegal. It causes so much problems from start to Finnish and far beyond. Forests are cleared, burned and sprayed with chemicals, tobacco is farmed sprayed and workers enslaved, thousands of chemicals are added, rivers run toxic, huge industries make billions, governments make billions on tax, millions of people are ill, cancer wrecks havoc, causing catastrophic losses  and overcrowding in the NHS hospitals. Billions of these butts are thrown onto the streets to enrich our water supply with poisons and then they are thrown onto sensitive environments to cause more havoc. It does not end and will not end until a proper world government is installed , dedicated to preserving mankind and planet earth.

I have just returned from spending a while in the forests of west Sumatra. Here are a few photographs of some of the amazing bio-diversity of life within the jungle.

I found all manner of strange and bazaar life forms, some of which maybe unknown to science.

This is a bug, large and beautiful.

This is a spider mimicking a frog.

A small ground frog, one of many species to be found within a very small area.The night time was a cacophony of sound from up to a dozen frog species along with many cricket and cicada species.

A serpent eagle awaits a meal on an orchid encrusted tree trunk. These birds are common throughout the tropical and subtropical old world.

A male glow worm rests in the day before its spectacular nightly display.At times four different species of glow worms and fire flies were lighting up the jungle like little fairies.

A strange Planarium or flatworm appears after heavy rains and climbs a tree. There are many species of these predatory animals. They are very primitive and some species have naturalized many other parts of the world where they feed on earthworms and other small animals. I found two species within the wet rain forest.

A golden male stag beetle rests upon a banana leaf. The natural decomposition of huge numbers of trees means that many wood eating beetles abound. The larvae eat the rotting wood and may take a long time to develop.

Leaf beetles are some of our most beautiful insects comprising of all shades of bright metallic colours. They belong to the family Chrysomelidae. 256 species are known to exist in Britain.The Alder leaf beetle (agelastica alni) is a small dark blue coloured leaf beetle, that inhabits trees such as alder, hazel, hornbeam and a few others. It was thought to be extinct for a while in Britain as it was not recorded for a long period of time, however it is not extinct as many people have recorded it in recent years across England. I found a specimen myself in a Dorset wildlife Trust nature reserve just yesterday.

Ground beetles are many. They belong to the family Carabidae and over 725 are known from Europe with 364 known from the UK.There are many similar species of these fast moving predatory animals. Amara species are quite difficult to tell apart as their colours vary. They maybe omnivorous and have a habit of climbing low plants and perching on the tops, to bask or to hunt.

The heath is now at it’s best . The vast purple spread is beautiful to behold and the honey bees are all over the flowers.To see animals amongst the purple such as reptiles, insects and deer is what a stroll at this time of year is all about.  The colours can be be very bright. In the damper areas of the humid heath are native cockroaches such as this dusky cockroach(Ectobius lapponics). It is one of two similar species.The Tawney cockroach (Ectobius pallidus)  has less spots and is a more orange brown colour.

Reptiles are still active and a female sand lizard(Lacerta agilis) basks in the open in a humid patch of mud made by male sika deer as they start to open up their wallowing pools in preparation for the rut.

A smooth snake (coronella austriaca) also basks, but not often in the open but hidden under the heather or under refugia.

At this time of year all our species of heather are in bloom. In this picture all four species of heather that we have in southern England can be seen. In certain places in Dorset all four can be seen together, although it is very difficult to find a tight patch that can fit into the frame of the camera. There is common heather  (Calluna vulgaris), Bell heather (Erica cinera), Cross leaved heath (Erica tetralix), and the rare Dorset heath (Caluna ciliaris).

Many damselflies and dragonflies are flitting around waterways and the large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) is a common species, shown hear in tandem. The female also is carrying what look like a cluster of parasites attached to her body.

This large golden ringed Dragonfly was possibly eaten by a raft spider, and as it was too big for the spider to eat it all,  lay rotting in the bush, hence attracting a burying beetle(Nicrophorus vespilloides). The beetles attract a partner and then go about burying the carcass usually of a small mammal , bird, or reptile, then lay eggs and look after their young by regurgitating the rotten flesh to them, but here I do not think that will happen and the beetle will fly away to find something more appropriate. A Face fly (Musca autumnalis)  is also taking in nutrients from the abdomen.There are many members of the house fly group and this species is more prevalent in late summer as its name suggests.It is also the most likely fly species to try to suck fluids from ones face.

The blue tailed damselfly (Ishnura elegans)is also common and like the previous species, it breeds in still and sluggish flowing muddy waters.

The  Beautiful  Banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens), flits about its territory, along small streams.

A gatekeeper butterfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) was basking under a very large spiders web. I wondered as to how it managed to get underneath without getting ensnared. The web was long and encompassed a piece of ditch about a meter in length. The butterfly then flew along under the web without touching it and out, it then went back in again and flew along the whole length of web and back after settling on the plant. It was clear to me that the insect could quite clearly see the web and it posed no problem entering the ditch, but purposefully avoided it as if it was a  common  thing to do.

The Ruby tailed wasp(Chrysis ignita) is perhaps one of our most colourful of insects, viewed fro certain angles to the sun. Like most wasps, it is harmless to man and it is attracted to dead wood where mason bees nest, where it then parasitises them.

Another common wasp to be found is the sand wasp (Ammorphila sabulosa), this species parisitises non hairy caterpillars and stuffs them into a burrow which the wasp makes. It may lay just one egg on each larvae. The larvae are not killed but paralyzed by its sting and the animal is eaten alive by the growing wasp larvae.

This is the hind leg of a velvet swimming crab(Necora puber). the animals actually swim across the sea using these paddle like appendages. they are usually blue in colour but the hot sun had cooked it.

The Sea Buckthorn(Hippophae rhamoides) is a native shrub of coastlines but is not too common these days. the berries are rich in vitamin c and are vital food for birds. Here common starlings (Sturnus vulgarus) strip them in no time. The starling itself is not as common as it used to be.

I have seen many young green woodpeckers(Picus viridis) with their parents over the last few weeks. One can get closer to them than usual.