New Year Plant Hunt

Being on the coast Falmouth enjoys a mild maritime climate and so seeing a frost today was a surprise. In shaded areas the frost did not lift. There was though sunshine all day giving enough warmth to see honeybees and some flies about.

Several honeybees were attracted to the Camellia flowers

This was my first visit of the year to the old parts of Falmouth with the intention to begin a record of the wildflowers that are in flower. The most numerous were those of Winter Heliotrope, an invasive species that has established itself in the cemetery. Introduced from the Mediterranean in 1806 it is now considered naturalised. The next most common was small clumps of daises followed by primroses and then Red Campion.

Top-left: Winter Heliotrope, Top-right: Primrose
Bottom-left: Daisy, Bottom-right: Red Campion 

Today I saw my first hoverfly of the year, an Eristalis tenax that mimics a bee and even buzzes like one. These hibernate during the winter but will emerge on sunny days making it a species that can be seen every month throughout the year.

Eristalis tenax sunning itself on dried Pampas grass

Although I record hoverflies I generally shy away from trying to identifying other species of fly. There is simply far too many and separating the different species requires dedication and time. Thankfully in this age of the Internet I am sometimes able to obtain an identification by posting photos from helpful experts. 

Calliphora vicina, the most common species of Bluebottle

I left the cemetery with a question unanswered. I have discovered some small flowers on a Holly tree. My suspicion is that it is a hybrid or cultivar, more research is required and probably an online discussion to confirm this.

Holly flower, probably a hybrid species