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The torment of Trailing Tormentil

Trailing Tormentil and fungi

Plants can be ranked in the ease or difficulty of identifying them. One of the attractions of using common names is that often they skip these difficulties in identification - a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So while a buttercup is a buttercup it could also be one of several species.

The problems with identifying Trailing Tormentil is that it can be a hybrid - a cross between two species - and this can make identification tortuous for a beginner like myself. Two possibilities for the plant in Falmouth Cemetery are Potentilla x mixta or P x italica. I have tried posting photographs including the one above to canvass opinions. However it was then pointed out that the orange patches on the underside of the leaves might be the fungi, Phragmidium potentillae - so now I have two identifications to find this year.

Andrena labiata on Trailing Tormentil flower

My interest in the Tormentil is heightened as its flowers are visited by a species of solitary bee, Andrena labiata that nests in the cemetery. This is a scarce species and has only been recorded at one other location in Cornwall this century. One consequence of the Tormentil being a hybrid is that it appears its seeds are sterile. As there are only two small patches of it in the cemetery I am considering trying to propagating it from cuttings and trying to establish a few more patches in the cemetery.

This last week I found a few plants flowering that I missed in my New Year Plant Hunt.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax flower - Cymbalaria muralis

Some patches of Ivy are still producing flowers

A few violets are flowering

While many wildflowers have common names this is not so with hoverflies. The only one that comes readily to mind is the marmalade hovery, Episyrphus balteatus. It is one of the few species that is about in the winter, another being Meliscaeva auricollis. In the last week I have seen both in Fox Rosehill gardens. 

Marmalade hoverfly - Episyrphus balteatus

Winter active hoverfly: Meliscaeva auricollis

It has generally been a mild start to the year and on the 3rd January I saw honeybees foraging on Camellia flowers in the cemetery. In Fox Rosehill Gardens the Mahonia flowers attract a steady stream of buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). On the 8th there were three workers on the flowers at 16.10 with the last one leaving about 16.26, sunset was at 16.36.

Honeybee on/in a Camellia

Bumblebees are foraging until nearly sunset

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

Introduction and Review of 2016

Female Ivy Bee (Colletes Hederae)

This is in part a review but also the best way to introduce my new blog. Professionally I am a cameraman and photographer and my interest in bees began while filming an interview with Brigit Strawbridge in 2013. A move to Falmouth and seeing my first Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) in the autumn of 2014 has seen me interest grow over the past two years. So let us begin the review and see some of my encounters.

As I explained in my previous post we have winter active buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) so the year began with observing them. I saw my first queen bumblebee that had woken from her hibernation towards the end of February, fittingly she was an Early bumblebee, Bombus pratorum.

First Queen of the year, an Early Bumblebee

February also saw a nice discovery, a Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus) feeding on an Alexander flower. This species possibly arrived in Falmouth as eggs on pine seedlings that were planted in Falmouth in the 19^th Century.

Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus)

The first solitary bee appeared on the 7^th March, an Andrena nigroaenea. This was shortly followed by three other early species, Andrena bicolour, flavipes and thoracica. I have a favourite patch of Greater Mexican Stonecrop whose yellow flowers are a magnet for bees. I also spotted a queen common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) on its flowers on the 11th March.

Andrena nigroaenea

I saw the first Cuckoo bee species, a Nomada marshamella in mid-April. I find these bees fascinating, like their namesake they lay their eggs in the nests of other bees and let their host do all the pollen collecting. This year I also recorded my first Nomada flava, so far I have discovered ten species of cuckoo bees in Falmouth cemetery.

Cuckoo Bee Nomada flava

One of my favourite solitary bees is Andrena labiata, it is quite a scarce bee, and apart from Falmouth it has only been recorded at one other location in Cornwall this century. I had seen them on flowers last year but this spring I located their nesting site. One option for a male solitary bee looking for a mate is to patrol a nesting area. The photo shows a male grasping a female who did not seem keen on the idea and eventually escaped his clutches.

Male and female Andrena labiata

As well as recording bee species I also keep an eye out for hoverflies. Generally they are easier to identify than bees and often a set of photos from various angles will lead to identification. Some species have evolved to mimic wasps and bumblebees as protection against predators.

The hoverfly Merodon equestris mimics a bumblebee

A new record this year was the hoverfly Didea fasciata, its larvae feed on pine aphids. I suspect like the Pine Ladybird it was introduced to Falmouth on Pine tree seedlings carrying its eggs. It is interesting to see how introduced species can bring with them associated communities.

Female Didea fasciata hoverfly

Looking like a small bumblebee, the hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes) is a solitary bee and not a social bee like all bumblebees. They zip about and are rarely still for more than a few seconds. They are one of the hardest species of bee to photograph.

Female Hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes)

An advantage of making regular visits to a site is that over time you will probably notice changes. Although I had spotted the Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria) elsewhere in Falmouth, this year was the first time I have seen it nesting in the cemetery. Recent records suggest it is increasing in numbers nationally. It is a very distinctive looking bee and one of the easiest of our solitary bees to identify. They also tend to dig their nesting burrows close to each other and can form large aggregates. 

Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria) at nesting site

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is the butterfly most commonly seen in Falmouth, even during the winter on a sunny day it will often come out of hibernation.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) on Ivy flowers

The highlight of the year has to be my discovery of Small Garden Bee (Bombus hortorum) workers on Mahonia flowers in December. Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) are known to establish winter active colonies in many urban locations as far north as Hull. This appears to be the first recording of a hortorum colony being active in December in this country. See my previous post for more on the lifecycle of bumblebees and examples of species that can produce two generations in a year.

Small Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) worker probably
the first record of this species having a winter active colony
in the UK. 

Trying to condense twelve months into a short review is an impossible task. Hopefully it has been a useful introduction to the blog and some of the fascinating creatures I have encountered. See you in the New Year.