Friends of Groyne No.4: April 2022

Tuesday 26 April 2022

An audience with an Emperor, a Duke and a Pearly Queen.

Our first engagement was with the Emperor Moth, Saturnia pavonia on Iping common. Repeating our visit from last year with the pheromone lures which have been in the freezer for nearly twelve months. The males reacted fairly quickly to the presence of the lure, sadly the first to arrive were a tad tatty. However it wasn't long before some fresher specimens turned up. The males are excited by the pheromone but not fooled, they arrive, search for a female but I guess they don't get the additional visual and tactile clues so disappear. Some of them will go back to roosting in nearby trees and if you have a sharp eyed companion then they can be easily found.

Emperor Moth, Saturnia pavonia

Next up was a visit to Rewell Wood, our annual pilgrimage to record the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. Boloria euphrosyne I have to say that they appear to be doing fairly well. As, despite the cold easterly breeze blowing up the ride, we found quite a few and observed them in areas where preciously, we hadn't seen them.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Boloria euphrosyne

Finally our third and final audience with yet another harbinger of spring - His Grace the Duke of Burgundy and fortuitously an early Duchess.

Duke of Burgundy, Hamearis lucina

Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy at their new residence in Sussex

A cornucopia of larval host plants - Cowslips, Primula veris at a density seldom seen.

Cowslips at the entrance to Kithurst Meadow

Monday 25 April 2022

Green-winged and Early Purple Orchids

Another Spring ritual is a visit to Anchor Bottom near Steyning in West Sussex for the Green-winged Orchids. I had the nagging doubt that I was a tad early in the season and perhaps they wouldn't be out. As I walked up the path on the north facing slope it was apparent they were in bloom. I could make out lots of purple spikes and I set about recording them. At some point I became aware that I wasn't alone, higher up the slope, two familiar figures engaged in the same activity as myself. Really great to meet Dawn and Jim and we jawed for some time about Orchids and the way of the world. As usual I said farewell with more local knowledge of orchids than when I started the day. They put me on to some spectacular Early Purple Orchids for which I am very grateful,
But first Green-winged Orchid, Anacamptis morio

Green-winged Orchid

You would think that having been given the location of some orchids with a Lat. Long. to 6 decimal places nothing could go wrong but I managed to put two and two together and make six! I ended up in the wrong wood and just couldn't make out any of the expected landmarks. Finally the penny dropped and with great embarrassment I discovered the right place and finding the orchids was a doddle.

I was amazed at the colour variation, even between adjacent orchids. At first I thought it was due to aging but most of the orchids I saw were pretty fresh. Of course the var. alba was the standout plant. When I found it I sat down, had lunch and stared at it for half an hour before recording it.

Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula var. alba

Early Purple Orchid

Finally, I couldn't leave without recording the Bluebells, a sea of blue and a heavenly scent. Probably the best I have ever seen and the white ones were easy to spot too.

Monday 4 April 2022

Rhodes Orchid Odyssey (II)

Monday, Day Two and I awoke feeling as if I had been a few rounds with Tyson Fury. I made a brew, my kettle is my constant companion on these trips, and the world seemed a better place. My knees weren't too bad and apart from multiple scratches caused by the ever present chicken-wire plant, everything seemed intact. I dressed, grabbed the camera and set off for an early morning loosener in the fields behind the hotel. There were few birds about but I was pleased to see a Pied Flycatcher, of course a record would have been nice but by the time I had changed from macro to 400mm the bird had departed.

Onward to where the Orchis anatolica were growing, the light was poor, but these were fresh specimens and the bending down would be good exercise. As we were in the shade of Mount Attavyros the morning sun came a little later on in the day. Unable to get a reasonable depth of field I abandoned photography and just enjoyed the walk. At least the dog in the kennel behind the hotel was pleased to see me, he barked and growled fiercely and I was thankful he was held by a substantial chain. Oddly I noticed during the week that he only barked at me as I ventured down the path, never on the way up. I returned to the hotel and Yiannis supplied me with a Greek coffee, sweet and a double shot - ready to take on the world after that.

Orchis anatolica

Post breakfast we loaded up the minibus for a short trip up the road. Today's venues were all on the slopes of Mount Attavyros and I was glad that I wasn't going to be sitting in the bus for any length of time.

On the first trail we came across a couple of Himantoglossum robertianum, one a greenish shade and the other attempting to be purplish. Most of these orchids we had seen previously had long turned to a crispy state but these two, in the shade of a terrace wall had survived.

Himantoglossum robertianum

Another sheltered specimen.

Himantoglossum robertianum

Ophrys sicula were numerous on the shady banks of the path

Ophrys sicula

The next orchid put me on the horns of a dilemma, a single stem of Ophrys lucis and showing its advancing age. You know you will find more and fresher specimens but the nagging doubt remains - so I photographed it and lo and behold we did find more saving me the embarrassment of publishing a toe cringingly bad picture of a faded orchid.

An orchid that I was familiar with from Cyprus, Ophrys umbilicata. Just one stem and a new one for the group.

Ophrys umbilicata

An impromptu botany lesson from the master.

Stipules?

Thankfully, as promised, down the road we found more Ophrys lucis and in much better condition.

Ophrys lucis

We then started up Attavyros, walking up the road and being leap-frogged by the mini-buses. We started to find what has become one of my favourites - Ophrys reinholdii. Just the odd stem and as we progressed higher many more appeared. In between were clumps of Cyclamen rhodium, two bucket listers in one spot.

Ophrys reinholdii

Ophrys reinholdii

Ophrys dodekanensis

Lunch was taken among the pine trees with Pine Processionary Moth caterpillars and a rather large beetle for company which Yiannis identified but I forgot! Subsequent research on Naturagraeca suggests it may be a Capnodis sp. Oddly there were few orchids under the pines just the odd reinholdii.

The Pine Processionary Moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa is infamous in that its hairs can cause a reaction. Unfortunately it's heading north and will be in the UK in the near future.

Pine Processionary Moth caterpillars

Capnodis??

At another stop down the road we found Orchis collina, well just, to count on the record list it has to have a flower. This one perilously close to its sell by date just qualifies.