Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District

Great example of larvae’s wonderful webs

NATURE NOTES

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June is full of surprises. Many travelling on the Elham Valley road stopped near the vineyard to look at an unusual phenomenon, a small tree completely covered in a huge white web. It was the work of the caterpilla­rs of spindle ermine moths.

There are hundreds of species of ermine moths, but only eight in Britain and the larvae of three of those are masters of webbing, the bird cherry ermine, the orchard ermine and above all the spindle ermine, the creator of the web between Barham and Elham.

The moths are quite pretty with black spots on their silvery wings. That amazing web would have been created by hundreds of caterpilla­rs, perhaps even a thousand.

Nearby, a north-facing field, which was ploughed until about 14 years ago, now has a large population of pink to purple southern marsh orchids, growing with common spotted orchids and producing some interestin­g hybrids. The same field also has bee orchids, not easily seen in long grass.

Also drawing many botanists to east Kent is the late spider orchid which in the UK is confined to the downs from Wye to Folkestone.

It is closely related to the bee orchid but has much larger flowers with a forwardpoi­nting appendage at the bottom of each, whereas on the bee the appendage is turned backwards. Bee orchids are self-pollinatin­g, while late spider orchids are rarely pollinated but sometimes increase vegetative­ly.

Woods, gardens and meadows are now hives of activity as hungry nestlings and fledglings call for food.

I have been watching great and blue tits feeding their young, some of which now look larger than their exhausted parents. One young great tit flutters its wings aggressive­ly.

Newly fledged house sparrows seem to be more confident, feeding themselves as soon as they fly.

Rabbits, perhaps only four to six weeks old, are also appearing. Bolters, an old east Kent name for them, describes their high-speed runs as they risk life and limb crossing roads for no apparent reason.

If you have a sett near you, look for young badgers at play. They are usually born in February and will start venturing above ground when about two months old. They may be seen frolicking close to the sett as they approach three months, especially on a sunny afternoon.

Stoats are often more visible during daylight at this time of the year. They are incredibly strong and I have seen a female pushing a rabbit that she had killed towards some brambles – food for her young.

They are fearless and curious. Some years ago on a botanical site near Faversham I saw four stoats peering at me from a woodpile. They promptly hid behind the logs, but seconds later they were there again, perhaps content to keep playing games.

Several readers have commented recently on bees swarming. Sitting in the garden earlier this month we saw a huge swarm of bees flying over the top of a very large blackthorn. It was surrounded by the usual outriders three or more feet away, protecting the swarm and its queen, ready to sting anyone who came too close, and killing themselves in the process as they lost their stings.

The song of the blackbird is peerless. Each morning I hear one just before 5am. Thereafter it is silent until about 11am when it usually begins to sing again until the evening, appearing to compete with a near neighbour – pure musical beauty.

June began with a thundersto­rm with more lightning than we have seen for many a year. A few days later we had 31mm of rain (1.25in) in 16 hours and in some areas a brief very dramatic line squall: winds of 45mph driving hail horizontal­ly, huge flashes of forked lightning and thunder, all over in seven minutes. Yet between all that weather, east Kent was often the sunniest and warmest place in Britain.

 ??  ?? The webs of spindle ermine moth caterpilla­rs, southern marsh orchids, the storm over Herne Bay, photograph­ed by Dave Russell, and young badgers venturing out
The webs of spindle ermine moth caterpilla­rs, southern marsh orchids, the storm over Herne Bay, photograph­ed by Dave Russell, and young badgers venturing out
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