Himalayan Balsam (short video)

An introduction to the invasive plant Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), found along the River Mole at Gatwick.

 

Honeybee freeloaders

Following Simpson's lead I've decided to have a try at this beekeeping thing. During a busy field season it means I get home even later, but on the other hand it is an excellent way to unwind.

The well-guarded hive entrance of the European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera). It is incredibly therapeutic to just sit and watch the comings-and-goings of  workers and drones.

We now have several hives which are packed to the rafters with honey and bee larvae, attracting a menagerie of predators and parasites. This means that during my new hobby, I still get to record new species!

Greater Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella)

The Greater Wax Moth is a new one for me; this individual met her demise in the top section of the hive (perhaps after being stung or balled to death by the workers). It lays its eggs on the waxy honeycomb, which then hatch into caterpillars and bore tunnels through the cells, feeding on the wax and other bee-substances. They can also burrow into the wood of the hive, so when present in high numbers they can cause a lot of damage to the structure.

I'm quite please with this pic. That red 'welt' on the top of the
abdomen is an individual Varroa Mite (Varroa destructor)

Varroa destructor is an apt name for this mite, indicating just how much beekeepers love them... Not only does this blood-feeding arachnid weaken the individual bees by sucking out their life-force, they spread several bee viruses and are incredibly difficult to contain. However, we do not intervene unless an infection is particularly severe. Symptoms can include stunted, scruffy, deformed wings and unsteady, drunk-looking bees. Having this mite must be like hanging out with your impulsive, booze-hound flatmate on a night out in town (not of course referring to anyone I live with right now).

 German Wasp (Vespula germanica)

Social wasps can be a right pain at this time of year (I need not tell). Attracted to the scent of the wonderful honey stores, as soon we lift the lid off the hive, then they appear, persistently pesky. They also scavenge the dead and dying bees from the ground around the hive; not such a bad thing in terms of good house keeping and removing infected individuals. This female German Wasp found a dying worker Honey Bee and set to it with her strong mandibles... There was an audible 'click' as she decapitated it!

Fencepost Jumper (Marpissa muscosa)

It seems that almost every time we start a check of the hives, a Marpissa jumping spider will pop out onto the side to see what all the fuss is about. They probably just use the hives as a well-defended shelter and are unlikely to bother the bees. Perhaps they love the sweet smell of honey and cedar wood as much as we do.

Beekeeper (Homo sapiens)

Of course, not forgetting those ultimate freeloaders! Which reminds me, it is about time I enter my first record for Homo sapiens into iRecord... Egotistical perhaps to submit myself as a specimen?

Nom.

April Summary

The trend is broken and my monthly summaries are now going over into next month (it was never going to last!). Ah well, here is what we have been up to in April...

The clearing by the Hornbeam in Lower Picketts Wood

Our habitat management has quietened down for spring, so now is the time for wildlife walks and educational talks. Last weekend, Tom S. led a guided walk in the Land East of the Railway Line, looking at the results of our winter works and the flourishing wildlife there. 

The footpath through Horleyland Wood

The woodland groundflora looks fantastic right now and the clearings are busy with foraging flies and bees. Tom knows a whole lot about woodlands because of his background in forestry, so even the tough questions get an answer!
   While out and about in these areas, I have been collecting a small number of Cuckoo Bees (Nomada spp.) for further identification. To dispatch them humanely, I put them in the freezer for several days...

'Zom-bee'

Then after just a few minutes under the warm microscope, this little Nomada jerked back into life and was off to freedom! Somewhere in the Portacabin at least.

Close up of a Cuckoo Bee head under the microscope (x10)

The malaise trap is back up, this time in the North West Zone. I have mixed feelings about this as I still have a massive backlog of last year's insect samples to sort... All the same, many thanks to Tom S. and assistant Lewis.

Malaise trap: flying insects hit a panel inside then try to fly upwards,

 eventually falling into the collecting pot at the apex

We had an interesting and vibrant River Mole Catchment Partnership meeting, with both Surrey Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency hosting. The talks were well illustrated, to the point and particularly interesting were some statistics for the recent flooding around the airport; the floodplain of the diverted section of river was praised!

The illustrious Jim Jones, Surrey Wildlife Trust's Wetlands Officer, giving a talk on recent conservation works and techniques to improve river channels. His ever-changing hair style keeps audiences rapt

 A felt 'Ketso' board - an interactive way of sharing and noting down ideas of how we can improve the river system. This was fun, but we're gonna need a bigger board!

We have completed a full check of all Gatwick's Dormouse boxes, both old and new. Finding over 100 boxes in one afternoon is no mean feat (it sucks), so I was massively grateful to be accompanied by Mum plus one of my sisters, Evie.

Also very helpful was Evie's iPhone, since I lost all my pens somewhere among those pesky Bluebells. The results are in; sadly no Dormice, but we do have around 40 nesting Blue Tits and Great Tits, plus two Yellow-necked Mice.

Newly hatched Blue Tit chicks

Yellow-necked Mouse (Apodemus flavicollis)

Here are some other wee beasties you might have seen out and about this past month:

One of Tom Simpson's Honeybees, drinking out of a puddle. Some bees have no standards

Grass Snake in a brash pile, Goat Meadow

Dark-bordered Beefly (Bombylius major)

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula). My first of the year

Green-veined White Butterfly (Pieris napi). Lots of these about at the moment

Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum). This is probably a queen

This large jumping spider is sometimes called the Fencepost Jumper (Marpissa muscosa). It is fairly common to South East but scarce in other parts of the UK

An oak apple gall, caused by a Gall Wasp. Possibly Biorhiza pallida

Finally, we got results from the infrared trail camera; sadly no Badger as of yet. I had been spending quite a lot of time watching through the video clips with absolutely nothing on them, so the very end of this video made me jump...