UK Nature Blog

Heater Bees

The Telegraph reports on new realisations about the workings of a bee hive. Special 'heater bees' raise their body temperatures by 10c more than usual and actively transmit this heat to developing pupae. The temperature of each pupa determines what role it develops into so the heater bees control the makeup of the hive, as well as providing central heating.

This news apparently comes out of TV programme Richard Hammond's Invisible World, to be aired on the BBC from March 16th.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will no doubt have noticed that the bee pictured above is not the sort that lives in a large hive community, being a bumble bee. I'm afraid I just could find a picture of a honey bee in stock. That said, who's to say that bumble bees don't also have heating tricks that just haven't been figured out yet.

An end to Japanese knotweed?

It's rare that plants make headline news, but that's exactly what Japanese knotweed has managed today here in the UK.

There are very few gardeners that have not had their own personal battle with Japanese knotweed and bearing in mind that it can grow up to a meter a month that's no surprise. Its strength means that it can break through concrete and tarmac though and as a result it is estimated that £150 million a year that goes into repairing the damage that it does to roads, pavements and buildings. A large cost like this has meant that people are keen to find a solution to the problem, especially since it manages to grow in its native Japan without this kind of problem.

Japanese knotweed was originally brought to the UK by the Victorians as an ornamental plant, but the problem seems to be that it has no natural predators here. Researchers at CABI have been looking into knotweed's predators back in Japan (both insect and fungi) and have been testing them on over 90 UK plant types to try to find one that would have no harmful effects on other plants. 

It has today been announced by Defra that the go-ahead has been given for an insect called a psyllid (aphalara itadori) to be released in England to fight knotweed. No bigger than a grain of sand, the psyllid lay eggs on the weed and the hatched larvae suck out the sap to kill it. 

The release of the psyllid is the first time that biocontrol has been used in Europe to fight a weed. Initially the insects will be released at a couple of isolated sites where there is a known knotweed problem. Careful monitoring will take place to ensure that the insects only impact on the knotweed and countermeasures are in place in case it is found that this is not the case.

Small Magpie moth

A quick blast of summer to warm up the cold winter nights. Pictured is a Small Magpie moth that has just emerged (well, last June) and is waiting for its wings to fully unfold and dry out.

Dine out on me tonight

The BBC reports on research into why some female spiders eat their male partners after sex. The article is a little confused, so I'll summarise my understanding of it here.

• The vast majority don't engage in this cannibalistic activity.
• Those that do can't be doing so for nutritional value since a male spider is surprisingly a rather poor meal compared to their more normal diet. (This bit is the new research.)
• Therefore those that routinely cannibalise their partner are doing so for reason not yet understood.
• Plenty of existing hypotheses abound, such as it being a way to reduce competition.
• This research seems to have simply attempted to knock one off that list of hypotheses.

My mother complained last time I illustrated a spidery story with a tasty close-up so you'll have to follow the link for that.

Harlequins invade Scotland

No, not a threat to Scotland's hopes for independence, but instead the worrying news that the first Harlequin ladybird larva has been discovered in Glasgow by RSPB staff. Although there have been sightings of the ladybirds themselves there, this is the first proof that they are actually breeding in Scotland.

Harlequin ladybirds are native to central Asia, but were introduced to Europe as a form of aphid pest control. They spread very quickly, and their efficiency in feeding off insects, other ladybirds' larvae and butterfly eggs means that they are putting many native British species at risk. There have been frequent sightings in the south of England, but this movement to Scotland shows just how fast they are spreading and also suggests that here in the UK they can be found in the majority of the country. Exactly what the impact will be on native species is still to be seen, but first indications are not good. Hopefully lessons will be learnt about the dangers of introducing non-native species and the effect that doing so can have on our native wildlife. 

Massive cave spiders

Who knew the UK had colossal cave spiders? I didn't, but the BBC reports that we do, and in at least one case they've been living in a building in the Yorkshire Dales. Apparently this situation was not to be tolerated (the building was about to be renovated for human occupants) and scientists have now relocated the spiders back to their more usual subterranean dwellings.

These spiders apparently measure up to 7cm across (presumably including the legs) which is similar to the largest house spiders that you might see scurrying across the floor in the autumn. Here's a picture of a similarly massive house spider just in case you needed terrifying, and because I don't have a picture of the elusive cave spiders (follow the BBC link above for that, and video).

Fly my pretty

 

2009 - a good year for garden wildlife?

A poll in the BBC's Gardeners' World Magazine has given a good insight into the shape of garden wildlife in 2009. 

This survey of magazine readers shows that there appears to be increases to the number of bees, moths and butterflies that we are seeing in our gardens. This may be due to the dry Spring that we had earlier in the year, or instead may be down to the fact that more of us are now creating wildlife areas in our back gardens.

It isn't all good news though. Amphibians and small mammals appear to have dropped in number since 2008. In particular sightings of frogs, toads and hedgehogs are down. Even still though, 27% of those surveyed said that they regularly see hedgehogs. Having only seen one in the last 5 years I was actually surprised at how high this figure was, but in 2008 this figure was up at a whopping 44%.

The survey's results certainly show just how much of an impact we have in wildlife in both the positive and negative things that we do. The increases in bees and butterflies may well be down to the number of us growing plants that attract them in our gardens. On the flip side it is thought that the human destruction of bats' habitats is the reason why their numbers are dwindling. 

If ever you needed facts to back up why we should try to ensure that our gardens not only look nice, but also provide for wildlife then surely this is it.

Full details of the survey and results can be found in the December 2009 edition of the Gardeners' World magazine.

Creating a wildlife wall habitat

The London Wildlife Trust has a mini-guide describing how to make a diverse 'habitat wall'. This seems like a massive no-holds-barred version of the insect hibernaculums that seem to have become popular recently - but with room for everything, possibly even small deer :-)

Wasp nest in the loft

Clearing out the loft of our new house and installing new insulation I noticed a couple of small was nests hidden down in some small gaps that aren't usually visible. The one in the picture is about the size of a tennis ball, so a relatively small example (they can be many feet across in extreme cases). Apparently nests are built, used for one year and then abandoned so I presume that mine are dormant (apart from overwintering queens potentially) but that new ones might appear each year.

The nest is made from pulped wood mixed with wasp saliva - essentially papier mâché - and is very light and quite delicate. If you see a wasp in the on a fence post (or your nice teak outdoor table) scratching away at the surface, that's it collecting wood to build its nest. This page has a fascinating explanation of wasps and their nests, complete with some great photos. I thoroughly recommend giving it a look.