Birch galls

Don't know what this refers to: Semudobia betulae A gall midge on Betula. Seed gall on Birch (Betula sp.).

Name changes 2004:

Betula	Eriophyes lissonotus	Aceria lissonota
Betula	Plemeliella betulicola	Resseliella betulicola
Betula	Massalongia rubra	M. ruber

p292       Betula: the upward bulge of the Aceria lissonota gall is sparsely hairy, and smooth in Aculus leionotus.

p293       Betula: delete Fig. 127 (left); Resseliella betulicola causes young leaves to crinkle and fold upwards, and thickens and folds upwards the edge of older leaves.

Betula pendula Ectodemia occultella 34 Lepidoptera found in the Wyre Forest

138 Lampronia fuscatella

(Tengström, 1848)

Wingspan 14-18 mm.

The adults of this species, unlike some of the otherLampronia species, are relatively plain in appearance.

The moth is quite local in Britain, occurring scarcely in a few widely scattered localities throughout. It flies in May and June, during the afternoon.

The larva is unusual in that it forms a swelling, or gall on a twig of birch (Betula), usually at a node, within which it feeds. The presence of reddish-brown frassaround the exit hole indicates a larva within.

Gall-midge.	Anisostephus betulinus (Kieffer, 1889)
	Leaf Gall on Birch (Betula sp).

Dene on the 16th

This is a five or so year old ash tree by the side of the ride leading from Ringlet corner up to the Victorian Pond junction. It is suffering severely from Ash Bacterial Canker, or Bacterial Knot, which used to be regarded as a form of Pseudomonas syringae, but is now said to be Pseudomonas savastanoi pv fraxini. This actually looks quite appalling, but is probably quite good for wildlife.

Practice walk in Dene Park

Rhingia campestris, a good picture enhanced a bit by noise reduction and sharpening in CS8.

Sunday in Dene Park

A busy day at Dene Park, but nobody seemed to mind me photographing - the monopod seems to imply my innocent intentions!

I was lucky enough to find a lovely female Leucozona lucorum having a probe around the Malus flowers by the triangle - so pretty for a fly dare I say!

A bit of warmth on the Access Trail

Nomadas zipping around the base of trees on MT 133, various Andrena around to tantalise, Epistrophe eligans resting up on the sunlit leaves of the hedgerow trees, Eristalis pertinax hovering at about head height in sunlit glades, the sound of a cuckoo calling in the middle distance, robins, chiffchaffs, chaffinches, goldfinches and blackcaps singing around me, while the blackthorn is at last in full bloom. Pretty fantastic!

Epistrophe eligans female quietly resting on a sunny hawthorn leaf:

Another one along MT 133:

Dene Park - cloudy, cool and windy

Well it didn't seem like a very promising day today, but I do think I've spotted my first Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, found on my very own! Just a seedling right in the middle of the beech compartment, but its a start and now I can look for more! 

Joyce Pitt has recorded it here before, but I wasn't thinking about its potential presence until I actually raised the camera towards its leaves, and thought - hey they look a bit odd!

Characteristics include a rather trilobed appearance to some leaves (this is not in the books but does appear in quite a few pictures), rather undivided leaves (lobes do not extend more than 50% towards the centre of the leaf), and veins curving upward toward the tip, rather than outward toward the sides of the leaf. 

I should also check that there are no hair tufts in the vein axils on the underside of the leaves, as well as looking for the double styles in the smelly flowers if there are any!

Dene Park

In the grassy area by the car park this female Andrena was happily stocking up on pollen!