As the days are getting noticeably longer, a couple of recent
visits to Hazeleigh Wood (with Maureen Bissell, Simon Wood, Andy Stock and
Carla Davis), highlighted the seasonal changes taking place amongst our
wildlife.
Perhaps as a consequence of last summer’s drought, last year’s
leaves were looking particularly brown and faded. The appearance of the first flowers
provided a refreshing boost of colour. Most obvious were Snowdrops, a few Crocuses
and Primroses, along with the ubiquitous Red Dead Nettle and Chickweed. Both
Buff-tailed and Early Bumblebees were seen nosing around these blooms.
 |
| Snowdrops, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
 |
| Primsoses, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
Other flowers are more subtle, such as the woodland
specialities Dogs Mercury and Climbing Corydalis.
 |
| Dogs Mercury, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
The male catkins of Hazel trees, the familiar “lamb’s tails”
of spring, were out in full. A closer look revealed many of the female flowers
were out in bloom, looking like tiny sea anemones. A Yew beside the main path
was also in bloom, the appearance of the flowers demonstrating that it was a
male tree.
 |
| Hazel catkins, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
 |
| Hazel flower, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
 |
| Yew flowers, Hazeleigh Wood, Feb 2023 |
The main motivation for these visits was for Simon to check
on the moth traps that Simon had been running overnight. One look at them in
the morning showed that there were an awful lot of moths on the wing overnight.
It was hard to judge the total figures. The number of species was only just
into double figures but there were hundreds of individual moths.
They were all species that have adapted to appearing in the initial
months of the year, perhaps in an attempt to evade predators that are not
active till later in the Spring. The names of many moths are evocative of the
time of year. The two most numerous on our February visits were Winter Shade
and Spring Usher. There were also a lot of Pale Brindled Beauty as well as good
numbers of Small Brindled Beauty, Dotted Border and March Moths. The females of all the macro moths just mentioned are in fact wingless- thought to be a tactic to save
their energies for egg production at a time of year when energy is at a
premium.
 |
| Pale Brindled Beauty, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
 |
| Small Brindled Beauty, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
 |
| Dotted Border, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
Compared with many of the moths that appear later in the year it would be easy to dismiss the colourings of all these early spring moths as dull. It is all just camouflage however, matching the shades of dead leaves and bark, and there is a subtle beauty to their markings. It is striking to see how variable some of them are, particularly the Spring Usher.
 |
| Spring Usher, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
One of the great things about looking in a moth trap, is
seeing what the ‘by-catch’ is- creatures other than moths that have been
attracted by the light. Over the couple of nights this included two Minotaurs.
Impressive, chunky beetles that hibernate but occasionally wake from their
slumbers if the weather is warm enough.
 |
| Minotaur Beetle, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
As with moths, large orders of insects often have outlier
species that are active at the start of the year. When there are fewer related species
on the wing it can be easier to identify them. Two that were attracted to the lights were an early hoverfly,
Meliscaeva auricollis, and an ichneumid wasp, Ophion obscuratus agg.
 |
| Ophion obscuratus, Hazeleigh Wood, November 2022 (photo from last year) |
Finally, a mention of a couple of moths we caught that are a
sign that the next wave is on the way: Common Quaker and Oak Beauty.
 |
| Common Quaker, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
 |
| Oak Beauty, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023 |
Now looking forward to the first Chiffchaffs returning to the
woods!
