Late August
Some plants in the wood are really good at supplying a dash of colour and vitality when everything else is fading away at the end of August, and Devils-bit Scabious is one of them. We are lucky in Crow Wood to have a sunny ride that has a really good area for this plant. Its along an old track so the soil is very compressed and holds moisture well, which Scabius really likes. We try not to drive along it so the plant has spread very successfully and has now made a good patch. In the sun today it was covered in insects - bees, wasps, hover-flies and butterflies- all collecting pollen from the nectar rich flower heads. Apart from keeping vehicles off we try to manage this whole area for insects by strimming it off in the Autumn and cutting back any overhanging trees. The ride lies on an east/west axis so the sun works its way across during the day and it is sheltered from the wind so makes an excellent place for insect spotting.
Today, I counted at least five species of hover-fly and three kinds of butterfly, not to mention various bees and wasps.
Some plants in the wood are really good at supplying a dash of colour and vitality when everything else is fading away at the end of August, and Devils-bit Scabious is one of them. We are lucky in Crow Wood to have a sunny ride that has a really good area for this plant. Its along an old track so the soil is very compressed and holds moisture well, which Scabius really likes. We try not to drive along it so the plant has spread very successfully and has now made a good patch. In the sun today it was covered in insects - bees, wasps, hover-flies and butterflies- all collecting pollen from the nectar rich flower heads. Apart from keeping vehicles off we try to manage this whole area for insects by strimming it off in the Autumn and cutting back any overhanging trees. The ride lies on an east/west axis so the sun works its way across during the day and it is sheltered from the wind so makes an excellent place for insect spotting.
Today, I counted at least five species of hover-fly and three kinds of butterfly, not to mention various bees and wasps.
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| This is Volucella zonaria, a big, boldly striped hover-fly |
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| Volucella pelluscens, another woodland specialist |
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| The Scabious patch in our wood |
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| I think this one is Syrphus ribesii |
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| A very tatty looking Silver-washed Fritillary, towards the end of its season |
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