Species of the Week: Limpet

This is my first 'Species of the Week' post. Every week I'll look at a different species, so if anyone has any animals that they particularly want me to talk about, then just let me know in a comment.

This week's species is the humble limpet. Actually, limpets are a group, Patellogastropoda, not a species. The most common species in the UK is, surprise surprise, the Common Limpet (Patella vulgata).
 All limpets, vulgata or not, share a similar body plan. If you managed to pull a limpet off a rock and looked at its fleshy underside, you would see a oval-shaped mouth and 2 main tentacles called cephalic tentacles, at the base of which are a pair of primitive eyes. Most of its underside consists of its single foot, surrounded by the mantle, a soft outer body wall. Around the edges of the mantle, there is a ring of tiny, feathery tentacles called pallial tentacles.

 A limpet's underside

If you are walking along the shoreline, you may notice that some rocks have ring-shaped indentations in them. They are created by limpets, and are known as home-scars. A limpet will make one by rubbing its shell against the rock until its shell can fit snugly into the indentation. Each individual has its own home-scar, and will stay there while the tide is out. By clamping down into the home-scar, they create pockets of sea water inside their shells, allowing their gills to still function.

 Common Limpets and some home-scars

When the tide comes in, the limpets leave their home-scars and go foraging for algae. They have a tongue covered in teeth-like serrations, which it uses to scrape the algae from the rock. Each individual has its own grazing territory, and if another limpet enters it, a fight will probably ensue. The limpets will ram their shells together, and attempt to knock the opponent off the rock.
Everywhere a limpet goes, it leaves a slime trail, which it follows back to its home scar as soon as the tide begins to go out. It is thought that the slime also acts as a fertilizer, helping the algae to grow back. This way, the limpet hardly ever runs out of algae in its grazing grounds.
Several species of predatory starfish readily attack limpets, but these intertidal molluscs are more vicious than you might think. The smaller limpets will simply hunker down onto the rock, but the larger ones fight back. They will wait until the starfish has the tip of one of its arms under the limpet's shell, then it'll slam the shell down. This creates painful, deep cuts and sometimes even severs the tip of the limb. After several slams, the starfish usually leaves the limpet in peace.
I'm still researching the life cycle. There seems to be various interesting things about it, including a gender change. However, the information is a bit sketchy, and several texts contradict each other. When I've got more information, I'll update this post.

It's plain to see that the humble limpet, mundane and boring at first glance, is in fact a fascinating creature.

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

Forest and Sea Spectacular

First of all, I would like to apologise for the lack of posts recently.
On August 1st, my Mum and I went on a Yorkshire Coast Nature event called 'Forest and Sea Spectacular'. It was taken by Richard Baines, the lead tour guide at Yorkshire Coast Nature. Richard is a lovely man, always really friendly and willing to answer any questions. We went to the breathtaking Langdale Forest in the morning, and I was blown away by the number of bird species that we spotted. We saw some fantastic birds of prey, including a Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), 2 Sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), 4 Buzzards (Buteo buteo), a Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), and a Hobby (Falco subbuteo)! Both the Goshawk and the Hobby were firsts for me.

An image of the Northern Goshawk that I found on the Internet

 

 

 

Eurasian Hobby, again this picture was found on the Internet

 

 

I also spotted a Scorpion Fly (Panorpa communis), which are lovely insects that I am quite fond of. This insect can easily be identified by its tail, which it raises like a scorpion, hence the name. Despite its dangerous namesake, the tail has no stinger of any sort and is instead used primarily for courtship.

 

 

The bizarre Scorpion Fly

 

 

 

 We also saw 3 Common Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra), which was very exciting because I had never seen them before. They are so named because the bill overlaps at the tips. The males are red, but the females are brown-green. Their unique bill allows them to get to pine seeds inside pinecones.

 

A male Common Crossbill

In the afternoon, we went to Staithes, a small fishing village near Whitby. From there we went out on a boat with a large amount of chum (very smelly leftover bits of fish). Bit by bit, we through the chum overboard to attract seabirds. We saw several Fulmars (Fulmaris glacialis), Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), and a few Gannets (Morus bassanus).

A Fulmar, note its strange 'tube nose'

My favourite seabird that we saw was the Great Skua (Stercorarius skua), an impressive, large bird with dark plumage. They are the pirates of the seabird world, forcing other birds to give up their meals. They will take on birds as large as Gannets, even attacking and killing smaller sea birds such as Puffins (Fratercula arctica)!

 

 A Great Skua

The skipper was very kind and allowed me to have a go at actually sailing the boat! We also checked 2 lobster pots, and I had the opportunity to hold a lobster.

I had a really good time, and I would highly recommend going on a Yorkshire Coast Nature tour.

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

A Strange, Fluffy Gall

Recently I have published a post on galls, and one of the species that I briefly mentioned was the Moss Gall, formed by the Gall Wasps known by the scientific name of Diplolepis rosae. Today I have been researching this species, and I would like to share some of the interesting things that I have discovered.
Rosae's life cycle begins with the adult laying the egg in the Spring. Only a few males of the species have been found, so it is generally thought that they must reproduce asexually. The female will find a suitable host plant of the family Rosa (roses), then uses her ovipositor (an implement on the abdomen, rather resembling a sting, used to to deposit eggs) to lay eggs inside a leaf bud. When the tiny maggot-like larva hatches, it will begin to feed on the plant tissue around it. Though this part is not yet fully understood, it is thought that a chemical in the saliva of the larva stimulates the cells to enlarge and/or multiply, as I explain in my previous post (see the link at the top of this page). This is how the gall is formed. Even after the process begins, it is not always obvious from the outside of the plant. But eventually, the gall will spread out of the plant, creating a large outgrowth known as the Moss Gall. It is covered in long, green to red hairs - hence the name. It is often thought that the gall will become more red as it ages, however this is not always the case.

In this photo that I found the Internet, you can clearly see the long, curly hairs.

 

 

 

Several larvae may share a single gall, as seen here in this photo that I found on the Internet.

When Winter comes, the larvae will remain in their gall and take up the sedentary stage in their life cycle, known as the prepupa. This can be considered as a form of hibernation, as the prepupa does not move or eat. When Spring comes, it will shed its skin to reveal the true pupa developing beneath. In March, the adults begin to emerge, then the whole cycle is repeated.

 

In this image from the Internet, you can see the adult female's long limbs and thick thorax.

What an interesting life-cycle! I hope that you have enjoyed today's post, but if you want to find out more on Diplolepis rosae then there is plenty more information here.

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

Some Great Books

A while ago I published a post all about some recommended books, which you can read here. For Christmas I got loads more great books, all of which I would like to recommend here:

Lost Animals: Extinction and the Photographic Record by Errol Fuller 
This is a great book about animals that have fairly recently gone extinct - usually because of humans. If you like a nice jolly read that looks on the bright side of things, then this book might not be for you. Needless to say, it is very interesting with a nice balance of old-fashioned photos along with text. It includes some well known species such as the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) and less well known ones such as the Kaua 'i 'O'o.
The only thing that I don't like about this book is that there are loads of birds and just a few mammals. I don't pretend to prefer one to the other, I just think that there should really be a few more mammals in there. However, all in all, it's a great read!
You can find it for sale on Amazon here.

Extinct Birds of New Zealand by Alan Tennyson and Paul Martinson
This book is a stunner. Wonderful, indulgent text and simply amazing illustrations. The species are painted in such a life-like way that it almost feels like you're right there in New Zealand with the birds. I also didn't find this book quite as depressing as Lost Animals for some reason.
Until I got this book for Christmas, I had no idea of the amount of bird species that we have wiped out on New Zealand. Many of them were hunted and eaten, some of them lost their habitat. Many died at the hands of Pacific Rats and domestic cats, all of which were brought over by . . . no prizes for guessing correctly. Yes, that's right: humans. We also introduced pigs, dogs, stoats, ferrets, weasels, possums, Ship Rats, and Norway Rats - all of which we think contributed to the extinction of many species.
Here's a link to it for sale on Amazon.

The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity by Douglas H. Erwin and James W. Valentine
This is a very in-depth, complex book about life in the Cambrian period, which ended 490 million years ago. I don't understand parts of it, but it is still a great book!
The Cambrian period was very interesting, as before that life wasn't really very diverse. But the Cambrian was really quite an exciting period, suddenly life took off, creating all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures! This phenomena is known as the Cambrian Explosion, and has been described as the 'Big Bang' of evolution.
It's a really good book, and most certainly worthy of my 'Great Book' list. You can find it for sale on Amazon here.

Relics: Travels in Nature's Time Matchine by Piotr Naskrecki
There are loads of amazing animals on planet Earth, all of them specially adapted for their own little nieche. But there are some life forms that are better adapted than others, life forms that survive mass extinction events and are around for many millions of years. These are known as living fossils, and are the subject of this fantastic book. It consists mainly of pictures accompanied by small areas of text to explain what's going in the photo. The pictures are some of the best that I've seen in a book.
Even a quick flick through the book makes it evident that the author is a big fan of Orthoptera. There are numerous species of Katydids (one of my favourite insects) and even a whole chapter on a new species of Cave Cricket that the author himself discovered!
Here it is on Amazon.

All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals by John Conway, C.M. Koseman, and Darren Naish
If you like unique books and you like dinosaurs (both of which I LOVE!), then this is a book for you. The first part of the book looks at speculative views on dinosaurs, proposing previously unheard of theories on dinosaur behaviour. One of my favourite parts is about the polar dinosaur, Leaellynasaura. It is usually depicted as scaly and reptilian, but the authors suggest that it could actually have been fluffy and covered in fat to keep them insulated. Such fat and fluff would have trouble fossilising, so we wouldn't know that it was there.
The second part of the book is the oddest. It looks at how future scientists might reconstruct modern day animals if they went extinct, using techniques that we use to reconstruct dinosaurs. The results are both hilarious and fascinating. Some of my favourites include blood-sucking hummingbirds, elephants without trunks, and gremlin-like monkeys that very nearly gave me nightmares.
The whole book is filled with great illustrations; I'd definitely recommend it.
It is for sale on Amazon here.

The Savage Garden (Revised): Cultivating Carnivorous Plants by Peter D'Amato
This book tells you everything that you need to know to grow fascinating insect-eating plants such as Venus Flytraps, Pitcher Plants, and Sundews! This book covers everything from substrate and lighting to feeding and watering!
Here it is for sale on Amazon.

A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs by Matthew P. Martyniuk
This book is fun to look at, interesting, and informative. It is written in the way that you would expect a field guide of modern birds would be, with sections about the species' habitat, time, size, and biology.
The illustrations are stunning and really life-like, one of my favourite things about this book. It features many different species and loads that I have never heard of before. Definitely one of my favourite books.
Click here to go to the book on Amazon.

Monster Hunt: The Guide to Cryptozoology by Rory Storm
Cryptozoology is a fascinating subject about animals that may or may not exist. Cryptids, the group of animals that cryptozoologists study, include Bigfoot, Nessie, and more. They vary from very unlikely to exist (such as the Mothman and Dover Demon) to possibly existing (such as the Orang Pendek). Cryptozoology is one of my favourite subjects, but unfortunately it's rather shunned by most of the scientific community. This is a shame, and shows that many people like to think that we know everything about everything - which is very far from the truth.
This fun book features many different cryptid species, and is written in the style of a dirty notebook, with apparently tea-stained pages and rough sketches. It would be suitable for children as well as adults, and a great introduction to the study.
Here's a link to it on Amazon.

The British Natural History Collection: Moles by Rob Atkinson and Illustrated by Belinda Atkinson
It's high time that a good, informative book on moles was written. Wish granted, here it is! Moles are one of my favourite British animals and deserve a lot more attention in natural history than they usually get. This book is amazing, with beautiful illustrations and informative text. Very highly recommended!
You can find it here on Amazon.


I think that's about it, and I hope you might want to put some of these on this year's Birthday or Christmas lists
I would like to say a big thank you to my family for buying me such wonderful books. I love you!

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

Is It A Slug, Is It A Tadpole? No It's A Sawfly Larvae!

The first thing that I'd like to say is an apology for the lack of posts recently.

On the 7th of October, my Mum and I were having a walk on the Breathing Space, a local green area (see my previous post, My Wildlife Event), when my Mum spotted an odd green blob about the size of my fingernail on a leaf. It reminded me of a tiny tadpole, except this lived on land. I gave it a gentle poke to make sure that it was a living thing, and it wriggled.

We asked the local entomologist, Barry Warrington, and he identified it as an Oak Slug Sawfly, something that he doesn't see very often.

We didn't take any pictures of the Oak Slug Sawfly, so here's a picture that I found on the

Internet.

These critters usually feed on Oak, but the plant that we found our specimen on definitely wasn't an Oak - in fact we've no idea what it was!

I am rearing the Oak Slug Sawfly in a container with some Oak and leaves from the plant that we found it on. The larvae is at the present moment hibernating as a pupae in either the soil, in the leaves, or in the rotting wood that I offered it. It should emerge about May this year as an adult. I'll publish another post about it when it does emerge.

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

Plant Galls & Their Many Causers

Just lately I've been researching galls, so I thought that I'd share some of the things that I've learned here. I hope you find them as interesting as I did.
Not to be confused with the term gall in pathology, in which the word means a sort of lumpy sore caused by itching and rubbing, plant galls are formed by the expansion or increase of
the number of cells in the plant. Galls appear as irregular outgrowths, and can occur on the plant's roots, stem, leaves, buds, or even flowers. They can be formed by a variety of organisms such as fungi, bacteria, insects, and mites.

Some Plant Gall Causers

Gall Wasps
One of the most well known causers are the many species of Gall Wasps, also known Gallflies, a family (called Cynipidae) belonging to the order Hymenoptera.

A Bedeguar Gall Wasp (Diplolepis rosae)

Most adult Gall Wasps are very small and are rarely seen, and it is the actual galls themselves that you are most likely to see. Some Gall Wasps use a method of reproduction known as parthenogenesis, in which a male is not needed, however most species use the usual method of reproduction.

Once a female has created a gall by injecting a chemical that stimulates the plant to either create more cells or increase the size of existing ones, it lays its eggs inside it. These will hatch out as the tiny maggot-like larvae, which will feast on the nutritious layer of plant material inside the gall. A majority of Gall Wasp larvae pupate in the safety of the gall, before tunnelling their way out as an adult.

 An image of the unusual Moss Gall on Dog Rose, formed by the Gall Wasp known as Diplolepis rosae.

A group of Spangle Galls on Oak, formed by the Gall Wasp known as Neuroterus quercusbaccarum.

Mites

Gall Mites, also known by the scientific name Eriophyidae, are a large family of small arachnids that can cause galls. Members of Eriophyridae are so tiny that they can pierce a single cell with their mouth parts, stimulating surrounding cells to enlarge and multiply, thus creating the gall. Most galls created by mites are known as erinea, and appear as mats of tiny hair-like projections, very different from the Moss Gall pictured in the Gall Wasp section. However, a few mites cause quite different galls, including the Bugle Gall, found on the leaves of Common Lime trees, and formed by the mite Eriophyes tiliae. The Bugle Gall, also known as the Lime Nail, takes the form of bright to dark red, tubular growths.

 An example of a large group of Bugle Galls on Common Lime leaves.

 A Maple Crimson Velvet gall on Maple, formed by the Gall Mite know as Eriphyes calaceris. This is a good example of an erinea gall.

Aphids

A few species of Aphids can form galls and do so by piercing a single cell using their proboscis-like rostrum, and this, as in Gall Mites, stimulates the surrounding cells to multiply.

Pineapple Gall Adelgid

The Pineapple Gall Adelgid (Adelges) is a genus of Adeglid that is very closely related to Aphids and can create large pineapple-like galls on certain species of conifers, including the Norway Spruce. An interesting fact about this genus is that only females are known. The life cycle of the Pineapple Gall Adelgid is quite unusual:

Stage 1 - Nymphs hatch from eggs on host plant.

Stage 2 - The Nymphs then begin to feed on the leaves of the conifer, and their saliva stimulates the gall to form around them.

Stage 3 - They overwinter in the safety of the gall, then awaken the following year to lay eggs there. Once the eggs have been layed, they will die.

Stage 4 - The second generation of nymphs hatch in the gall, then develop there until July to September. At this point they emerge from their gall and undergo a finale moult on their host plant. When they have completed this, they will have formed wings.

Stage 5 - The winged adults of the second generation will fly to another tree and will lay eggs their, without the need of a male to reproduce. The next year, the young will emerge and the full cycle will be repeated . . .

Some Pineapple Gall Adelid nymphs.

A Pineapple Gall formed by the Pineapple Gall Adelgid

Of course, there's many other causers, I just wanted to mention a few of my favourites here.

Inquiline

The term inquiline comes from the Latin 'inquilinus' meaning lodger or tenant. It is used in zoology to describe a life form living in another's dwelling place, such as a hive, nest, etc. Some Gall Wasps have taken up an inquiline mode of life and can no longer even form a gall, instead they take up residence in the gall of another species. The lodger is almost identical to the previous owner of the gall, so identifying them can become tricky!

I hope that you've enjoyed today's rather long post on galls, causers, and inquilines. Galls certainly are fascinating little things, and worthy of a lot more attention than they usually get.

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

Moth Night Magic

This year I took part in the Moth Night, in which members of the public can record and identify moths as part of a national survey. The Moth Night takes place every year, and this year the survey focuses on Tiger Moths.
We put our moth trap out in the garden for the night, and checked its contents the following day.
One of the species we found was a Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria), a beautiful hairy yellow species. It's larvae feed upon numerous species of deciduous trees.

 

Sorry about the quality of the picture of this Canary-shouldered Thorn.

We also captured a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthina). They really couldn't have thought up a shorter name could they? ;-)

 A Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing.

A similar looking Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) was also in the trap.

 

A Large Yellow Underwing.

 Another moth species that was in the trap goes by the name of the Common Rustic Agg - what an odd name! It's scientific name is Mesapamea secalis agg.

 

A  Mesapamea secalis agg. poses.

A beautiful Scalloped Oak (Crocallis elinguaria) was also captured in the trap.

 A Scalloped Oak.

The aptly named Willow Beauty is indeed a beauty as we discovered when we caught it in our moth trap.

  A Willow Beauty.

My favourite one of them all was an Orange Swift (Triodia sylvina). The larvae live underground where they eat the roots of various plants including bracken, dandelion, dock, hop and Viper's Bugloss.

 

The Orange Swift moth - what a little beauty!

Until next time, keep on the wild side!

Postscript:

I have recently discovered (thanks to Barry Warrington, the local entomologist) that the Common Rustic Agg is actually an 'aggregate' of three moths: the Common Rustic, Lesser Common Rustic, and Remm's Rustic. The only way to identify the individual species is to examine the genitals. Quite a few people don't do this, so simply class all three species as 'Common Rustic Agg'.