Windowbox on Springwatch

Postings have been few recently because the BBC TV programme Springwatch have borrowed the windowbox and taken it to Islay in Scotland for a holiday.

In late April they came to our Sussex home and filmed the project as the picture shows. They subsequently sent the box down to Bristol for onward travel to Scotland. Pity they didn't take me with it really, but they have promised to look after it.

I am not sure when it will be starring on the box, but I will post up the date and time when I find out

Soldier beetle (Cantharis nigricans) on leaf

In the rain today I found a handsome soldier beetle on a leaf of herb robert (Geranium robertianum). The larvae are predatory and live under stones or at grass roots. Maybe they are resident in Wbx.

The darker marks on the beetle's elytra are raindrops.

Windowbox spring

After earlier rain and a spell of wonderfully warm weather, plants in Wbx are growing very quickly. The herb robert up against the sallow log will soon be in flower and I have had to finger pick the burgeoning white clover back to manageable proportions.

The solitary grass plant, despite much mildew, also grows quickly and threatens to swamp the southern end of Wbx. However, as soon as it has flowered and I have worked out what it is I shall cut it back thereby creating, no doubt, the world's only single plant hay meadow.

I found a beetle floating in the pond this afternoon, a Sitona clover weevil I think.

Dandelions and other things

The first dandelion has come into flower with the warm spring sunshine and it reminds of how often people say that if this was a rare plant it would be much sought after. In Wbx the two plants are certainly an asset, well behaved and small enough not to seem out of scale. They are, I suspect, Taraxacum undulatiflorum, but I will have to do some work with the BSBI dandelion book to be sure.

In the centre right of the picture is the small Japanese maple its leaves, as I predicted, damaged by a late frost. I think it will survive this year, but it will be struggling in colder winters than this.

On the far right there is one of the two tutsan plants (Hypericum androsaemum). This is supposed to be a woodland plant, but is not uncommon in our garden.

Maple crisis

Last night there was an air frost in the garden and a thin skin of ice in the morning on the Wbx pond. The Japanese maple leaves are expanding fast and I fear this sudden knee-jerk cold may well kill such tender shoots. They look okay at present, but this can be deceptive.

So, I have photographed them while they still look in good condition. An interesting feature is that these second year leaves are a different shape than those of the first year (see smaller picture) and much more like traditional Japanese maple leaves.

Pointed spear-moss (Calliergonella cuspidata)

Among the many species of moss, mostly unidentified, colonising Wbx, I noticed the one above today. It is pointed spear-moss (Calliergonella cuspidata), a species I have only just started noticing in the garden here.

Usually a moss of rather wet habitats, Wbx is maybe the equivalent of a dune slack in some respects and, in winter, quite water retentive.

Flower bug (Anthocoris nemorum) in action

I was looking at the expanding bud on the Japanese maple again today and noticed a flower bug, (Anthocoris nemorum) on the outside. Having taken a photo and enlarged it I discovered it was dining on a juicy aphid, thus ridding the maple of a destructive pest.

Southwood and Leston in their Land and Water Bugsof the British Isles say of this species that when they come out of hibernation they "feed on aphids, psyllids and other small animals and occasionally on leaves." Let's hope this bug doesn't become a vegetarian.

If you look carefully at a larger size of the photo you will see that the bug has its proboscis well thrust into the belly of the hapless aphid.

The maple stirs

The ornamental maple with the long-tailed leaves has survived both the summer and the winter and is stirring again with a slow expansion of its claw-like bud. (See 29 April 2006)

Once again, I would be grateful if anyone could suggest a name or knows of any other plants like it.

Corn mildew (Blumeria graminis)

Wbx's only grass plant (Poa annua I think) has much powdery mildew on the leaves.

There is only one mildew like this that found on grasses and this example must therefore be Blumeria graminis (formerly Erisyphe graminis). It prefers relatively cool and humid conditions and the recent weather must have been much to its liking. While I am sure that this is quite a common species in Sussex, there appear to be no earlier records for the county on the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre's database. However, I am sure this is simply because people either have not looked for it, or have overlooked it.

Hopefully the grass will flower later in the spring and I will be able to name it with greater certainty.

Budding dandelion (Taraxacum sp.)

There is a bud in the heart of one of the two dandelion plants in Wbx but, overall, the plant does not look too healthy with several leaves afflicted by rusts and mildews. I thought how much these buds resemble a rolled pill millipede (Glomeris marginata) - see top picture.

The greater plantain looks good though as the new leaves appear. Some plantains retain their leaves overwinter and are therefore perhaps more susceptible to fungal and other infections.

By the sallow log there are male flowers of capillary thread-moss, Bryum cappilare and one of the sallows is starting to sprout.

A bonnet toadstool (Mycena sp.)

This tiny, 2 mm, toadstool has appeared in a cushion of moss growing by the north west side of the sallow log. This is the first stalked fungus to have appeared since the project started.

It looks like Mycena pseudocorticola, but there are so many similar species that I would not go firm on this without a second opinion. Tiny though it is, it seems quite frost resistant and was unaffected by last night's subzero temperatures.

The snow springtail

One of the commonest arthropods in the British Isles is the springtail Entomobrya nivalis, found almost everywhere summer or winter. At only 2mm long it is not easy to photograph, especially as they are restless creatures.

They do, however, like a bit of sunshine and this one was running about on the plastic rim of Wbx in company with other springtails. The specific name 'nivalis' means 'of the snow' and does, I imagine, refer to the propensity of this species to turn up on snow fields. Apparently it can survive freezing conditions because its body contains thermal hysteresis proteins and a cocktail of other chemicals, but the trick is not well understood.

Identification of springtails is not easy, but there is a wonderful 260-page test key by the late Steve Hopkin that was issued by the Field Studies Council. Let's hope it is turned into a proper book one day.

New Year view

Wbx looks reasonably neat and tidy for the New Year. Almost (I tell myself) like a sink garden planted with precious and delicate alpines.

The large grass to the right of the sallow log has not been identified yet but, curiously, it is the only grass so far to appear. I thought such plants would quickly be dominant in the Wbx landscape.

Crimson-tuber thread-moss (Bryum rubens)

In early August 2006 the small reddish moss above appeared just in front of the sallow log.

Eventually I got round to sending some to Howard Matcham,our Sussex bryophyte recorder, and he confirmed my suspicion that it was Bryum rubens. This species has small tubers on the roots, hence the English name.

I had hoped to get fruits to make identification easier, but there was some very heavy summer rain which apparently destroyed the whole colony as none has reappeared. Beaten to a pulp by rain drops and grit from the compost.

A midwinter view

If I take the dead leaves that have blown in away, Wbx looks quite neat in these midwinter days.

The white clover has retreated to a smaller winter version with leaves only about half the size of the summer burgeoning. This gives a chance for the two geraniums to grow.

The sunlit rush plant is, I am sure soft-rush (Juncus effusus), while over to the left by the plastic there is an alexanders seedling (Smyrnium olusatrum). Surprisingly the leaves persist on the small grey sallow plants.

First anniversary of project

Today is the first anniversary of the project and the pictures above show how the window box was in November 2005 compared with how it is now. On my visit I noticed on the shady side of the sallow log two small resupinate fungi, a greyish white one and a pink one. These are the first fungi recorded. I also caught a short-palped cranefly, Erioptera griseipennis, resting on the bark.

Many of the naturally occurring Wbx plants of the last twelve months have clearly sown themselves from parents growing in the garden and the early appearance of species like buddleia, Leycesteria, alexanders, grey sallow, birch and tutsan demonstrates how easily these establish themselves in ‘waste ground’.

Some plants would have tended to take over if I had not controlled them. The white clover would have spread over the whole soil surface, for example, and I have had to remove the stinging nettle and several buddleias and grey sallows.

The groundsel, Senecio vulgaris, was an interesting plant. It appeared early on and grew, flowered and seeded well. Several new plants then developed from the seeds but, after attack by aphids and probably flea beetles, they went into a decline and now appear to be extinct in Wbx. A few seedlings of other species vanished before they had had a chance to get beyond the cotyledon stage and some slightly larger plants I could not identify died young.

During the very hot weather in summer the first birch seedling looked as though it was going to die, but it recovered and still carries some leaves. Elsewhere other birch seedlings have appeared.

The following species have been confirmed as occurring (nothing, of course, has been deliberately introduced):

A birch, Betula sp.
Butterfly-bush, Buddleja davidii
A crane’s-bill, Geranium sp.
Herb-robert, Geranium robertianum
Greater plantain, Plantago major
Procumbent pearlwort, Sagina procumbens
Grey willow, Salix cinerea
Groundsel, Senecio vulgaris
Stinging nettle, Urtica dioica

Tent spider, Pisaura mirabilis
A woodlouse, Porcellionides cingendus
A woodlouse, Trichoniscus pusillus
A reticulated slug, Deroceras reticulatum
A springtail, Entomobrya nivalis
A bark louse, Ectopsocus briggsi
A leaf hopper, Empoasca vitis
An aphid (on groundsel)
A flea beetle, Longitarsus flavicornis
Shining sweep moth, Psyche casta
Mosquitoes (larvae in small pool)
A moth fly, Psychoda sp.
A winter gnat, Trichocera sp.
A short-palped cranefly, probably Limonia chorea
A short-palped cranefly, Erioptera griseipennis
A non-biting midge, Bryophaenocladius xanthogyne
A non-biting midge, Gymnometriocnemus brumalis
A dance fly, Rhamphomyia longipes
A dolichopodid fly, Dolichopus griseipennis
A dolichopodid fly, Chrysotus sp.
A dolichopodid fly, Medetera truncorum
Marmalade fly, Episyrphus balteatus
A greenbottle, Eudasyphora cyanella
A flesh fly, Sarcophaga sp.
Chalcid wasps, Chalcididae (several)
European Robin, Erithacus rubecula
Common Blackbird, Turdus merula

These are those that are awaiting confirmation of identity:

A grass (one plant only)
An exotic maple, Acer sp.
A rush, Juncus sp.
A willow herb, Epilobium sp.
Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum
Dandelions, Taraxacum sp.
Deptford pink, Dianthus armeria
Himalayan honeysuckle, Leycesteria formosa
Tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum
Several vascular plants not even determinable to family level.
Wall screw-moss, Tortula muralis
Five or six other mosses
Two fungi

I estimate that I have seen around 60 species over this first year and there will, of course, be plenty of unseens: the creatures that settle for a while by day or night, the fauna and flora in the soil or the pond, the microscopic organisms.

A windowbox with two halves

Nearly a year after its creation, the windowbox as two different sides. To the north (top photo) there are many plant species. These include the clover lawn with two kinds of cranesbill, a greater plantain, a rush with, just to its right, what I think is a small Himalayan honeysuckle. There are several sallows and, in the bottom left hand corner a tiny birch, the one that nearly died in the summer, then recovered. The different mosses grow better on this half of the window box too.

The southern half (lower picture) has very few plants and large bare areas. The Japanese maple seems alive and well but has lost its leaves for winter as has the small wild service in its bonsai pot. A dandelion to the left grows well and what I think is a petty spurge seems okay in the centre. There is also the only grass plant so far to have colonised hard against the sallow log. Groundsel which started well and spread well, now seems to have disappeared altogether.

Why there should be a difference between the two halves I cannot explain and it will be interesting to see if it is a long term problem.

Hylemya nigrimana holed

I found an anthomyiid fly, Hylemya nigrimana, wandering rather sluggishly on the southern rim of the windowbox today. A closer look revealed a gaping cavity in the side of the abdomen from which all the contents seemed to have gone, leaving an empty shell.

This appeared as though a parasitoid might have emerged from within or maybe some creature had pierced the body with a bloodsucking mouthpart. Whatever, gruesome enough to intrigue the grandchildren.

Another spider, Pisaura mirabilis

A reddish grey spider appeared on the western rim of Wbx this afternoon and posed long enough for me to get a snapshot even though light levels were very low and the sallow log in my way. It was a small specimen of Pisaura mirabilis, sometimes known asthe'nursery web spider' from the way the female guards the egg sack.

Greater plantain,Plantago major

There is one plant of greater plantain in Wbx but, although the soil is good, it does not grow nearly as well as others of this species do on trampled gateways, lawns and so on.

The main reason seems to be is that it has been infested with aphids ever since it was very small and these have considerably distorted the leaves. There are three aphid species that live on P. major and I have not yet worked out which one this is. Despite this problem, it has managed to produce a flowering spike and will set seed.