Monday 15 June
I felt hungover for pretty much most of the day today. The walk yesterday took it out of me more than I anticipated. It must be just a coincidence that I turned fifty a few weeks ago, it can’t be an age thing, surely? Still it was a memorable walk and one that has given loads of things for me to share. More than I could possibly have crammed into the post yesterday, so I will pepper a few in over the coming days.
I didn’t appreciate the mad world of the Ladybird. Firstly, there are around forty different types of Ladybird in the British Isles, some are native and some are alien invaders from other lands. They all feed on aphids, loads of aphids, around 5000 for the single year they are alive. The two most common are the Two-Spot and the Seven-Spot; the former can have over a dozen black or red spots, the latter is red and can have up to nine black spots. Uhh?
Their bright markings are there to remind predators that they taste disgusting and they excrete a bitter liquid from their knee joints when threatened. Not only that but they also pretend to be dead by lying on their backs and retracting their legs.
Evolution has given these winged wonders antenna that detect farnesene, the alarm call pheromone of the aphid. Which means that when the aphid detects threat, it tries to warn others with this pheromone; what it’s actually doing is screaming ‘Hey, I’m over here, ready to be eaten, and so are all my mates!’.
As regards Covid19? Thankfully, only 33 deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours. The day I have been dreading has also happened today. The shops and department stores reopened. I know this means people can get back to work and get paid…but…too many people will be seduced by ‘sales’ and ‘bargains’. There were queues outside Primarks up and down the country. Meanwhile, my Seven-Spot Ladybird is up in that Norfolk hedgerow avoiding predators, eating aphids and getting on with it’s life. Hmm.
The Bald Birder 