Steve's Nature Blog: Southern Green Shieldbug

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

The Purple Ponds of Lithines

The purple ponds are teeming with microscopic life.

We'll make our way back to the main Sitia-Makry Gialos road to Lithines where there are a few interesting ponds to the north west of the village that are worthy of investigation not least of all for their intriguing colour at this time of year. We are still awaiting significant rainfall and the ponds are very shallow at the moment but packed full of nutrients and it is these that are responsible for their unusual colour. If you check them out under the microscope they are absolutely teeming with microscopic life with nematodes, desmids and the like flitting about at tremendous speeds all over the place. But before we get down to them lets see what we can find on the way.

The first signs of the upcoming change of season are here by the track with these Wood Sorrels or Bermuda Buttercups which will soon be adorning every roadside and olive grove. You can make a nice warming winter soup with these; just bring a pot of chicken or vegetable broth up to the boil, chuck in a handful of cooked rice and a handful of wood sorrel leaves, simmer for about eight minutes. Finally stir in a dollop of cream, salt and pepper to taste and serve with a couple of the flowers floating on the top. (Obligatory word of caution: Wood sorrel contains oxalic acid so if you suffer from rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity then it may aggravate the complaint but for the rest of us the odd bowl or two is fine). You can also add flowers or leaves to salads for a sharp, lemony bite if you wish as well. As with all wild plants, wash them well, remove any bugs such as this Shield Bug nymph and pick away from roadsides or other contaminated areas.

There are the ponds down there which we have to find our way down to somehow but first a Small Copper has just landed nearby. They like to lay their eggs on Sorrel which is their caterpillar's food plant and you could be forgiven for thinking that this is rather handy as we have some wood sorrel nearby but not so. This is the old confusion of common names. The Wood Sorrel is Oxalis pes-carpe in the family Oxalidaceae; Sorrels (without the wood) are plants of the Rumex genus in the Polygonaceae family. The ambiguity arises because they are all acidic tasting and the word Sorrel reflects this being derived from the old French 'sorele' meaning sour.

Here we are, down at the ponds without too much difficulty and there doesn't seem to be too much activity on the surface but just take a look at this rainwater ditch nearby where the water is a little more free draining. The dragonflies are having a high old time, there must be six pairs here at least, flying along in tandem with the males clasping the females' necks with their special pincers. These little Darters stay together after copulation and then the female gently dips her abdomen into the water and lays an egg which, if we sit and watch them for a few moments we can witness. There she goes, and another, and another. These will hatch out into extremely predatory nymphs and providing that the ditch doesn't dry up they can spend up to three years in this stage before emerging as adults.

And finally the ponds themselves and what an unusual, attractive colour they are at this time of day. Not entirely devoid of life on the surface, I can see one small, white insect skating along on the surface but what precisely it is I cannot tell. No, I am not going to wade in and take a closer look. I have a strong suspicion that beneath this shallow water there lurks a good few inches or more of evil smelling sludge with which I have no desire to get better acquainted thank you. Well, that just about wraps it up for Autumn. Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice and if you'd care to join me in raising a glass to the shortest day of the year the the time of the solstice, when the Earth is at its furthest point from the sun, is 16.48 Universal Time or almost ten to five Greenwich Mean Time as us oldies prefer to call it. That's a most convivial time for a libation out here in Crete being about ten to seven in the evening. So, wherever you are and whatever you're celebrating, have a good one and we'll meet up again on January 3^rd 2018. Cheers!

Photographic Bit

Many of you have asked me what photographic equipment I use so for details of aperture settings, shutter speeds etc. my pictures will be on Flickr within a few days and that has all the geeky stuff. Pictures were edited with FastStone Image Viewer and combined with Microsoft Paint.

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LINKS:

Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Explore the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking and Nature Map

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Up The Olive Tree

Olive Tree

I hope you’re all feeling fit and agile this morning as we have work to do. For the past two weeks the olive groves have been ringing with the rhythmic tsing-tsing-tsing of the mechanical olive strimmers sounding like a bunch of demented crickets which has prompted me to divest my pair of trees of their fruit. As I only have the two trees I don’t go in for such wonders of technology and hand-picking is so much more cathartic. So, you shin up the tree and while you’re up there see what else you can find. Me? I’ll stand down here and hold the sack. (“No point getting older if you don’t get wiser” as my grandfather used to say.)


Bracket Fungus

Found anything yet? I have. Down here on the base of the tree. This is a bracket fungus which could be potentially damaging as they have a tendency to cause a disease called Heart Rot. The fungus enters through a wound in the bark and damages the heartwood in the middle of the tree which weakens it. As this is a well cared for tree that gets plenty of water and nutrients it will probably compartmentalize it, that is, it will grow a protective membrane around the fungus and stop it in its tracks.

Olive Knot

What have you got there? A gall of some sort you say? Let me have a look. Ah yes, I wondered about these when I first came out here. It turns out to be an olive knot caused by a bacterium called Pseudomonas savastanoi, a fact that was discovered in the late nineteenth century by an Italian olive worker called Savastano after which it is now named. Just goes to prove that you don’t have to be a laboratory bound academic to make an important biological discovery.

They can cause the branch beyond to wither and die according to the literature but these two trees have happily lived with them for the past ten years and probably long before. They don't seem to affect the harvest so I just let them get on with it. I dare say the trees compartmentalise them the same as the bracket fungus.

Shieldbug Eggs

Hang on, we’ve got something in the other tree. Oh these are good, little jars full of babies. You remember we were talking about the five instars of the Southern Green Shieldbug a couple of weeks ago (see Rosemary's Restaurant )? Well, this is the start of the process. These little jars with their push open lids are the eggs and it looks as if they’re hatching. At least, I think they were laid by a Southern Green, a bit difficult to tell at this stage. Put them in a container and we’ll watch and see how they develop then we'll let them go.

Blackbird Fledgling

A bird’s nest? I thought someone would find that but what type of bird made it? You can tell a lot about the builder of a nest from the manner of its construction, the materials used and where it’s built. For instance this is a medium sized nest slightly wider than my outstretched hand. It is solidly constructed from grass, small woody roots and cemented together with mud and it has been lined with finer grass. Also it has been built in a fork of the tree. All of which is characteristic of the blackbird’s nest. I also have the advantage of having watched the building of the nest and the rearing of three chicks which makes identification infinitely easier. Just a minute, I think I have a picture somewhere. Here it is, a young fledgling on its first foray from that very nest on May 14^th a couple of years ago.

Season's Greetings to you all

All the olives picked? Marvellous. We’ll take them down to the olive press next week and swap them for a couple of flagons of olive oil. Come inside I have a treat for you. I’ve brewed an urn of fine Lapsang Souchong tea laced with cloves which is delicious served with a slice of fresh orange. For those of you of a more alcoholic disposition you must try the mulled wine: a pinch of cloves, 4 parts Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 part sweet Sherry, 1 part orange juice and 2 parts boiling water.

Bottoms up and have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Positively Glorious Pancha Ganapati or a wonderful whatever else you choose to celebrate at this time of the year. Until next week – happy hunting.