Steve's Nature Quiz # 27

Continuing from the explosive start of this week's #CreteNature blog which of the featured plants has an explosive method of seed dispersal?

a) Autumn Squill

b) Autumn Crocus

c) Squirting Cucumber

Autumn Squill (top), Autumn Crocus (Bottom)                                      Squirting Cucumber

The Autumn Squill has a very gentle method of seed dispersal; when their seeds dry out they are lifted by the wind and blown to pastures new. The Autumn Crocus, on the other hand, has its own delivery service; its seeds are taken away and buried by ants. The Squirting Cucumber is more self sufficient; those seed pods which you can see bottom right are filled with a mucilaginous liquid and when the fluid pressure reaches critical the pods explode squirting the seeds up to twenty feet away. So the answer is C.

More fascinating nature facts and tales of the Cretan countryside in this week's #CreteNature blog Sklavoi – Village of the Slaves

Sklavoi – Village of the Slaves

When you look at a map of an area there are often a number of exciting looking places to investigate but at first glance Sklavoi does not appear to be one of them. Which is why I want to go there for I often find the most interesting things where they are least expected. For instance the connection between this little church down here, grasshoppers and the bomb disposal squad. The church is dedicated to St. Barbara, a young lady of Christian persuasion who's father was an out and out pagan. When he learnt of her conversion he went at her with a sword whereupon the wall of the tower (in which he kept her) exploded. Babs finished up, unharmed, in a mountain gorge alongside two very surprised shepherds. Her father pursued her, one of the shepherds betrayed her and he was turned to stone for his treachery. Not only that, his entire flock was turned into grasshoppers (which seems to have been quite popular in the past – see Chrysopigi - Source of Gold). She was caught and tortured and about to be beheaded by her father as a final punishment when he too was detonated by a bolt of lightning and Barbara escaped. In honour of her going out with a bang as it were, she is now the patron saint of all those who work with explosives.

I am also intrigued by the village name for Sklavoi is Greek for slaves and Crete was never big on slavery. What slaves there were seem to have been reasonably well treated and it was here in Crete that the tradition of the 'servants-day-off' where the slaves were waited upon by their masters probably first originated ^[1]. We are not the only animals to indulge in a bit of slavery. These ants down here are workers busy dismembering a dead gecko. These particular ants were born in the colony but the Blood Red Ant of Northern Europe, the U.S. And Asia will raid the nests of other ants and kidnap the pupae and larvae and enslave them. I sometimes wonder if we humans were ever the first to do anything.

Let's wander down out of the village and see if we can find any autumn flowers. Quite a variety in the environs of this magnificently twisted old olive tree. Quick quiz: look closely and see if you can spot the odd one out. Did you spot the little Mirid Bug peering over the edge of the right hand petal of the yellow Squirting Cucumber? How about the Southern Green Shieldbug nymph nestling between its fruits below? Or the pair of beetles investigating the centre of the Autumn Crocus to the left? A little Autumn rain, the flowers come out, the insects appear and nature's larder is re-stocked once more. The only one without an entomological attendant appears to be the budding Autumn Squill.

This really is a delightful little stroll and beautifully warm for the time of year and I see that we have caper bushes in great abundance. I still haven't tried pickling the leaves as they do in Italy but the little flower buds are delicious on a bit of fish or a pizza. Seems like I'm not the only one who likes capers. A brood of caterpillars. These are Large Whites. Traditionally they are associated with cabbages or other brassicas but although their preferred food plants do indeed tend to be members of the Brassicacae family they have quite a range of host plants from different families.

What a wealth of life we have along the roadside here. I told you that Sklavoi would be interesting. Down on the road we have another of those Huntsman Spiders that we found up in Praesos and sitting on a leaf a little Crab Spider that's recently migrated from a yellow flower and hasn't got round to changing colour yet. Plenty of wasps around the ivy flowers, mainly the common European Wasps which the Americans call Yellowjackets, but also this red and black one which is a Spider Wasp. The adults feed on nectar but their young dine on live spiders. When the female lays an egg she'll seal a spider in with it that she's previously paralysed with her venom. The spider has to be large enough to feed the youngster until he's large enough to fend for himself so the little Crab Spider is probably safe but I'd advise the Huntsman to keep at least one of his eight eyes on the sky above him. And finally... one of those tall plants with small flowers that may be overlooked. Pity really because their flowers are quite charming and the plant, which is a Verbascum or Mullein, contains high levels of Rotenone which we use to treat head lice and scabies. Apparently the US government also uses it to kill fish in rivers but why they should wish to do this is beyond me.

This little track seems to lead back up into the village so that will make a nice circular walk. 

The Extra Bit

^[1] http://culture-of-peace.info/books/history/crete.html

So far on the bird table we've had birds, cats and a black rat but this is one animal that I was rather surprised to see, especially as the bird table is only four feet from my bedroom window. It's an endemic Cretan Stone Marten which lives only here and on a few islands in the eastern Mediterranean. It is slightly smaller than the European Stone (or Beech) Marten of which it is a subspecies. It's not totally unusual to find them around human habitation at night but even so, four feet is quite close. I'm taking it as the ultimate proof that I do not snore like a chainsaw (whatever Christina might say).

Photographic Bit

Many of you have asked me what photographic equipment I use so here's a quick rundown on the cameras used for each picture. 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.

Picture 1 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Konica Minolta

Picture 2 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Konica Minolta

Picture 3 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Canon EOS 1300D

Picture 4 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Canon EOS 1300D

Picture 5 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Canon EOS 1300D

Extra Bit Trail Camera RD1000

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)

See detailed pictures on Flickr

Read more about the flora and flora of the island in The Nature of Crete (Flipboard Magazine)

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

Cretan Flora

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

The Springs of Paraspori

Autumn crocus, Colchicum pusillum

We'll continue to make our way northwards today and gradually drift eastwards as we approach the zenith of our circular tour. I have found, in the thirteen years I've been on the island, that Crete has very distinct changes of seasons. Soon after the autumn equinox, clouds begin to make their way back, nervously encroaching upon the wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies of summer, and eventually the rains will come. This valley to our right is the perfect place to admire the acres of sky above us and there's a rocky outcrop just here where we can be monarchs of all we survey so let's get out and do a bit of rock scrambling. Magnificent view isn't it? But look what I've found nestling in between the rocks at our feet. The first Autumn Crocus of the year. This is the earliest that I've seen one, my previous observations have been three or four weeks later in the year.

Hello, what's this? It appears to be a pot handle of some kind. I've no idea how old it is, it could be Minoan, Roman or made last week. I shall have to take it home and show it to a lady I know who's potty about such things. I'll let you know when I find out a bit more about it. Meanwhile we may or may not have a clue in the landscape. If you look down there to our left you can see a pair of incongruous outcrops. These are the remains of a hill fort called Monte Forte (which, rather unimaginatively, is Italian for Hill Fort). It was built early in the 13^th century when the Venetians held the island and spent about a hundred years amusing itself by being occupied and reoccupied by opposing forces before an earthquake put a stop to all that malarkey in 1303. It was rebuilt in the 14^th century but no-one seemed to have a use for it and it gradually fell into rack and ruin. Whether or not this has anything to do with our pot handle I'm not sure but the Museum of London is in possession of a jug of similar vintage, the handle of which looks remarkably similar (to my untrained eye at least).

Parent Bug, Elasmucha grisea

Enough of the history, let us carry on to Paraspori and have a look at these springs and see if we can find some wildlife. So, this is the spring, set in a pleasant picnic area shaded by massive plane trees and I've found someone rather interesting on this stone wall. Most shield bugs, and this is one, are not renowned for being particularly attentive mothers; they lay their eggs in little cases and then wander off and forget about them. This one however is called the Parent Bug and she will look after her offspring, carefully rounding up any adventurous individuals with her antennae, right up until the third instar (which roughly equates to our teenage years) when she will allow them to move off in small groups to forage for their favourite foodstuffs which is the sap of various trees. After that they gradually disperse. 

There's a little path leading down from the picnic area with a rather fine Ivy hedgerow alongside it. Ivy is very important at this time of year as it is coming into flower when many other plants are still waiting for a decent drop of rain and as you can see the wasps and bees are loving it. There's a Speckled Wood butterfly flitting about as well and some tiny white blobs that one may not immediately recognise as insects. These are Oleander or Ivy Scale Insects (Aspidiotus nerii) which attack both plants as well as palms and citrus trees among others. These are females and they will remain attached to the leaf beneath these waxy plates and give birth. The males, having done their job, fly off and die within a couple of days so they are rather more difficult to spot.

Penicillium mould on a fallen orange

Now, what do we have on the floor down here? An early fallen orange covered in a blue/green mould. Moulds are part of the fungi kingdom and are very important (though not always welcome) in the decay cycle of an ecosystem. This one is probably Penicillium digitatum (although it may be P. italicum they are very similar) and it lurks around in the soil of citrus growing areas such as this just waiting for the fruit to fall. It only needs a small chink in the fruit's waxy armour and it's in to the rich juices inside. Once there it reproduces millions of times, sending its thread like mycelia throughout the interior and producing its own spore filled fruits on the outside. The spores, when they hatch, are carried by the air; some to fall upon the soil and some to adhere to undamaged fruits. For this reason great care has to be taken when harvesting and handling the fruit because if it is damaged in any way then they're in like Flynn once more. These microscopic fungi are responsible for 90% of citrus fruits lost to infection after harvesting which is not good news for us but without them, then in the natural order of things, the nutrients bound up in the fruit would not be returned to the soil and it would soon become impoverished. Rot and decay isn't pretty but it is essential and a major part of the autumn season.

The Extra Bit

A couple of weeks ago we were debating whether we had found signs of a meteor strike. I am indebted to Chad Johnson at Learning Geology for showing me that this type of geological feature can be caused by the natural erosion of a dome. Thanks Chad.

Do you remember the mantis I found eating a shield bug last week? Well she's still sitting motionless in the same patch of fennel a week later apparently having moved no more than a few inches in the entire week. I haven't seen any more potential prey items on the fennel so she's either been snaffling them while I haven't been looking or she's getting very hungry. As her scientific name is Iris oratorio I've taken to saying “Good morning Iris” to her when I go out (much to the consternation of my neighbours who are wondering if they should send for the man with the straitjacket).

Photographic Bit

Many of you have asked me what photographic equipment I use so here's a quick rundown on the cameras used for each picture. 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.

Picture 1 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Canon EOS 1300D

Picture 2 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Handle: Canon EOS 1300D Jug: Museum of London (via Pinterest)

Picture 3 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Canon EOS 1300D

Picture 4 Nikon Coolpix S33

Insets Canon EOS 1300D

Picture 5 Canon EOS 1300D

Insets

Extra Bit Canon EOS 1300D

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)

See detailed pictures on Flickr

Read more about the flora and flora of the island in The Nature of Crete (Flipboard Magazine)

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

Cretan Flora

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

Descent Into The Milonas Valley

Now that we’ve made it all the way up here we’ve got to get all the way back again but this time we’ll come down the Milonas (or Miller’s) Valley. So first we must descend that evil looking slope .

Autumn Crocus, Colchicum pusillum

A quick look at the flowers before we start our descent, most of which we met on the way up, such as the little yellow Sternbergia but there are also these delicate little Autumn Crocuses. Pretty little things that those of you with long memories may remember we met once before when we visited The Waterfall of Milonas a couple of years back and I told you the story of a famous murderer. On the plus side though, it was the original source of the drug colchicine which has a number of uses including treatment of Familial Mediterranean Fever. This is a rather nasty human disease caused by a genetic mutation specific to people of Eastern Mediterranean origin.  Like nettles and dock leaves the problem and solution are to be found in the same place. 

Raven, Corvus corax

I see that our friends the ravens are keeping an eye on us from above. One of these days I’ll get a decent photograph but it’s difficult to hold the camera steady whilst spinning on a scree slope as you may have noticed. You may be forgiven for thinking that a raven is a raven is a raven but apparently not so. According to an analysis of  DNA taken from 72 birds across the northern hemisphere they are all the same apart from those in California which are genetically different.^[1]  (I can’t help feeling that this may explain a lot about Californians in general). Incidentally I’ve seen a lot more ravens about this year and at lower altitudes. I wonder why?

Seed Bug, Lygaeus pandurus

Watch your step coming down here, it really is quite treacherous underfoot. I usually find that using the plants as stepping stones rather than trying to step between them gives you a better purchase. I see we have a couple of seed bugs down here, one adult and one nymph. Both the same species as far as I can see; Pistachio Red Bugs. A bit of a misnomer really as they’ll sup sap from a multitude of plants. They’re very hardy little bugs, as happy up in the mountains as they are down on the coast, so you can’t help admiring them.  Talking of the coast, you can just about see it from here (the sea at any rate). 

Darkling Beetle, Raiboscelis coelestinus

We’re aiming for that track below us but first, a fallen pine tree to investigate. Let’s sit down here a while and poke about among the decaying branches and see who’s home. What have you got there? A smashing little Darkling Beetle, no bigger than my thumbnail.  These are cosmopolitan beetles that you can find from the driest deserts to the wettest rainforests and are omnivores, like ourselves. If you want to live all over the world then it pays not to be too fussy. If you look closely you can see that this one has a blueish sheen and that, along with the pattern of dimples on his back helps us to identify him. He goes under the name of Raiboscelis coelestinus if you’re taking notes.

And here we are back on the track that leads to the church. Next week we’ll see what’s lurking in that gully but first – let’s rock. A couple of weeks ago we were looking at minerals and now I’d like to draw your attention to some of the rocks that are lying around, of which I’ve collected a few on the way down. So what’s the difference between a rock and a mineral? To illustrate: the church is sat upon a limestone outcrop. Limestone is a rock which consists primarily of two minerals: calcite and aragonite. Both of these minerals contain the same elements: calcium, carbon and oxygen but they’re put together in a different way. Simply, elements make minerals make rocks. We too are a collection of elements put together in different ways which we get, via plants and other animals, from rocks. So on our way down the Milonas valley we’ll have a little look at the chemistry of life as we go and see how we’re all bound together with the planet on which we live.

The Extra Bit

Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros

The first Black Redstarts of the autumn have arrived on the south east coast. I spotted this female on the way up and there was a male on my gate post as I left home this morning. These birds usually appear in November and overwinter here. They form a part of our ongoing phenological study (see Phenomenal Phenology).

^[1] California Ravens are a Breed Apart

LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

See detailed pictures at http://www.inaturalist.org/login  (search - people-stevedaniels-observations)

Cretan Flora

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

The Waterfall of Milonas

Hiking boots are the order of the day today, or at least stout trainers. We’re off on a three and a half hour trek into the hills and valleys to find a waterfall. As you know, water is a scarce commodity here in south east Crete so after the autumn rains start falling in the Thriptis mountains it’s nice to go and find some.

The first Black Redstart of the year

And once again, before we’ve hardly moved out of the front gate, there’s something of interest. You see the bird on next door’s aerial, bobbing up and down and calling a solitary cheep? That is the first Black Redstart of the year. Time for a recording shot. Wildlife photography isn’t always about getting the best picture, sometimes it is a tool for simply recording an event. Recording the first Black Redstart is something I do every year as part of my phenological record (see Phenomenal Phenology for more on this fascinating subject). One would think that their arrival would coincide with worsening weather in central and eastern Europe where they breed but despite autumns being progressively warmer in these areas the Black Redstarts are arriving earlier each year. Curious; we’ll have to look into that.

Autumn Crocus

It’s beautiful to be walking in the early morning sun and now we’ve left the road behind us and started up the track it’s just us and the buzzards wheeling overhead. Do you know the story of Catherine Wilson? No? Well her story is connected with this little flower growing on the bank here. This is the Autumn Crocus and I always find it flowering in November. It contains the alkaloid colchicine which is used pharmaceutically to treat gout. Like most medicinal plants in the wrong hands it is a deadly poison. Catherine Wilson was a 19th century British nurse who is thought to have poisoned seven victims with colchinine from this flower after encouraging them to leave her money in their wills (the victims not the flowers). She was hanged of course.

Sea Squill and Tree Spurge

While we’re on the subject of flowers you’ll have noticed that apart from the Autumn Crocus there is not much in bloom at the moment so here’s a tip. Take photographs of the early growth stages and note in your field diary where the plants are. Keep coming back periodically and photograph the plants again when they are in flower. Then you can combine the pictures as I have with this Sea Squill (which you’ll remember was flowering last month on our way to visit the Octopus's Garden ) and this Tree Spurge which you’ll find in flower down here from January until March. You’ll be surprised how your plant identification skills improve when you don’t just concentrate on the pretty flowery bits.

Spot the Birdie

Brace yourselves, we’ve got a couple of short, sharp climbs now but I promise you that the views will be worth it. Here we are with a commanding panorama of the limestone cliffs and that massive bird over there would appear to be the legendary Roc. Oh no.. it’s a lichen covered rock. That’s the problem with two dimensional photographs, they just don’t convey the awe inspiring sense of perspective that we are enjoying up here, let alone all the rich smells and the chatter of bird song around us. 

Aquatic Snail

I’ll bet you’re glad that you changed out of your flip-flops but we’ve reached the little aqueduct that forms the last part of our walk to the waterfall and the going is easier now. If you’ve ever walked the vertiginous levadas of Madeira don’t worry, this aqueduct is nothing like those (I still shudder at some of the drops). Just around this bend and here is the waterfall… or rather, it isn’t. It’s as dry as a bone. I must admit that I haven’t been here at this time of year before but I would have expected at least a trickle by now. No matter, there’s still a small pool of water at the bottom so lets delve in and see what we can find. Apart from the inevitable mosquitoes we seem to have some aquatic snails here. You can tell a lot about aquatic snails from the direction in which their shells coil. (The University of Michigan has a great on-line snail key) and I think that this may well be Stagnicola palustris. [I have since been able to identify this as a member of the Melanopsidae, most probably Melanopsis buccinoidea which has been previously recorded on the island. SD 17/11/2014]. Any malacologists out there care to comment?

Southern Maidenhair Fern

I do believe that I can hear a steady drip, drip, drip. Yes, here we are. Not exactly a waterfall but at least it gives us a chance to see the stalactites forming. And here growing on the walls we have some Southern Maidenhair Ferns which brings us back to the plant kingdom. Generally when we look at plants we tend to go for the attractive flowering plants, the magnoliophytes, but there are many other types of plant as well such as mosses, liverworts, horsetails and ferns such as these all with different and fascinating methods of reproduction. Incidentally, did I ever tell you, I read somewhere that the Navajo smoke Maidenhair Ferns for insanity. Whether to cure it or promote it I can’t quite remember.



Until next week – happy hunting.

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LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

AquaworldAquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)