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)

Gallivanting in the Grasslands

To read in other languages use: Google Translate

Grab the sweep nets and we’ll take advantage of this rare sunny afternoon and go somewhere we haven’t been yet. The weather has thrown everything at us this week: hail, sleet, storm force winds and we’ve had the lowest January temperatures for ten years or more. There is even a tattering of snow on the Thriptis Mountains – something we don’t usually see until February which is when we generally have our two weeks of wintery weather down here in the south east of the island.

This is a lovely area of grassland just a kilometre or so up the hill and we’re particularly looking for grasshoppers today but I’m sure we’ll find many other interesting things besides so, select your patch of grassland and get sweeping.

Slant-faced Grasshopper

Many grasshoppers, as their name suggests, spend their lives hopping through grass in great, prodigious leaps often augmenting this with short, whirring flights. This makes them relatively easy to catch with a net; you just have to disturb one, watch where he lands and which direction he’s facing then make a low sweep towards his head. Invariably he’ll jump straight into your net. By their very nature it’s difficult to get the close-up shots you need for identification while they’re hopping about like Tiggers on springs so I always carry a small plastic box with me to temporarily contain them while I photograph them from a variety of angles. When you let them go they often sit for a moment to get their bearings so you can photograph them in their natural habitat. That’s a nice one you have there, one of the Slant-faced grasshoppers. From the markings on the pronotum (between the head and the main body) I should say either Chorthippus biroi or Chorthippus bornhalmi.

Bermuda Buttercup and Broomrape

While we’re sitting here on these sun warmed rocks admiring our captures have you noticed that we are surrounded by a sea of green leaves with purple blotches? As the leaves are grouped in threes you may be forgiven for thinking that it is a type of clover but it is in fact the leaves of what is commonly known as the Bermuda Buttercup. A strange name as it is neither from Bermuda (it is originally from South Africa) nor a Buttercup (it is a type of Wood Sorrel). Very soon this area will be covered with its bright yellow flowers attracting insects by the score. And dotted between them will be some different, leafless plants with purple and white flowers. These are Broomrapes and the reason they are leafless is that they don’t photosynthesise like most plants but are parasites on the Wood Sorrell. They drain nutrients from their root systems proving that even in the plant world there is more than one way of making a living.

Gill Mushroom

And if we probe down here between the stems I think I see… yes I do… the first mushroom of the season. Small but beautifully formed it’s one of the gill mushrooms. Edible? Quite possibly, many of them are but I wouldn’t want to risk it without checking it out thoroughly. We’ll have to go fungus foraging sometime in the next few weeks and do a bit of identification work on the fungi we find. Meanwhile it is starting to cloud over as evening begins to draw in and that mushroom has whetted my appetite so we’ll wander back down the hill, have a nice hot cup of tea and some crumpets then have a look at some of our home based projects.

Mould growing on Moss

Now that we’re all suitably refreshed you may recall that last week we constructed a desk top mossary and found a couple of insect eggs amongst our moss samples. Well the moss is thriving even though the eggs haven’t hatched yet but we do have a development. In one corner a few silvery threads of mould have appeared. Moulds are part of the Fungi kingdom of course, the same as the mushroom, and incidentally, led to the development of antibiotics. We’ll let it mature a bit and then have a look at it under the microscope because they’re quite fascinating forms of life and really quite pretty when you get to know them.

"Alice"

You may have noticed that just outside the lab we passed a bird table on the way in. we used to get warblers, tits and all sorts coming to the table but the most I’ve seen this winter is four sparrows. A sad reflection on the state of the small bird populations in Europe but with such limited numbers it gives us the chance to study them as individuals rather than just counting their numbers. I was listening to a radio programme the other day about animal personality and was delighted to hear that someone had actually detected personality traits in Sea Anemones. So I thought that this year we’d take a closer look at the personalities of some of the animals that we see every day starting with Alice and Beatrice. The dumpy little lady on the right is Alice and she is first to the table in the mornings. She’ll sit down to a full breakfast with scarcely a glance up. Beatrice on the other hand is far more wary, only coming down to the table when she is sure that it’s safe, grabbing a few mouthfuls and flying off again, only to return a few minutes later to repeat the process.

"Beatrice"

So who has the greatest chance of surviving to pass on her genes? Is it slow and steady Alice who ensures she gets her fill but could fall prey to any passing cat or sparrowhawk - or fast and flighty Beatrice who may find that Alice has had all the food? It will all depend upon the balance between food availability and predator activity. In all walks of life there are times when fortune favours the bold and times when discretion is the better part of valour which makes the study of individual animals (including the human animal) such a rewarding pastime. 

Until next week – happy hunting.

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LINKS:

To read in other languages use: Google Translate

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)