Hinterland

Hold your hand out in front of you, at arm's length, fingers pointing upwards. Gradually move it towards you. At a certain point, it will become fuzzy and out of focus, thus proving that you really cannot see what is right in front of you. The same is true of the hinterland, the area beyond what is visible, or known. A description, which for most people, describes a semicircle, of 500 yards or so, around their front gate. The area that we pass through every day and seldom give a second glance. So, this is the project for the week and it's the perfect time to do it. You don't have to use the car and nobody is going to look over your shoulder and ask what you are doing. They may think you a little eccentric but, at the moment, eccentricity is the new normal. Think of it as a public service: you're something to watch on a dull day, while staring out of the window, at nothing in particular.

White Mustard, Sinapis alba

I am lucky with my hinterland, as it contains olive groves and a small, seasonal stream. Even so, it is an area which I've tended to neglect over recent years, for the simple reason that it has become too familiar. As I needed some White Mustard, Sinapis alba, yesterday, for a little project involving snails, I revisited the banks of the little stream. Here, I knew that white mustard grew, in some profusion. I took my camera with me, to see how many different types [orders] of creepy-crawlies I could find.

HEMIPTERA Calocoris nemoralis

The HEMIPTERA, or True Bugs [as opposed to the general term 'bugs' which covers all creepy-crawlies, especially in American English], were represented by two or three different species of Mirid Bug, such as this Calocoris nemoralis of the Miridae family.

COLEOPTERA Oxythyrea cinctella

The COLEOPTERA, or Beetles, came in the form of this Middle Eastern Flower Scarab, Oxythyrea cinctella of the Scarabaeidae family, as well as a good number of 7-spot ladybirds, Coccinella semipunctata of the Coccinellidae family.

LEPIDOPTERA Acontia lucida

The LEPIDOPTERA, or Butterflies and Moths were much in evidence with Small White, Pieris rapae, Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, and Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria, butterflies, all flitting about in the sunshine. The only one to sit still and be photographed was this Pale Shoulder Moth, Acontia lucida, of the Noctuidae family.

HYMENOPTERA Apis melifera

The HYMENOPTERA, or Bees, Ants and Wasps, provided a nice, buzzy, Spring soundtrack as the Western Honey Bees, Apis melifera, of the Apidae family, went about their business of collecting pollen with which to make honey. In the process of which, they inevitably transfer pollen from flower to flower and ensure a good harvest for next year.

ORTHOPTERA Acrididae family

The ORTHOPTERA, or Grasshoppers and Crickets, were busy jumping about and these two landed on the same rock at the same time. One, I think, is a Chorthippus species and the other, a Band-winged Grasshopper, both of the Acrididae family.

All the above are insects [having six legs], but there was one arachnid [having eight legs], bustling about in the undergrowth: this lovely Harvestman. Most people think that this is a type of spider but it isn't. Harvestmen form the order OPILIONES and, despite their size, are totally harmless. Their body shape is different to a spider and they only have one pair of eyes, whereas spiders have three or four pairs. This one, investigating my arm, is a member of the Phalangiidae family.

OPILIONES Phalangiidae family

I nearly forgot the White Mustard, which I came out to pick in the first place. I haven't been able to photograph any birds today as my bird camera is en route to Cumbria with about a third of my furniture. I, of course, am locked down, the same as everybody else. However, I can tell you that there are Chaffinches, Great Tits, Sardinian Warblers, Greenfinches, Blackbirds and Hooded Crows all heralding the arrival of Spring. Oh, and I also saw a little mouse in the garden the other day, so the small, furry mammals are about too.

Until next time, stay safe, avoid people and enjoy nature. I wish you all well, wherever you may be.

The Quick Guide To Creepy-Crawlies not only gives pictures and easy descriptions of twentytwo insect orders (in both their adult and juvenile states), but also pages of molluscs, myriapods, isopods, arachnids and all the other creepy-crawlies that you are likely to find in your hinterland. Suitable for adults and children alike, I am putting it on special offer (a third off, except in the USA where a minimum price applies) until the end of April. So, order a copy, take your camera or phone with you, photograph what you find, and identify them when the book arrives. Congratulations! You've just got yourself a new hobby!

Was £14.99     $17.31    €16.14

Now £10.00    $16.48    €11.52

Crete Nature Catch-up
Series 1 - Welcome to Lasithi	Series 2 - The Rhythm Of Life	Series 3 - A Journey Begins
Series 4 - The Milonas Valley	Series 5 - This Is Ferma	Series 6 - Upland Villages
Series 7 - The Forty saints	Series 8 - Sunday Strolls	Series 9 -Stormy Weather

Steve's Books

The Eggs of Saramova A science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction. A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and it starts right here in Crete). The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies All you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or snail very simply and find out more about it. Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels  A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex.

See sample pages of all my books and latest blogs and keep abreast of latest publications here: http://author.to/SteveDaniels

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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

Cretan Flora Flowers of Crete BIRDS OF CRETE Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

Wildlife, Weeds and Who's Who in the Undergrowth

White Mustard

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing this whimsical diary of the Cretan countryside for a year: taking you with me as I wander up hills, delve into caves, venture beneath the waves and generally poke my nose under logs and stones to the chagrin of the animals dwelling beneath. It’s even more surprising that so many of you from all around the world continue to traipse around with me every week. Thank you. So get your boots on once again, grab your sweep nets and we’ll go and explore the weed strewn hillside for the last time this year and see what we can find on this fine, sunny morning.

This looks like a fertile hunting ground. Untouched by man since some new olive trees were planted here a year or so ago we’ve got plenty of grasses; mallow and crown daisy in leaf and a large patch of white mustard in flower. There are a lot of similar looking plants in the mustard (or cabbage) family, all having four yellow petals, and two of the key things to look at in detail are the beak-like fruits (called siliquae) and the hairs (or lack of them) on the leaves and stem.  Armed with this information and a good field guide you soon get adept at recognizing them.

(Coleopterans) Beetles

The beetles are back in numbers I see, and at all stages of development. Beetles undergo complete metamorphosis, that is, they start life as an egg, hatch out as nymphs and then pupate (like these ladybirds are doing) before emerging as adults in their many and varied forms. Some are big and showy (like this furry flower chafer) and some are really tiny like this little fellow I’ve just caught in my sweep net. Judging by his diminutive size and those clubbed antennae it could be a skin beetle (aka leather, carpet, larder beetle etc. as their larvae eat a number of man made products and can be quite a pest). The adults however tend to go for pollen which explains what he’s doing up here among the flowers.

(Hemipterans) Bugs

OK, your turn. There are two things to remember when wielding a sweep net. One, make long, low sweeps back and forth, just brushing the tops of the plants. Two, when you look into the bag make sure you don’t poke someone’s eye out with the other end. No, I’m fine, I ducked just in time. Oh, and a third thing: carry it with confidence. A middle-age person carrying a butterfly net may look eccentric but a middle-aged person trying to pretend that they’re not carrying a butterfly net looks a right plonker. Let’s see what you’ve caught. Aha, bugs by the bucket load, marvellous. This begs the question: what exactly is the difference between a bug and a beetle? Aside from the fact that ‘bug’, particularly in American English, is used to refer to any insect, scientifically bugs and beetles form two different orders (Hemiptera and Coleoptera).  As about half the insects that you come across in the field are either one or the other, differentiating between the two is a useful trick. Flight and bite is a good way to remember which is which. Beetles have hard, wing cases (elytra) which lift apart allowing the wings beneath to unfold and rather roundish faces with a pair of jaws (mandibles) used for chewing. Bugs have softer, more membranous wings (particularly at the ends) and often rather narrow faces always ending in a tube (proboscis) used for sucking up liquids. These then are all bugs: pointy at one end and soft at the other.

Orthopterans (Crickets and Grasshoppers)

While we’re on the subject of insect orders, I’ve rounded up a couple of other closely related fellows: a cricket and a grasshopper. These form the order Orthoptera and are easily recognized by their long, muscular legs adapted for jumping. Females of both types have an egg laying tube (ovipositor) at the back but only crickets have a pair of sensory organs (cerci) protruding from their rear ends. So, the chap on the left is a cricket, the chap on the right a grasshopper.  On the whole crickets tend to look somewhat flatter as well as they hold their wings against their bodies whereas grasshoppers hold their wings up more, like the roof of a house.

Gastropods (Snails and Slugs)

Let’s lay down in the grass a little and prod about in the roots. And here we find some lovely little slugs and snails (which tells me that this grass is probably a bit damp). Whereas beetles, crickets and the others fall into the class ‘insects’ (having six legs) within the phylum ‘Arthropods’ (animals with their skeletons on the outside), slugs and snails are in a class of animals called gastropods along with the occupants of the sea shells you find washed up on the beach. The thing they all have in common is a broad, tapered foot on which they glide about. They are part of the phylum ‘Molluscs’ or ‘Mollusks’ in American English. (languages evolve like species: if you separate them by a continent they have a habit of going their separate ways). This phylum contains all the soft bodied animals without a backbone which includes most of the items on the seafood menu such as clams, oysters, squid and octopus. 

Yellow-legged Gull

All of which reminds me – it’s nearly time for lunch. The weather seems to be closing in a bit too. Just look at that shaft of sunlight bursting out from the clouds over the sea. You can almost envisage angels descending from heaven. 

Well, maybe not angels but there are plenty of Yellow-legged Gulls flying about. They usually form an overwintering colony on the smooth rocks to the east of Livadi Beach so I must pop down there later on in the week to see how they’re doing this year.  Until next week then, when a whole new glorious twelvemonth awaits us – happy hunting and Happy New Year.

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LINKS:

Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Flowers of Crete

BIRDS OF CRETE

Crete Birding

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)