Tag: bugs

#365daysofbiking In our nature

May 16th – Oh, the flowers. Maybe it was the wet, grey winter. Maybe it’s the horrible, ongoing pandemic. But something made me notice the sheer diversity of blossom, garden and wildflowers.

From rhododendron to cornflower, from horse chestnut to roses, the colour and variety is endlessly fascinating – and most are alive with bugs and beebuzz.

I must point out here that I have never before this year noticed how beautiful and multicoloured horse chestnut blossom is. Old pal Linda ‘Mad old baggage’ Mason pointed it out to me, so I took a look. She was right. It’s absolutely stunning. Worth enlarging those photos.

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July 12th – One indicator of an advancing summer I always have mixed feelings about is buddleia. This purple-flowering, profuse shrub, sometimes known as the butterfly bush is great for bugs and bees and lepidoptera of all kinds – but the one issue I have is it’s the shrub of urban decay.

This versatile plant will grow anywhere it can find – gutters, chimneys, soot-filled fissures in brickwork, and once it takes hold it will destroy masonry as it grows. It’s the sign of dereliction in summer, growing old disused rail lines, factory yards and edgelands of all types.

A fascinating, but destructive plant.

June 27th – Since we’re in high, hot summer we’re now in a phase of darker flowers – purples, reds, dark blues. And that means the thistles are coming out.

Spotted flowering on industrial wasteland in Pleck, this gorgeous thistle was alive with tiny back bugs.

I immediately felt sorry for the plant. But who knows? They may have been doing it good…

Fascinating, all the same.

April 10th – returning down the dam, another sign of spring. The bugs have risen.

This isn;t a murmuration of starlings, or even a flock of sparrows. I don’t know exactly what they are, but the air was thick with drifting, buzzing, irritating clouds of insects that got in my hair, eyes and clothes.

Interesting how they all seem to emerge at exactly the same natural trigger point. In a day or so, they’ll be gone.

An annoying, but fascinating beit of nature.

May 18th – A late evening run to the supermarket, and one of the (very few) downsides of the summer was very, very evident; riding over Chasewater Dam the air was thick with midges and other bugs, which can be seen if you click on the image above. Glasses are essential to prevent them getting in the eyes, and they get everywhere – in you shirt, ears etc. Over the next few months my protein intake will crank up by a fair percentage.

Annoying, but one of the hazards of the season.