The Intrepid Adventures of Fred the Damselfly

This is the time of year where newts have started laying eggs in our pond, the flag iris, which I divided last year, is shooting up along with the other water plants AND, unfortunately, blanket weed. Its also the time of year that I scoop up and remove some of said blanket weed as well as beech leaves which come in from the nearby hedge. I try to do this carefully and put anything alive back into the pond and leave the wet pile of leaves on the side just in case. However this time of year sees nesting blackbirds and house sparrows in the hedge who give these piles a good going over so if there is anything left in there it's probably more likely to get eaten.

Damselfly nymphs, who have overwintered for a year or two in the pond, are now thinking about crawling up a stalk or leaf of vegetation and transforming themselves into fully-flying damselflies. In our pond there appears to be more than one species based on their appearance such as whether they have banding on their tails (damselflies have 3 tails) but I'm not sure what exactly is in there. I know large red damselflies visit the pond and at least one type of blue damselfly.

This is the story of one called Fred though.

One day, as I was scooping out the dead leaves from the pond, I noticed one damselfly nymph swim its way over to the pond edge in front of me. Normally they like to keep themselves hidden and I often find them clinging to the undersides of leaves. Peering down I could see this nymph was a strong red colour different from the usual brown or green so it looked almost ready to transform into an adult large red damselfly. In fact he was even poking his head out of the water and starting to climb up the pond's side. I say 'he' as it's the male large red damselflies that are bright red whilst females are darker and so I, perhaps rather unimaginatively, christened him F(red) as a result.

Meet Fred

Fred crawled up to the edge of the pond ..and..fell back in. Again he tried this time managing to haul himself onto one of the flag iris leaves but, again, tumbled back into the water. I was beginning to think Fred wasn't quite ready for this.

It was at this point Fred made a beeline to the shallower parts of the pond where there was more vegetation. But unfortunately also where there was a predatory newt. He swam straight towards the newt and she, seeing a possible meal, opened up her mouth and bit him. I probably shouldn't have named the damselfly really, names cause attachment even in this short of time and I admit I even let out a small 'no!' as he was bitten.

But somehow,
somehow Fred escaped. He managed to wiggle free and clung onto her leg only letting go as she swam back into the pond's depths rather oblivious to what was going on. Newts aren't the smartest of creatures. Was Fred okay though? Was he injured? I saw a couple of eyes through the leaves.. so he was still there at least.

He began crawling out again. but rather than climbing up a stem to burst out of his his exoskeleton as a newly emerged adult, Fred seemed determined to go for a wander across the lawn. I kept an eye on him as sparrows and blackbirds paid a visit to the garden to check out the soggy piles of leaves. I was starting to question what on earth Fred was up to as he slowly made his way to the hedge where the birds' were nesting; towards the mouths of hungry chicks. I tried to encourage him away and up some vegetation thinking maybe he hasn't twigged onto what he was meant to do. But he wasn't interested. Somehow he made his was back to the pond's edge and decided to plop back into the water. Maybe the time wasn't quite right.

Before long though he was off again on another adventure across the lawn. I watched him for a while but I needed to take the dog out for a walk. I questioned whether I should leave him to it, but seeing his past behaviour decided to put him on the flag iris and let him decide from there where things were a little safer.

On my return I scanned the lawn to see if he had decided on yet another walk but couldn't see him anywhere. But then I saw on the flag iris a newly emerged large red damselfly was sitting and getting ready to fly. It could have perhaps been one of the other nymphs in the pond but to my mind it was Fred.

He sat there drying his soft wings in the sun, shifting round on the stem as I looked at him in case I had plans to eat him. I checked from time to time to see how he was doing but had to head indoors to do other things. A pair of blackbirds visited the area and began sorting through the leaf pile for any invertebrates to make a meal of. The female headed to the drive whilst the male hopped around at the far end of the pond. Fred was at the near side of the pond so currently out of range but I gave them both a stern glare to not eat Fred.

Next I checked both Fred and the blackbirds were gone. Whether his luck finally ran out with the blackbird or whether he finally flew off to pastures new I'll never know. Damselflies are so vulnerable just sitting there and waiting until they are capable of flying.. and Fred seemed an extremely reckless one at that. But I like to think that he made it.

Pet Breed Focus: The Sheltie Guinea Pig

This month we look at the Sheltie, a long-haired breed of guinea pig that is also known as the Silkie in the USA.

Guinea pigs, also known as caveys, originate from the Andres in South America where they grazed on grassy plains, and despite their name are rodents. They were first domesticated for food and fed household scraps and were important in traditional healing rituals for diagnosis, religious ceremonies as well as given as gifts. 

They have enjoyed status in western Europe as a household pet since their introduction from traders in the 16th Century where they were kept as exotic pets by the upperclass including Queen Elizabeth I. Due to their docile nature and responsiveness to handling and feeding they were used for experimentation since the 19th Century giving the rise to the expression 'being a guinea pig'. They have now largely been superseded by rats and mice. 

It's unknown as to exactly why they are called Guinea pigs but there are a few theories. Traders may have brought the animals into western Europe through Guinea, or 'Guinea' may be a corruption of the word 'Guiana' an area of South America although guinea pigs not being from that region. The English at the time also used 'Guinea' as a term for far away land, and perhaps the 'Pig' part maybe due to the noises they make

The Sheltie was first bred in the UK in the 1970s by breeding Peruvian breed guinea pigs with Self smooth blacks and was recognised as a breed in 1973.

They are known for their soft, shiny long hair that sweeps back away from the face and down the body. 

They differ from the Peruvian by having less dense, long fur that falls in a different pattern that doesn't naturally part in the centre. As well as this their face is not covered by a fringe. From above their hair resembles a 'teardrop' shape. Their fur can be any colour for showing with the exception of tan. 

It is important that this breed of guinea pig gets used to brushing and cleaning as this is integral for the care of their coat and makes this a more high maintenance breed. The fur needs to be trimmed; especially at the rear to prevent matting. 'Barbering' can be an issue if kept in groups as they may chew other's fur so give plenty of hay to keep occupied.

As well as for their appearance they are known for being laid back and gentle animals.

Rewilding: An Introduction

You may not have heard the term 'Rewilding' but it is a growing practise in the environmental sector that seeks to improve the state of nature through various methods one of which is the reintroduction of species such as large carnivores. With the Lynx UK Trust applying for a licence this year and a decision in Scotland on the fate of the beaver trial underway rewilding is certainly something that's under the current spotlight.

So what is it?

Rewilding is about large scale conservation. It looks to restore and protect natural processes and core areas of wilderness. It does this by connecting up areas of fragmented habitat and through the reintroduction of species with a focus on keystone species. These are important as they have a disproportionate impact on the species around them and play key roles in ecosystems; hence the name.

Apex predators are typically keystone species as they exert important top-down influences on food webs and their removal sends waves of effects throughout - something known as a trophic cascade. This is why the reintroduction of large carnivores is so important to restore areas of wilderness.

Reintroductions sometimes use proxy species - these are non-native species that are considered where the wild species has become extinct, such as the use of Konik ponies to replace the wild taipan. More controversially its been suggested to use elephants in Brazil to improve the plant productivity as the Americas have lost much of their past mega fauna such as the giant sloth. But there is a risk when using non-natives of unwanted interactions between species which can cause more harm than good.

Why large carnivores are important
The absence and subsequent reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the USA is a great example of the importance of large predators. The loss of wolves saw deer numbers multiply leading to overbrowsing and overgrazing of the vegetation. This meant that the forests, despite looking healthy, were in fact slowly dying as their seedlings were eaten and the trees were unable to replace themselves. It had other effects too - there was less carrion for invertebrates and other scavengers, coyote populations grew and their prey populations shrank.

The comeback of the wolf to Yellowstone saw significant changes to the area as the following Youtube video illustrates:

Rewilding in the UK?
The loss of large predators in the UK by the 18th century has had implications for our countryside including the overpopulation of deer, particularly in the Highlands of Scotland where the habitat has been degraded as a result. This impacts on other species as well as costing forestry and agricultural sectors. There is a now a large focus on the Uplands for reintroductions and rewilding because of these impacts. The Uplands are also areas of lighter human population densities and farmland is these areas are often not productive enough to make a profit and are subsidised.

Many rewilding projects have taken place in mainland Europe, including reintroductions, but as the UK is an island it has to be an active choice to bring animals in to reintroduce. Suitable individuals need to be taken from healthy wild populations where they have the experiences necessary to be able to survive which captive animals lack. There are also many licences and regulations which further complicate matters. Rewilding should not be just seen that something that’s good for wildlife it brings many other benefits particularly if we look at issues such as flooding. 

Having a loose concept of what rewilding was I decided to attend a workshop on rewilding held by A Focus on Nature (AFON) at WildWood animal park in Kent to learn a bit more about it. We looked at the work TreesForLife are doing in the HighLands of Scotland, the Great Fen Project in East Anglia, beaver reintroduction, attitudes to lynx reintroduction and a great deal more. So much in fact that I couldn't fit it all in one post. 

So.. more to come perhaps?