April 1st
3 April
Hard to
follow, its departures are swift. Its wings beat so fast that they are
hardly
visible in these photos.
It long slender legs resting on the flower, it feeds on a cowslip. Its
long
proboscis specialises it in flowers with long floral tube on whose
nectar it
feeds.
Size: 8-12mm.
It
looks impressive,
but it is perfectly harmless, it is its very long proboscis (7mm) that
we see.
It holds it horizontally.
It rests a moment, allowing us to observe its proboscis and its
two-coloured
wings.
Its larvae parasitize the nests of solitary bees. They feed on the
reserves and
then on the larvae themselves. The female bee fly lays at the entrance
to their
underground nests still open while the bee collects the provisions.
7 April
During one of his
regular passages, the little blue shows a great interest in the birch
catkins hanging
upside down to one of them.
The nest box,
unfortunately, does not provoke the same interest...
Active
buzzing in the prunus.
Perseverance...
Why
the
credit for this orchid?
Because it is 18 years old, but it is not its birthday. She simply
hasn't
flourished since... 16 years!
So, 16 years of waiting, deserve a little picture, isn't?
The
beautiful Brazilian has finally flowered. It is Brazil's national
flower.
Genus Sophronitis, close to "Cattleya" it grows in southern Brazil
(Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo), at the top of trees in areas of marshes
along the
coast.
It took four months for the spathe to grow and that I began to hope.
And more
than two months for its buds, visible by transparency, emerge from the
spathe.
It is deliciously scented.
16 April
Speckled Wood.
[Pararge
aegeria] [Nymphalidae-Satyrinae]
(Tircis)
Spring
generation. There are usually two generations per year.
They overwinter in the state of caterpillars or pupae and emerge in
spring.
This one landed on a branch of bramble and accepted to be admired at
leisure.
Usually they have three brown ocelli, marked with a white central spot
in the
hindwings, this one has only a small point as third ocellus.
Size: 35-40mm.
Here
it is
in autumn (October).
On the rocks or in leaf litter they blend so well with their support
they are
difficult to see and often you not see them only when they fly. But
generally
they rest quite quickly nearby. It is a territorial butterfly.
Widespread,
there are two varieties: brown with yellow spots is the "Pararge
aegeria
Tircis", clearer with orange spots for "Pararge aegeria aegeria"
in the south on France.
Reverse.
Easter passed, and a blue tit and a great tit still pose a claw on the balcony, singing ... but unfortunately the nest is likely to remain empty this year.
17 April
Click for
the introductions...
Let's stay
with colours with baby common moorhen.
Another style.
20 April
White wagtail [Motacilla
alba]
(Bergeronnette
grise)
(Male)
All
black
and white in a grey coat.
We encounter it, scampering graciously shaking his head and swinging
the tail
in the grass meadows, chasing the insects that it catches by basing
them on the
ground.
Or flying undulating over the water to catch them in midair, as this
one will do
surely interested in the ballet of dragonflies.
Part of white wagtails migrate in the fall.
27 April
Orange Tip. "Aurore" in french (dawn).
[Anthocharis cardamines
- Pieridae].
It
likes crucifer
and has a preference for the Cuckoo
Flower
[Cardamine
pratensis], which earned him his name.
It is also called "Piéride du cresson" (Cuckoo Flower is also called "Cresson des
prés" ou "Cressonnette").
Here, a male gathers pollen from another crucifer: garlic mustard.
Only males have these magnificent orange spots, the females are white
with a
black spot and the edge of the wings black, like many of the Pierides.
They overwinter in the chrysalis state and many in April.
The other face is also pretty, mottled grey and green, a perfect camouflage in the vegetation.
A similar reverse, a little duller, for the female.
Garlic Mustard.
[Alliaria officinalis or Alliaria petiolata - Brassicaceae -] (Alliaire
officinale or Herbe à ail or Ail des haies)
Flowering from April to June
The plant spreads an aroma of garlic when crumpled and can be used in
cooking.
Cuckoo
Flower
(Cardamine des
prés) [Cardamine
pratensis].
23 April:
first common swift seen from home.
29 April
Common Brimstone.
[Gonepteryx rhamni
- Pieridae Coliadinae -]
(Citron (lemon, in french))
Well,
here
you must take
me at my word!
This butterfly is as bright yellow as the dandelion flower when it
sits. But
unless you can take it the flight you will not see the quality of lemon
yellow.
It sits with closed wings which beautifully mimic a green leaf, even
with the
veins.
These beautiful colours are for monsieur. Madame it is rather greenish
white,
with a reverse as well mimetic.
It
can be
seen all the year.
It was born in July, spent the winter hidden under a leaf, come out
again the
following spring to mate and lay eggs.
In May-June he still flies. Longevity of a year for this butterfly: a
record.
It takes even a short nap in the summer when it starts to be too hot,
when it
lives with low activity until the fall. At the first cold, it get to
sleep
again, with a leaf for mat, until the spring.
30 April
The hunter
sets off watching its prey...
Profiteers!
Cuckoo bee.
[Sphecodes sp .-
Hymenoptera -] (Abeille coucou).
Perhaps albilabris
the white labrum Sphécode.
But this is a matter for specialists.
Solitary bee, it burrows parasitizes other solitary bees. She lay in
the nest
of his "hostess" and its larva eats pollen reserves accumulated by
the latter. As it feeds in other's reserves, it has not tools, hair or
brushes to
collect pollen as the harvester bees.