Literally! Norman (original site manager of Lakenheath) brought a reed stem over to volunteer Nigel and I yesterday morning to show us a creature that, for a certain stage of its life, lives within the reed stem itself. Fen wainscot moth larvae burrow into the reed stem near the bottom then make their way upwards, feeding and ‘depositing’ as they go. When they’ve eaten all they can from one reed, they will exit somewhere near the top and move onto the next stem. The photo below shows the larva midway up this particular stem.
Photo credit: Ali Blaney – fen wainscot moth larva - 'Peepo'!
You can easily spot a reed that has a wainscot moth living within it, as the top section of the reed dies and turns brown. On closer inspection you will then spot an entrance hole and maybe an exit hole too if they have made full use of the stem and moved on. The photo below shows the dead top of the reed stem and also a picture of an adult fen wainscot moth.
Photo credit: Ali Blaney – reed stem, Paul Harris – adult fen wainscot moth
The flight season is July-August and the moths fly at dusk, we’ll have to see if we catch any adults in our traps over the next few weeks. We’ll let you know if we do!
A lot of bitterns were spotted last week during our survey so numbers appear good but we have no figure yet for potential nests. Hopefully things will become clearer as our surveys progress. On Tuesday morning Katherine and I watched two bitterns circling round for such a long time that I think we stopped watching them in the end! It was certainly the longest bittern flight I’ve ever seen and they were croaking to each other as they went. Possibly a male chasing a female? He’s leaving it a bit late if so! One species that hasn’t left it late this year is the marsh harrier, as we have juvenile birds popping out of the reedbeds left, right and centre. The dark juveniles are easy to spot as they have chestnut heads and throats and generally lack the pale forewing of the female. Watch out for food passes between the adult birds and these youngsters, they don’t always catch the prey but when they do you can’t help but marvel at the aerobatic skills.
So it’s all go within the reedbeds at the moment with harriers everywhere, bearded tits being seen regularly and if you look closely, all sorts of invertebrate excitement taking place. And don’t forget Brandon Fen, where turtle dove are still being seen and heard (I saw one yesterday morning finally!) With a hot spell forecast for July (do we believe it?) hopefully we’ll get to see more butterflies and dragonflies about too – it’s about time!