Devils- bit scabious Succisa pratensis, is found throughout the British isles on unimproved grasslands such as those found along established hedgerows, wasteland, meadows and pastures. Violet, globe-shaped flowers It has pretty, globe-shaped flowers which come in a variety of shades of blue from navy through to violet, and is in bloom from around June toContinue reading “Devils-Bit Scabious”
Tag Archives: #Butterfly
The Brimstone Butterfly
The Brimstone Butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni, is one of our largest butterflies and quite often the first to be seen as it languidly flaps across the landscape after emerging from its winter hibernation. It is thought to be the original butterfly after which the common name for this type of insect came from, as its wingsContinue reading “The Brimstone Butterfly”
The Cuckooflower
The Cuckooflower The Cuckooflower, or ‘Lady’s Smock’, has the scientific name; Cardamine pratensis, loosely translating as ‘peppery tasting herb of the meadows’ with Cardamine deriving from the Greek ‘kardamon’, meaning ‘pepper grass’, and the source of many plant names, especially ones used in cooking, and pratensis meaning ‘of the meadow’. It is a very pretty,Continue reading “The Cuckooflower”
The Blooming of the Bluebell, Part One; When and Where
The Bluebell The flowering of the native British Bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, is one of the surest signs that summer is just around the corner. Along with the blooming of the Snowdrop and Daffodil it is one of the three events which mark the flow of spring from the cold of winter through to the heatContinue reading “The Blooming of the Bluebell, Part One; When and Where”
The Emperor of the moors, Saturnia pavonia
The Emperor moth, Saturnia pavonia is one of the most spectacular insects you could hope to see in the British isles and the only member of the Saturniidae family to be found here. The large ‘eyes’ on its wings give this moth its scientific name; ‘pavon’, which is Latin for Peacock, and it is indeedContinue reading “The Emperor of the moors, Saturnia pavonia”