There is also a new episode of the Stuifmail podcast every weekend. Listen to the podcast here:
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A tree with lots of holes
On September 9, Bea Winnemuller saw a tree near the forest hut on the Bleijendijk estate, the trunk of which was full of holes. These holes are all located at a short distance in the tree. Her friend thought this might have been woodpecker work. I also think this is woodpecker work. Apparently the tree is a lime tree and lime trees have mineral and sugar-rich tree sap, which great spotted woodpeckers find very tasty.
The holes do not appear to be wide and only a few millimeters deep. It is very beautiful and special woodpecker work of the great spotted woodpecker. These holes are called drinking holes. It is very special that Bea and her friend came across this, because this has hardly been observed in our country. At least, there is still little information available about observations.
In many other European countries a lot has been written about woodpeckers that cut rows of holes into rings in the tree trunk, especially lime trees, to use the mineral and sugar-rich tree sap as a supplementary food source. The lime tree on the Bleijendijk estate does not have such beautiful artistic rings, but they are clearly drinking holes. The drinking holes in the trees can be used for years on end. You can see this clearly on the cross-section of such a trunk. Every year, the old drinking holes become deeper and deeper in the wood due to the annual growth in thickness. They then remain visible as black spots between the annual rings. On the smooth bark of beech, hornbeam and American oak, these drinking hole scars are sometimes visible for up to seventy years. Would you like to read more about this, then see this link.
Strange circles on an oak leaf
Susan Morcus was on holiday in Germany and saw something on an oak leaf in early September. She would like to know what it is. What you see on that pedunculate oak leaf are galls: satin knot galls. These disc-shaped galls resemble small disks with a distinct center, surrounded by a border of golden-brown, silky hairs. They can grow up to three millimeters in size and can be found on the underside of oak leaves. Usually in large numbers. Each gall contains one larva. Responsible for this, together with the oak tree, is the satin button gall wasp, also called the mint gall wasp. After mating, the small (maximum 2.4 millimeters in size), hymenoptered female insects lay their fertilized eggs on the oak leaf. After this, the satin knot galls are formed on the underside of the leaves. Later in early spring the females emerge from the satin button galls lying on the ground. These females lay their unfertilized eggs in the emerging leaf buds of oak trees and the resulting galls are called pustule galls. Males and females emerge from the pustule galls and then the cycle begins again.
Seen a special butterfly, what is its name?
Fabian Bastiaans saw a special butterfly on June 22. He would like to know which butterfly he saw. The butterfly that Fabian spotted is a moth called the variegated berry butterfly. The habitat of this moth consists of moist forests, hedgerows, gardens and heathlands. You can encounter them in those areas from approximately May through August. Variegated berry butterflies can sometimes be found resting on leaves of blackberries, among others. It is very nice to see that they act dead when they are caught or touched. In addition, their colors and markings form beautiful camouflages. Both butterflies and caterpillars are not eaten by birds because of their striking signal colors. These caterpillars can be found on various host plants, such as currants, gooseberries, raspberries, black currants, plums and hawthorns, but also on various deciduous trees.
Beautiful photos section
In the beautiful photos section, this time a photo taken by Rosemarie de Wit. She captured a squirrel with a hazelnut in its mouth. According to Rosemarie, the animal has been working for weeks to replenish its winter supplies.
Nature tip
On Sunday, November 16, from ten in the morning to twelve in the afternoon you can participate in a walk with nature guides from IVN Grave on the Tongelaar estate.
One of the greatest characteristics of autumn is that it is a colorful time of year. The color of the leaves on the trees changes from green to yellow or red before they slowly but surely fall from the trees. Mushrooms in different colors rise above the ground and cloud fields form spectacular drawings in the sky. Nature is changing quickly now, it is preparing for the winter to come.
More information:
· Participation in the walk is free, a voluntary contribution to nature association IVN Grave is appreciated.
· Start is the Tongelaar parking lot, navigate to the Hoogedijk in Mill.
· More information, see this link.
· The walking route is unfortunately not suitable for people with wheelchairs or strollers.
· It is recommended to wear comfortable waterproof shoes.