Forest ranger Frans Kapteijns shares his knowledge of nature every week. Anyone can submit questions via [email protected]. This time Frans pays attention, among other things, to concerns about ivy climbing on trees, who makes small piles on a sand path, a beetle spotted on the Brabantse Wal, but which one? and saw a strange thing on the edge of a barn door, what is it? Part one of this Stuifmail was already published on Saturday.
Which beetle could be seen during a walk on the Brabantse Wal?
Marianne Wijten came across an insect during a walk on the Brabantse Wal. She wonders what she saw. She told me that she could clearly see that it was a beetle. I couldn’t agree more. Now which beetle exactly, because I have never seen this beautiful beetle before. So I grabbed the books and the internet. Eventually I came up with the name heather keelsprit. I also asked an expert about this. He also mentioned this name. This special beetle belongs to the ground beetle family. In the literature about this you can read that it is a diurnal beetle. These heather beetles are mainly active in the spring and the new/young heather beetles, the so-called fresh animals, are active during the autumn. The menu of these carnivorous heath beetles includes ants, caterpillars and other insects. The area where this species occurs mainly consists of heathlands, as the name suggests, and especially open spaces. They can also be found in dry, barren grasslands. Observations of this heather beetle have been made in the provinces of Limburg, Utrecht and Gelderland. Also in the Kalmthoutse Heide border park and now also on the Brabantse Wal.
The multi-colored keel beetle is a relative of the heath beetle and you can encounter it more often. Especially in Brabant, because sandy soils are the habitat of this beetle species. You can find the beetle in heathlands, in gardens and in forests, and often under stones.
Does an ivy on a tree kill that tree?
Henk van Steen wonders whether trees overgrown with ivy eventually die? In any case, he ensures that his ivy does not grow on his trees. In principle, ivy is not harmful to trees, because the ivy attaches itself to the tree with suction cups, but does nothing else. Not even the sap flows from the tree. What is possible is that – if ivy sits on such a tree for years and grows upwards over the branches – the tree becomes too heavy. The tree must support the weight of the ivy. The tree will then thicken the branches, causing extra nutrition and energy to go to those branches. But this is at the expense of the growth of the tree. This causes the other branches and twigs to grow less quickly every year and then the ivy becomes the boss in the crown. For the tree this means: less photosynthesis, because there is less leaf growth. The tree then weakens and is easy prey for bacteria, fungi, insects and so on. This often means the end of the tree. But if the ivy is restricted around the trunk of the tree, there is no problem.
Who made those little piles on the dirt path?
Marian Hendriks saw lots of piles on a sandy path in Sint Oedenrode. She wonders what happened there. I think the perpetrators are earthworms. We call these kinds of small twisted piles of sand worm droppings. Worm droppings on the surface are mainly found in humid weather. But why exactly, is the question? Normally we don’t see that worm poop. It remains behind in the underground passages. The fact that the worm poop is on the surface here has to do with the two reasons why earthworms come above ground.
First, earthworms, such as the large blue-headed worm, emerge above the ground in rainy and humid weather because otherwise they will drown in their own tunnels. Especially after heavy showers. In general they can handle something, but a lack of oxygen in such a saturated soil does create a problem. Secondly, they like to take advantage of the moist conditions to forage for food. Earthworms need moist skin to breathe. When it rains, the ground is wet and they can move safely on the surface without drying out. The question remains how does that excretion, those piles of sand, come to the surface? Earthworms therefore come out to get air, among other things. They excrete the digested soil, with mucus, which has contained food, at the end of their corridor. The feces then accumulate around the entrance to the tunnel of such an earthworm. Marian saw that.
What weird thing was on the edge of the barn door?
Annie van Boekel saw a strange thing on the edge of her barn door on February 14. She really wants to know what it was. I immediately knew what it was when I saw Annie’s photo. What Annie found on the barn door is probably the stomach of a small mammal. It might be a rabbit.
In the photo above you can see such a stomach at the top left. You can also read something about such a stomach in the new Field Guide to Animal Tracks Europe (2019) by my good friend Annemarie van Diepenbeek. It states that diurnal birds of prey such as the kestrel, the tree falcon and the buzzard sometimes leave the stomach and bits of the intestine of prey animals behind as food scraps. These are located near rest areas or lookout posts.
Beautiful photos section
In the beautiful photos section, this time a photo taken by Antje De Bruyn. She captured a false wolf spider. A great photo of a beautiful specimen, look at the markings on the body!
Nature tip
On Saturday, April 11, from half past two to four in the afternoon you can participate in an excursion to the MASt ammunition depot. in the Loonse and Drunense Dunes. Join us in search of traces that remind us of the explosive past of the forest area. This former ‘Munitions Ausgabe Stelle’ of the Germans was blown up on September 5, 1944.
The MASt. During the Second World War, Kaatsheuvel was an ammunition depot for the occupying forces. At the time there were more than a hundred bunkers and various residential buildings. Nowadays virtually nothing remains of these buildings, but there are still plenty of traces from that time in the terrain, such as bunker walls, trenches, machine gun nests and deep craters. During the walk we try to give you an idea of what this complex looked like about 85 years ago and we will tell you why this area is so unique and valuable.
In addition to the cultural-historical value, the natural value also plays an important role here. What is the future of this special area? During this walk of about two and a half hours (about six kilometers long), our ranger will take you along and tell you everything about this fascinating area.
More information:
• Registration is required and can be done via this link.
• Departure point is the parking lot at café De Roestelberg at Roestelbergseweg 2 in Kaatsheuvel, see this link.
• Please note: this concerns the parking lot at the front of café De Roestelberg (there is also a parking lot at the rear).
• Participation costs eleven euros, members of Natuurmonumenten pay 7.70 euros.
• This excursion is aimed at adults. Older children are also welcome if accompanied by an adult.
• Wear sturdy walking shoes.
• Wear clothes that suit the weather.
• Always check yourself for ticks afterwards.
• Dogs are not allowed.
