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What’s wrong with my nests?
Annelies van de Wier-Froomen has had two bird houses hanging by the balcony for three years and still no bird has built a litter in it.
On the photo she sent me I see two nest boxes hanging very close together, that doesn’t work. The competition is then too great for the birds. In addition, a nest box is intended for great tits. That has a gap the size of about an old hob.
The other nest box is intended for blue tits, which has a gap the size of an old -fashioned guilder. It is therefore wise to remove one of the two, otherwise they will both remain empty. What also helps is if there are some thin sturdy sticks on or near the balcony edge with some shelves horizontally. Then the birds can first explore the neighborhood before they dive into the cupboard.
Why do my fine -spreading needle needles?
Louis Dielis has a number of fine spruce, but some of them have become dry and parts have died. This has everything to do with a too high water level for a longer period. As a result, trees can suffocate.
What about that? Trees extract oxygen from, among other things, air, but also from the air -filled pores in the ground. They do this through their roots. If those carrots are in the water, they can be filled with water for too long. This creates an oxygen deficiency and trees can no longer absorb nutrients. We call this suffocation.
This therefore has direct consequences for the health of the trees and that can be seen in the trees. The leaves of deciduous trees then start to brown, just like the needles of conifers. You often see this first on the outside of the tree.
On a dead birch all weird bumps
Corry Willekes saw a dead birch with all weird bumps. She wonders what these are weird bumps. We call this weird bumps warrel nod.
Such a warrel nod is a tumor -like growth disorder that is caused by fungi or bacteria species. These fungi and bacteria cause unrestrained growth in the infected wood cells. The warrel nodes take on extraordinary shapes that differ greatly from the normal growth pattern of a tree. They can stick to the trunk as large balls and even the whole trunk, as here in the photo. They can also enclose the root.
Despite the fact that these warrel nodes grow a piece every year, the growth of the tree is not inhibited.
Damage bottom tree in Goirle, who did that?
Nico Uitenbroek walked along the Voemoijk in Goirle when he noticed something special. He saw damages at the bottom of a thick tree and sent me a photo of it.
If you look at the photo very closely, you see that the tree has damage that looks like a sort of track. We are therefore dealing with the gnawing track of a beaver. In addition, I see a kind of channel in the foreground of the photo. That is often a sign that there has been a beaver. Beavers let themselves slide into the water.
Now I don’t know how high the water stood there near the Voogdijk. But if it could be done somewhat, a beaver there certainly made use of that high water level and thus invite the tree. Due to the high water level, several beavers have been busy also flattening the somewhat further -lying trees for a better water regulation for them.
Female of the horned brick with a different bee on the back
Theo de Rijk saw a female horned brick with a female with a male of the ordinary brick bee on the back. Unfortunately the latter is not certain, the animal is unrecognizable because of the many mites on the head at that man.
About twenty species of bricklapers live in our country, the red masonry of which is the most famous. The horned mason bee is the earliest under the brick bees. The man who is on top of the horned brick bee is, as I already indicated, full of mites. Probably these are lifts because mites cannot fly themselves, so they seek bees that take them to new nests.
I think this man was so heavily loaded that he in turn was looking for a lift. Once the lifters have realized this, they switch to the female of the horned brick bee, who then brings those mites to her nest.
In general, mites do nothing with the mason bees and not with the brood. In fact, they are useful, because they clean up all the waste of the – in this case – brick -bee.
Horned brick with full action – Rooryck Geert
In the video below you can see how horny brick bids work on their offspring. Crawling in front is to install food packages. Then they crawl backwards to add an egg to this. Then they build a wall in it.
This happens about three times. The first legs are females and as a conclusion she lays a male egg. They will be the first to be the first year.
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