A nice white ball, but what is it?
Linda van Wiel sent me a message stating that she had encountered a white sphere and then sent me a photo. In that photo you do indeed see a white ball, but if you look closely, you can see that the ball does not have a smooth outside. We are dealing here with a myxomycete with the beautiful name tree pimple. In the beginning, the tree pimple has white, bristly hairs. Later, this fruiting body of the tree pimple becomes grey-brown and powdery.
Tree pimples are mainly found on dead stumps of conifers, especially Norway spruce and Scots pine. Myxomycetes or slime molds are actually not fungi, because they can move. Myxomycetes are characterized by a slimy stage. This is due to a unit of fused cells in which the original nuclei remain.
What is the name of this creeper?
Martin Neggers sent me a photo of a plant with beautiful green leaves and a sky-blue flower. In addition, you can see that the flower has a yellow-white center and what is also striking are the beautiful dark stripes. We are dealing here with a relative of the Veronica’s, or the prizes of honor. In this case it is the big speedwell that also has a very nice scientific name: Veronica persica.
The Veronicas belong to the plantain family, as do the narrow plantain. In our country we know 23 wild varieties of Veronica’s or prizes of honor. Originally the great speedwell was found in the Caucasus and has spread across Europe from there. Large speedwells prefer to grow on nutrient-rich soil and therefore indeed in or near fields such as the field at Oxrooi in Stiphout. The name speedwell comes from the German Ehrenpreis (15th century), a combination of Ehre and preisen, or praise or praise. Or the name could be derived from a statement by Rembert Dodoens, the well-known botanist from Mechelen (1517 – 1585), who gave the plant honor or praise for its medicinal properties.
Which animal with long blades is sitting on the window of the garden room?
Gerry Dortmans saw an insect on the window of the garden room and sent me a photo. In that photo you see a small brown spotted insect with very long feelers. I think we are dealing here with a moth called the spotted longhorn moth. The family of long-sprit moths all stand out because the feelers are much longer than the rest of the body, especially in the males. Females have shorter and thicker antennae. The caterpillar of the spotted longhorn moth is mainly found on bilberry, blackthorn, but also on oak.
Is this insect a stick insect?
Carlijn van Oirschot and her daughter went to the frog pond in Oostelbeers to catch and put back tadpoles. But she also found an animal out of the water, which indeed, as she writes, resembles a stick insect. So her question is, is there one? The answer is no, because the insect in the photo is a rod bug. Rod bugs have a dark brown elongated body with very thin and elongated legs. They belong to the water scorpion family and are fairly common in standing water. There the rod bugs live among the aquatic plants, close to the surface. At the back of the body, this bug has a thin breathing tube, which is also a bit reminiscent of a sting, but it is not. In addition, rod bugs stay well close to the bank and if danger threatens, these bugs keep themselves dead and in that position they really look like a twig.
Which plant is here close to the horse pasture?
Alex Haarlem sent me a photo of a rosette and he wondered which plant comes from this and whether this plant is dangerous for horses. In the photo you see a rosette with large green leaves and in the middle the leaves have gray felt-like hairs. We are dealing here with a rosette of the genus mullein from the family of helmet herbs, of which the mullein is one of them. Personally I think it is indeed the mullein and then Alex doesn’t have to be afraid of his horses at all.
I recently heard from a good friend, a real horse lover, that horses like to eat mullein when they have breathing problems. In the past, people also used the flowers of the mullein when they had problems with their respiratory system. In addition, Leonhart Fuchs described in his book that the hairy plant can be smeared with tar and thus used as a torch. But don’t try that.
Wild in the Netherlands: brave badger – AVROTROS
Publication: 5 Sep. 2018
You can recognize him by his striking black and white head stripes: the tie. It is a social animal that often lives in families. In the evening the badger becomes active and starts its day… It is a nocturnal animal that leaves its castle at dusk and goes in search of food together with other badgers or alone, up to a distance of one to two, sometimes four kilometers. After the wolf, the badger is our largest land mammal. The fox is not inferior to a badger in length, but the badger weighs more: an average of 12 kg.
Which plant is this, never seen
Betsie van den Dungen saw special plants in Helvoirt along the Molenstraat in the verge and she wondered what kind of plants they are. In the photo you see stems with alternating dark brown parts and pale brown parts with a grainy elongated cap on the head. We are dealing here with the stems without chlorophyll and with spore spikes on top. These are the fertile (fertile) stems of a plant called horsetail or field horsetail. These fertile stems appear early in the spring. After about two weeks, when the fertile stems have lost their spores and thus begin to wither, the leafy green stems of horsetail emerge. Horsetail often appears in unhealthy soils and is toxic to many plants, as well as to horses.
Forbidden turtle on a fen in Oisterwijk
Stephan Krabbendam saw a turtle on one of the fens in Oisterwijk and he suspected the yellow-bellied turtle. His question is, is that name correct? He also wondered if they belong here, he didn’t think so. You can actually see a turtle in the photo. The name of this turtle is letter turtle and then the subspecies yellow-bellied turtle. I myself dare not say whether it is the subspecies yellow-bellied turtle or the subspecies yellow-eared slider. I see too few characteristics of the animal in the photo for that. But unfortunately, nowadays more and more of those tortoises can be found on the Dutch fens and other ponds. Very annoying, because they kill a lot of native fauna. Letter tortoises are real predators, roaming around here now because idiot people are tired of having pets and then just dump them in nature. So don’t do that and don’t buy turtles as pets. Fortunately, since 2016, the letter tortoises have been on the list of invasive exotics established by the European Union (“Union List”). This means that there is a European ban on the possession, trade, breeding, transport and import of letter turtles. In short; all those dumped turtles come from the illegal trade or from bad pet stores.
Nature tip; Stars above the Kampina
Saturday, April 23 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m
Senses
In nature it is still really dark at night. All your senses will be sharpened. Prick up your ears and take a good look around you. You may hear an owl or see a bat or a deer. Our forester will tell you all about the nightlife on the Kampina. The astronomical expert of the Astronomical Association WEGA will guide you through the wonderful world of astronomy.
This excursion is aimed at adults. Older children are welcome accompanied by an adult.
More information:
• Registration is required, can be done via this link https://ticket.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurmonumenten/nl/flow_configs/9/steps/select-your-tickets/show/647808
• Starting point; Huisvennen car park – Roond, Boxtel
• Bring binoculars
• Wear sturdy walking shoes.
• Wear clothes that suit the weather.
• Always check yourself for ticks afterwards.