Butterfly Copulation

I went to see the Tropical Butterflies at the Sensational Butterflies Exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

On the East Lawn is a tent in which warm humid conditions have been created, the planting is tropical and a hatchery is releasing hundreds of butterflies to fly around the visitors.  The butterfly flight is leisurely, and they stop often to bask or feed. They were quite attracted to the bright green dress I was wearing.  Mostly they communicate with each other by the release of pheromones, particularly when it comes to attracting a mate.

It is fascinating to be able to observe their behaviour in such close quarters.  One pair were copulating. In butterflies this consists of the male transferring a packet of sperm called a spermatophore into a pocket on the female's abdomen called an ovipore. This male had the female at close quarters and was curling his abdomen up to meet the female. It seems a tricky business; he tried quite a few times.  I wasn't sure that they were even the same species!  However, fertilisation does not necessarily immediately follow.  The female may collect spermatophore a from a number of different males until she is ready to combine it with her eggs.  She will lay eggs and then deposit the sperm on them, using the last spermatophore first. So some males produce a sticky secretion after they have mated with her to try to prevent her mating with other males.

Fungi on dead silver birch

Lots of signs on spring in the woods.  Bluebells are coming along nicely, the new leaves hurriedly photosynthesising before the tree buds open and block out all the light.

But I am still finding great examples of fungi.  And although some people find them depressingly a reminder of death and decay, I am conscious that they have a very significant role to play in the carbon cycle, and without them releasing Carbon dioxide, there would indeed be no new life.

The local woods have a lot of dead birch, and are rich in fungi.

I found a huge specimen of the Razor Strop Fungus, Piptoporus betulinus.  
This was about 30 cm across

This is the Oyster Fungus, Pleurotus ostreatus 

Fomes fomentarius 

King Alfred's Cakes

Daldinia concentrica

These fungi are found on hardwood trees such as beech.  Their common name derives from the legend of King Alfred who took shelter with a peasant woman and had promised to watch some cakes  for her, but failed to pay attention, and the cakes turned to cinder.  

The paler pinky brown fungi are younger versions in the asexual stAge of their life cycle. As they mature, they turn black and release spores from the apical pore.

Raw Prawn

King Prawns were on the table today!  We spent some time observing their external features.  

Prawns are of the Arthropod phylum, which are animals that have jointed segmented bodies.  The sub group is Crustacean, which have an exoskeleton of chitin and calcium carbonate, and are generally aquatic.  The class is Malacostraca, which typically have five head segments, eight thoracic segments and six abdominal segments.  The head has a pair of compound eyes, two pairs of antennae for detection of vibrations and odours, and compound mouthparts.  Some of the appendages are specialised for food gathering.  The thorax has swimming and walking legs, and the abdomen has uropods that act like paddles.

We removed the exoskeleton from the head and dissected out the eyes which are on stalks. Interestingly, the stalks are responsible for the production of the hormone that causes moulting.  When the prawn outgrows it hard exoskeleton, it takes on a lot of water to create a gap between the exoskeleton and its soft tissues.  The exoskeleton is shed as a new one takes it place.

Orange Gorse Fungus

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One of the jelly fungus found on gorse. Probably Tremella mesenterica.  The name mesenterica refers to the intestines, so it is probably so called because it is convoluted like them.  However, the amount of water it takes up varies considerably with the climate and season and it may take on a variety of forms.  Another of its names is Yellow Brain Fungus.

This specimen was photographed near to Capel Garmon in Snowdonia

This is a flowering example of Gorse. It is a woody, thorny shrub with a profusion of bright yellow flowers that dominates some landscapes where it may be the climax community.  Often seen at the coast.

Mobbed by mallards

 Mallards are our most ubiquitous duck and due to the popularity of 'feeding the ducks' at the local pond, they have adapted their behaviour.  No sooner was I spotted approaching the pond, that a great frenzy of activity erupted in the duck population; those nearby immediately climbing out of the water and hurryingly waddling (if you can hurry and waddle) in my direction; others quacking furiously; some flying in and landing with a big splash. Presumably they thought I had food. ( I didn't. Please don't feed the ducks! Our processed food is not good for them, and food left around encourages pests like rats)

As they came near I was able to observe their features closely.  Whilst most male mallards were fairly typical with an iridescent greenish head, a white and black tail with a curl, and a bright blue/purple speculum (in case you are wondering, that is the bar or flash of colour in the secondary feathers that the birds use to signal their species to each other), I also saw this brown variant.  I say variant, because it is the size and shape of a mallard, but not the usual colour. Their are many domestic variants of mallards.  Some do breed with wild types and show hybrid features.

Jaws

You can tell a surprising amount from teeth.  Bones and teeth the most highly mineralised in the body.  They are connective tissues, which are tissues in which the living cells are suspended in a matrix of protein fibres and impregnated with inorganic minerals.  In bone the living cells are osteoclasts and the inorganic mineral is calcium.  The purpose of this is to make the tissue hard and durable, which is why bones, and teeth, remain long after a body has decomposed.

The dentition is informative about the diet and therefore a diagnostic aid to identification.
Broadly speaking, the animals can be divided into herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.  This classification is reflected in the type and number of teeth.

Herbivores have a teeth that are adapted for cutting plant material and then chewing it for long periods to break down the cell walls.  They have sharp incisors which act like scissors, and then a number of broad flat molars that grind in a side to side or round and round motion (chewing the cud).

Carnivores have large, sharp canines, for puncturing and tearing meat, and their jaw opens up and down to provide great force, but does not go side to side to chew.

Omnivores have small incisors, small canines and some molars, which is an adaptation to their varied diet.

We can deduce by the number of molars that this animal was a herbivore and most likely a sheep. (Also because it was found in the Welsh hills!)