Toys for boys

The local farmers have abandoned the scythe for newfangled machinery. And each year in the village the old and treasured are put on display.

It's a nice slice of country life on a perfect Spring day. Our lane is bursting with greenery...

...and the neighbour's gardens are in full bloom.

Two of them fly the Aeschlen ob Gunten flag with pride - a hand sickel as a reminder of pre-industrial days.

And the perfect end to a perfect day - red wine with a red sky.

Early insects

I've been watching the mason bees emerge from their mud corked nests in the bee hotel. As soon as the adults emerge they begin the process of nest building again. In fact they only live for a few weeks - in which time the eggs of the next generation are encased in mud, where they will remain for almost a year until next Spring. Here is Chelostoma florisomne nest building.

After hatching, the Chelostoma rest in the sun...

..then they begin collecting pollen for their nests. They prefer buttercups, and I have read that the males may spend the night curled up inside the flowers. Cute.

Also emerged are the bigger Osmia bicornis (rufa). They will visit a wide range of flowers.

Thanks to Dr Andreas Muller of Zurich for identifying the bees. He is a world authority. I have added his web page under 'worth a look'.

For the butterflies, many Mazarine Blues in the meadow. The adults only fly for a few weeks per year, around May-June. They lay their eggs, and the hatched larvae remain in this stage until the following Spring. The preferred host plant is Red Clover, as well as Kidney Vetch - both abundant in the meadow. I will cut the meadow in about 6 weeks time, and I wonder if the larvae will already be present by this time, and if they can survive the cut - maybe by dropping onto the stubble. I will start checking for larvae.

And here is the distinctive behaviour of the Brown Wall, sunning itself on rock - thus the name. They use a range of grasses as host plants - no shortage there.

 For the beetles, Tigers are stalking the Bromus forest on the dry and warm south facing slope...

 ...and a Violet Tanbark Beetle (Callidium violareum) rests on the house wall. He should be on a conifer - where his larvae could make galleries under the bark - not in a meadow. A little lost.

And jewels flying around the terrace - Rose Chafers.

May: the meadow month

The meadow grows from strength to strength. Pulling out the Perennial Ryegrass and False Oatgrass in the autumn has paid off, and the dominant grass is now Upright Brome - which is allowing the flowers more air to breath.

The Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (Tragopogon pratensis) is really taking off...

...as are the usual suspects:

Really impressive is the Yellow Rattle I planted as seeds last autumn on the west side - they now carpet the area, and you can clearly see the reduction in grasses

Here is the meadow in the village from which I collected the seeds - note how the flower diversity is concentrated among the Yellow Rattle

And for a display of the difference in management between semi-natural and improved grassland - look no further than the view from my terrace