Autumn approaches

So it's getting a little chillier, a little wetter, a little darker; the seasons are rolling through their cycle. It's time to feed the bees, make sure there are plenty of stores to keep them safe throughout the winter.

Pumpkins and unusual squashes are beginning to appear in the stores and farm shops. Warming soups and stews are increasingly on the dinner menu.

Honey bees on helenium flowers

It's been incredibly rainy. But interspersed with this inclement weather there has been some lovely sunny spells. The fungi are thriving on the damp woodland floor.

The berries on the Whitebeam shine bright red against the blue sky. And the ivy is in flower, tempting many flower visitors, including the rather pretty Ivy bee.

The gorgeous ivy bee, Colletes hederae, is a species of plasterer bee.

The leaves shine pretty hues of red, yellow and brown.

If you go down to the woods today...I guarantee it'll be pretty peachy!

The wildlife of Kefalonia

Today's post is a little about the marvelous wild - and not so wild - life of Kefalonia; being a tad nature crazy, we try not to miss an opportunity to photograph it! And there was plenty to shoot. Surprisingly though, a lot of it was rather fast moving in the heat!

Beautiful Scarce swallowtail butterfly. They fluttered around the whole Greek island. The British subspecies is confined to the fens of the Norfolk broads. This is partly due to the distribution of the sole larval foodplant, Milk-parsley. The continental subspecies is less fussy and will feed on many kinds of Umbellifer, such as Wild Carrot.

There were lots of lovely wild cats, very curious and very hungry. This was one of the downsides to the island, there is no spaying or castrating, so the numbers of cats, kittens, dogs and puppies grow in the spring and summer, when the tourists feed them, and then die of starvation and/or disease in the winter months. Shame really to think these lovely cats are doomed.

Ants are everywhere, in great numbers. Worldwide they are a very successful species. BB found a large dead centipede in the swimming pool and wanted to bring it home. However, as it was dripping wet, I laid it in the sun to dry and within minutes it was being carried off by these ants, using 'co-operative transport'. Love their little pointy bottoms! The Mediterranean Tiger centipede is the largest in Europe and can grow up to 150mm in length. They are nocturnal and venomous and can give a nasty bite.

Lots of damsel and dragonflies

And bee hives, seemingly everywhere. No sight of people keeping just one or two in their back garden, more that a few kept 250 plus hives. Interestingly, by late August most of the wildflowers had been burnt to a crisp by the Mediterranean heat, so what were the bees foraging on?

There weren't many wildflowers at this time of the year, but here's a honey bee on a thistle

The beaches of Kefalonia are nesting grounds for Loggerhead turtles. They spend most of their life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. Along some of the local beaches these nests were cordoned off to prevent disturbance. Loggerheads are considered an endangered species and are protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

We saw several turtles in the sea when we were out swimming

The island pollinators are heavily dependent on the exotics planted in gardens and hotel grounds

Sleepy head!

This brown butterfly fell into the sea :o(

Little rustlings in the undergrowth turned out to be these small brown lizards.

Cats, cats and more cats!

This is Cheeky, who every day lived up to his name.

The ants provided much amusement; this was a 30 feet long trail (before heading off into the bushes) of Harvester ants.They carry amazingly large loads of seeds and such back to the nest.

Cicadas everywhere, the noise so characteristic of the Mediterranean!

This is the European hornet, Vespa crabro.

Caught up with a local beekeeper who kept 250 hives in his 'spare' time, he's also a mechanic! I bought some of his excellent Thyme honey.

BB feeds a bite of apple to our neighbour horse

Pretty livestock, being looked after by the traditional shepherd, who each evening herded the flock from one field to another

This is Spotty, he's very sweet natured.

This is Jasper, getting a little too comfy on our table!

Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is one of the largest bees in Europe. It is a solitary bee and makes its nests in dead wood. They are incredibly pretty bees, but a little intimidating when they fly close by.

The Oriental hornet, Vespa orientalis, is a hornet which looks very similar to the European hornet, and is quite common  in the Mediterranean area. It is a rather large specimen!

Lots of pretty bugs and beetles hiding in the foliage.

A group of 'our' kittens arrive to dine on left-overs!

So there you go, a sample of the amazing non-human life on a very special island!

Hope you are having a peachy week!

Totally bee heaven!

On Sunday, we finally had the opportunity to visit a garden we had wanted to see for some time, Sussex Prairies, based near Henfield in West Sussex. And boy, was I in for a treat!

The couple who own the garden, Paul and Pauline, have created the most wonderful place to wander amongst the plants and art installations. And the bees...gosh I think every bee whether bumble, honey or solitary must have flown in from miles around. So many species of Heleniums, Echinaceas, Veronicastrums, Helianthus, Monarda, and Altheas, it was incredible!

Steve, Sam and the in-laws enjoying the buzz of the garden

Six acres of  lush planting

Without doubt the star bee plant of the day was Veronicastrum, it was so covered in bees, that it looked like the flowers must be covered in invisable flypaper!

The range and combination of flowers was just lovely

These lovely ladies were having a party on one of the many sunny flowers

Digitalis ferruginea - popular with the bumblebees

Rudbeckia galore!

Flying saucers!

Love the bird boxes

Lots of fun art work dotted round the gardens, much of it available to buy

The in-laws taking a rest

The grasses were lovely too, but more for humans - not for bees!

I would whole heartily recommend this garden, the naturalistic planting was truly inspirational. Some pathways had areas of planting which were so heavily plastered in bees, one almost needed to wear a beesuit to walk past. No doubt bees from every hive within at least a 5 mile radius must have been visiting that day!

 
And in case you get thirsty and hungry, there's a lovely tea shop and plant nursery on site, so bring plenty of cash!


www.sussexprairies.co.uk