Thursday, 11 October 2018
11-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - MEDITERRANEAN HEATH (Erica multiflora)
Erica multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin. It is a shrub which can grow up to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall. Between now and January, many Mallorcan hillsides are full of the Mediterranean heather of the Erica multiflora variety. The evergreen plant grows in abundance in Garrigues and pine woodlands. Now in the Autumn its spectacular and delicate pinkish flowers open, all clumped at the end of the branches.
According to the Herbario Virtual del Mediterráneo Occidental, the plant is called Bruguera or Brezo in Castellano, and is known in Catalan as Bruc d’hivern, Cepell, Ciprelló, Peterrell, Xipell or Xiprell.
As always, the plant is useful in a variety of ways. Bees love it and produce a very special honey from the Mallorcan Erica multiflora plant. Heather flowers and plants have been gathered for centuries to be made into herbal medicines. Heather tops were infused and used as a tonic to treat consumption, coughs, nerves, depression and heart complaints. Heather tea, liniments and ointments were used to help treat arthritis and rheumatism. The heather is used as one of the 38 Bach Flower Remedies.
Folk medicine considers the plant effective as a remedy for hyperlipidemia and in helping to reduce cholesterol. In mediaeval times it was thought that the plant could dissolve gallstones.
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
10-10-2018 RIO SERPIS GANDIA, VALENCIA - PUISSANT'S GREEN WINGED GRASSHOPPER (Aiolopus puissanti)
Name: Puissanti Grasshopper
Scientific name: Aiolopus puissanti
Type: Grasshoppers, Crickets and Locusts
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Grasshoppers
Color: Brown,Green
Habitat: Farms,Fields
Size: 20-25 mm
It is a resident Breeder.
Insect follows Acrididae family, and Orthoptera order. It is light brown with green, size is about 20-25 mm. Adults and nymphs feed on herbal plants. Back legs are strong and long, help them move through jumping. Adults lay eggs in groups in soil.
Aiolopus puissanti is a species of band-winged grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in southern Europe and northern Africa.
Aiolopus puissanti inhabits temporarily humid to wet grasslands along rivers, at lake shores or near the coast.
Aiolopus puissanti is more slender with longer wings than Aiolopus thalassinus. It is especially common in late summer and autumn, but difficult to watch because of its agility.
Aiolopus puissanti occurs in SW-Europe (Iberian Peninsula, S-France) and NW-Africa.
Tuesday, 9 October 2018
8-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - PINK CRAB SPIDER (Thomisus onustus)
Thomisus onustus is a crab spider belonging to the genus Thomisus. These spiders are found across Europe, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East and Asia. T. onustus reside in flowers in lowland vegetation. Females are distinguished by their larger size and ability to change color between white, yellow, and pink as a means of matching flower color. This cryptic mimicry allows them to both evade predators and enhance insect prey capture abilities. Males are smaller, more slender, and drab in coloration, usually green or brown. T. onustus is also distinguished from other relatives by its distinct life cycle patterns in which spiderlings emerge in either late summer or early spring. Furthermore, T. onustus have developed a mutualistic relationship with host plants where spiders feed on and/or deter harmful florivores while benefiting from the plant's supply of pollen and nectar, which T. onustus spiders are able to use as food sources, especially during periods of low insect prey abundance.
T. onustus are members of the genus Thomisus, which includes around 150 described species, and is well supported as being monophyletic. It is relatively morphologically homogeneous genus, with synapomorphies that include circular scopula hairs (when viewed as a cross section), bulbuses that are subequal in length and width, disk shaped tegulums, sperm ducts that follow a circular peripheral course through the tegulum, and a lack of conductors and median apophyses. However, some subgroupings within Thomisus are not well supported. The family Thomisidae encompasses over 2000 species of crab spiders including the common close relative of T. onustus, Misumena vatia, Thomisus spectabilis.
T. onustus typically reside on shrubs and within lowland vegetation, preferring warmer areas. They inhabit a wide variety of flowers and herbs, usually staying at the flowering peaks. T. onustus is unique among crab spider species in that it prefers to situate itself in flower centers, which have unique spectral properties, over petals. T. onustus are distributed across Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia (from Europe to South Siberia), Israel, Central Asia, Iran, China, Korea, and Japan, preferring warm areas.
Monday, 8 October 2018
8-10-2018 BAYREN GANDIA, VALENCIA - MEDITERRANEAN BROCADE MOTH (Spodoptera littoralis)
Spodoptera littoralis, also referred to as the African cotton leafworm or Egyptian cotton leafworm or Mediterranean brocade, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. S. littoralis is found widely in Africa, Mediterranean Europe and Middle Eastern countries. It is a highly polyphagous organism that is a pest of many cultivated plants and crops. As a result, this species was assigned the label of A2 quarantine pest by the EPPO and was cautioned as a highly invasive species in the United States. The devastating impacts caused by these pests have led to the development of both biological and chemical control methods. This moth is often confused with Spodoptera litura.
8-10-2018 BAYREN GANDIA, VALENCIA - MEDITERRANEAN BROCADE MOTH (Spodoptera littoralis)
Spodoptera littoralis, also referred to as the African cotton leafworm or Egyptian cotton leafworm or Mediterranean brocade, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. S. littoralis is found widely in Africa, Mediterranean Europe and Middle Eastern countries. It is a highly polyphagous organism that is a pest of many cultivated plants and crops. As a result, this species was assigned the label of A2 quarantine pest by the EPPO and was cautioned as a highly invasive species in the United States. The devastating impacts caused by these pests have led to the development of both biological and chemical control methods. This moth is often confused with Spodoptera litura.
African cotton leafworm is native to Africa and also resides in most regions of Middle Eastern countries such as Israel, Syria and Turkey. Specifically, the species' native habitat is F5 (EUNIS code), which is semi-arid and subtropical habitats in pre-saharan Africa. This species has also been found in Southern and Mediterranean Europe, mainly in Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
Species distribution mainly occurs through trade when egg or larvae get on the imported ornamentals or crops. Adult moths are often distributed by wind but are also transported by other species. Adult moths fly as well.
8-10-2018 BAYREN GANDIA, VALENCIA - SLENDER SOWTHISTLE (Sonchus tenerrimus)
Sonchus tenerrimus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name slender sowthistle. It is native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. It has been found as well in several other locations around the world, historically in association with ship ballast in coastal regions. It has become naturalized in a few places, such as California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.
Sonchus tenerrimus is an annual or perennial herb producing a slender, branching stem up to about 80 centimeters (32 inches) tall. The leaves are deeply divided into many variously shaped lobes which may have toothed edges or smaller lobes. The inflorescence bears flower heads lined with glandular, hairy to woolly phyllaries. They are filled with numerous yellow ray florets but no disc florets. The fruit is an achene up to a centimeter long including its pappus.
8-10-2018 BAYREN GANDIA, VALENCIA - SMALL WHITE BUTTERFLY (Pieris rapae)
Pieris rapae is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as the small white, in North America as the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly, on several continents as the small cabbage white, and in New Zealand as the white butterfly. The butterfly is recognizable by its white color with small black dots on its wings, and it can be distinguished from P. brassicae by its larger size and the black band at the tip of its forewings.
The caterpillar of this species, often referred to as the "imported cabbageworm", is a pest to crucifer crops such as cabbage, kale, bok choy and broccoli. Pieris rapae is widespread in Europe and Asia; it is believed to have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Europe, and to have spread across Eurasia thanks to the diversification of brassicaceous crops and the development of human trade routes. Over the past two centuries, it spread to North Africa (about 1800), North America (1860s), Hawaii (1897), New Zealand (1930), and Australia (1937), as a result of accidental introductions.
8-10-2018 BAYREN GANDIA, VALENCIA - COMMON QUAIL (Coturnix coturnix)
The common quail is a small compact gallinaceous bird 16–18 cm (6+1⁄2–7 in) in length with a wingspan of 32–35 cm (12+1⁄2–14 in).[10] The weight is 70 to 140 g (2+1⁄2 to 5 oz). It is greatest before migration at the end of the breeding season. The female is generally slightly heavier than the male. It is streaked brown with a white eyestripe, and, in the male, a white chin. As befits its migratory nature, it has long wings, unlike the typically short-winged gamebirds. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, "small migratory game bird of the Old World, late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname, Quayle), from Old French quaille (Modern French caille), perhaps via Medieval Latin quaccula (source also of Provençal calha, Italian quaglia, Portuguese calha, Old Spanish coalla), or directly from a Germanic source (compare Dutch kwakkel, Old High German quahtala, German Wachtel, Old English wihtel), imitative of the bird's cry. Or the English word might have come up indigenously from Proto-Germanic."
The common quail is heavily hunted as game on passage through the Mediterranean area. Very large numbers are caught in nets along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is estimated that in 2012, during the autumn migration, 3.4 million birds were caught in northern Sinai and perhaps as many as 12.9 million in the whole of Egypt.
This species over recent years has seen an increase in its propagation in the United States and Europe. However, most of this increase is with hobbyists. It is declining in parts of its range such as Ireland.
In 1537, Queen Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, then pregnant with the future King Edward VI, developed an insatiable craving for quail, and courtiers and diplomats abroad were ordered to find sufficient supplies for the Queen.
8-10-2018 BAYREN GANDIA, VALENCIA - COMMON QUAIL (Coturnix coturnix)
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The common quail (Coturnix coturnix), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India.
With its characteristic call of three repeated chirps (repeated three times in quick succession), this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as "least concern". It should not be confused with the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), native to Asia, which, although visually similar, has a call that is very distinct from that of the common quail. Like the Japanese quail, common quails are sometimes kept as poultry.
This is a terrestrial species, feeding on seeds and insects on the ground. It is notoriously difficult to see, keeping hidden in crops, and reluctant to fly, preferring to creep away instead. Even when flushed, it keeps low and soon drops back into cover. Often the only indication of its presence is the distinctive "wet-my-lips" repetitive song of the male. The call is uttered mostly in the mornings, evenings and sometimes at night. It is a strongly migratory bird, unlike most game birds.
12-11-2016 MINGUN, MYANMAR - LARGE BILLED CROW (Corvus macrorhynchos)
The Large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) is a widespread Asian species of crow. It is very adaptable and can survive on a wide range of food sources. It has a large bill and it is sometimes known by the common name Thick-billed crow.
These crows have a relatively long bill with the upper one quite thick and arched, making it look heavy and almost raven-like. Generally, they have dark greyish plumage from the back of the head, neck, shoulders, and lower body. Their wings, tail, face, and throat are glossy black. The depth of the grey shading varies across its range.
Large-billed crows are from the northeastern Asian seaboard to Afghanistan and eastern Iran in the west, through South and Southeast Asia, to the Lesser Sundas and Cambodia in the southeast. These birds live in woodlands, parks, and gardens, cultivated regions with at least some trees. However, Large-billed crows are birds of more open country in the south of their range.
Sunday, 7 October 2018
7-10-2018 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - GREEN SANDPIPER (Tringa ochropus)
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The Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus, is a small wader, or shorebird, with a somewhat plump appearance. It boasts a dark greenish-brown back and wings, complemented by a greyish head and breast. The underparts are predominantly white, with the back featuring white spots that vary in extent depending on the season and age of the bird. The legs and short bill are a matching dark green, creating a harmonious color palette for this avian species.
When observing the Green Sandpiper, look for its distinctive flight pattern, which reveals dark wings above and below, punctuated by a striking white rump. This feature is a reliable identifier, setting it apart from its close relative, the slightly smaller Solitary Sandpiper of North America. Additionally, the Green Sandpiper's white-spotted back is most pronounced in breeding adults and less so in winter and juvenile plumage.
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