Bee-holed!

There's no let up to the attacks on the integrity of the cliffs. What has been a relatively new assault is now well established it seems. Mining bees in some quantity have recently colonised the soft sandy layers in the cliff-face. I noticed these last year and they've emerged!

No being well-up on the mining bees, I asked Bryan, our local entomologist what the species was. He informed me that it's the Ivy Bee Colletes hederae and is the latest of the mining bees to emerge, feeding, as the name suggests on Ivy Hedera helix which comes into flower this time of year. The Ivy Bee's story is fascinating. Known in Europe, it was first seen in a colony at Winspit in Dorset in 2001 from where it has spread west and east along the coastline and is now established from Cornwall to Kent, and inland to Avon and Hampshire.

The naff picture doesn't do justice to the pale-banded furry little critter so I suggest you check-out the Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society's website for more information and current distribution maps http://www.bwars.com/ .

The latest bit of cliff to break free (it's only a matter of time and loads of rain that'll send it slipping down) was above a sub-colony of the above. Are the two connected?

Hard hats at the ready if you're taking the dog for a walk and all you bloggers up-north keep your eyes peeled . BWARS needs your help!

Fossiliferous

Could describe the areas current population, being as it's full of elderly and very elderly retirees! Not only that but Crumbling Cliff is now one of them! However, speaking literally rather than metaphorically, and geologically to boot, a little bit of crumble didn't harm anyone. This process reveals a wealth of ancient animal life along a relatively short stretch of the south coast. The soft "rocks" around here, across to the Isle of Wight and back to Selsey range from approximately 54.0 to 23.0 million years in age and represent some of the best examples of Eocene and Oligocene deposits in Britain. Fossils abound in the Barton Beds which contain good specimens of bivalves and gatropods (see below example of Turritella sp. from the Upper Eocene 40.0-36.0 million years ago).


A short, if expensive, ferry ride across to Hamstead Bay on the Isle of Wight brings you forward a few million years (rather than back a million years or so - as some may say after having been to the Isle of Wight in February!) to the Oligocene and along the beach are revealed small pieces of turtle shell.

Taking a trip further along the coast to the east, the western side of the Selsey peninsula at Bracklesham is excellent for finding shark's teeth. These deposits are quite a bit older at 50.0-40.0 million years.Careful where you tread!

On the verge of excellence

I don't know if the grass verges around the lanes and avenues where we live are unusual in any way, but they do seem to be very rich in meadow plant species. I've been looking at them for a year or so now and my list of species present is growing. Despite the regular cutting by local house owners and the frequent management by the local authority there's a lovely show of wild flowers through the year.
The verges are the last remaining bits of the meadows present in the area before the housing development here in the early 1960s and, as far as I can tell, were pasture land as opposed to arable. The soil pH is just on the acidic side of neutral, to be expected on New Forest gravels, clays and sand and the vegetation reflects this with some anomalies.


As a taster, here's some of the more unusual species (for urban verges) found so far: lady's smock, bugle, chamomile, heath and lady's bedstraw and autumn lady's tresses (see above).