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November 2019 November 2019

Stripy Spiders, Robin’s Pincushions and more at Bere Regis Trish, the caretaker alerted me to a large moth recently, that she needed me to
rescue- there it sat, on the ceiling of the cloakroom. I gently encouraged it, with
school. the aid of a cobweb duster, out of an open door. It was a large triangular
shaped winged moth, whose forewings were a dusky grey/brown that would
Forest School bug hunt day was due to begin in an hour. Whilst getting all of the
necessary catching equipment together one sunny calm day in September, a serve to provide excellent camouflage on a tree bark background.
large exotic looking spider plopped as if by magic into my wheelbarrow. At the It opened these dusky shaded wings to
sight of it, I took a sharp intake of breath…there sat a yellow and black striped reveal a bright flash of vivid red, black and
bodied beauty, with black and white zebra crossing legs. I had last seen one of white. It was a Red Underwing( Catocala
these on a meadow bug day I ran at Lorton meadows years before. spp). As it flew outside, it immediately
closed up its bright underwings on landing
The class were subjected to my excited explanations a short while later, they were on the wall ,like a disappearing act in a
duly enthralled. I reassured them that despite appearances, they are harmless.
magic show, and sat stock still. Clearly a
A European traveler that has spread north, uncommon in most counties except survival strategy when distressed, to blend
for the southern ones, I explained about mimicry…my thunder stolen when in quickly after being disturbed, this didn’t
another class teacher later told me that she had had one in her classroom a work on the sandy coloured bricks though,
couple of days before!! That said, it was still a stupendous start to the bughunt, but it wasn’t to know!
which produced a variety of spiders, beetles, bugs flies and bees.
The latest creature I rescued, was one of
Over the years, as the unofficial wildthing “guru”, I have been called upon to the false widow spiders from a classroom. While I like to encourage and enthuse
identify, capture, rescue or dispose of many creatures; birds colliding with children about our fellow living inhabitants, I felt it only proper to show them how
windows, gravity stricken nestlings, baby hedgehogs, spiders, moths beetles, and to identify this spider(Steatoda spp), that can potentially deliver a nasty bite,
a spectacular but sadly dead discovery made by a child beside the outdoor dependent upon the bodies’ allergic reaction response..
classroom, of a young Grey Long eared bat. Its credentials verified by the Dorset
Bat Group…subsequent eager searches of the loft spaces of the old school , There are some very similar looking spiders that are less dubious than the Noble
sadly did not yield any Grey long eared hideouts. False widow, namely the Missing Sector Orb weaver and the Lace Webbed
spider…to be safe its, best to handle with care and release a distance away, to
The other day I espied a fluffy pompom sitting get on with its life.
on a rose bush in the school grounds.. I knew Interestingly, by a strange coincidence of synchronicity , this was the same day
immediately what it was, A Robins Pincushion-
A type of gall consisting of many small that Lady Hale delivered The ground breaking speech in the house of commons,
developing harmless wasps within. When regarding the supreme court ruling on the suspension of parliament. She was
females insert their eggs into the tissues of the sporting an enormous spider brooch that has riveted many thousands on social
media…She is well known for wearing an assortment of striking zoological
Dog or wild rose, the resulting irritated tissues brooches, namely caterpillars, dragonflies, spiders and frogs.
grow this gall, which is one of many types and
serve to protect the developing insects within Wouldn’t it be a great opportunity to exploit her penchant for such brooches to
both from predation and the weather. kick off a side debate on the demise of many living equivalents of her
It looks for all the world like a cheerleaders’ adornments for many on social media and beyond…
soft pompom in cheery red and green hues. Tamara Loakes Forest Schools Officer
There was one as big as my fist and smaller less developed ones that were mostly
reddish.
Galls are fascinating things, and host plants all develop particular shaped ones
that appear to do little harm to the plants they sit upon. .I have found a variety,
namely on the young oaks; Knopper, Marble and Spangle to name a few. I will
wow the children with these oddities when the opportunity arises!

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