By Helen Bovill
July was an exceptionally hot and sunny month, including two mini heatwaves, and is notable for being the first month I’ve ever reported on where I didn’t see any rainfall. As a result of this many of the plants have died back, especially on the verge alongside the cemetery. There seems to have been just enough rain the previous month to enable some plants in the cemetery to grow taller than usual, making their dieback particularly noticeable.
Insects
I’ve started the report with a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria). Originally confined to the south and south-east of the country, they’re spreading north and July and August are the peak months to see them in the cemetery. Look out for a larger than usual orange insect flying past, back legs often outstretched making it look quite long. They’re the country’s largest hoverfly but don’t sting and are harmless to humans, feeding only on nectar. Their markings have evolved to mimic stinging insects such as bees and wasps in order to deter predators. The distance between the eyes indicates this is a female – males have their eyes much closer together without the yellow band separating them at the top. The hoverfly is at the bottom of the following photo, with two much smaller Marmalade hoverflies at the top for size comparison. The yellow flower in both the photos is Tansy.
It's been an excellent month for seeing different types of insects, with my first sighting of a Silver-Y moth and a Hairy Shield Bug (also known as a Sloe Bug) in the cemetery. I still saw ladybirds – native 7-Spots and Harlequins – but not in huge numbers. I also saw Batman hoverflies and Marmalade Hoverflies. I learned recently that hoverflies used to be known by their scientific names only. Common names such as these two were created in an attempt to make the insects more appealing.
Butterflies
But the insect stars this month were the butterflies, and I saw 3 more species for the first time this year – Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. That brought the number of species seen in the cemetery this year to 15, the highest number I’ve ever seen in a year. To put this into perspective, there are only 7 other species of butterfly that I’ve seen elsewhere within the Hull city boundary but have not seen in the cemetery.
Gatekeepers - male (left, with dark bands across the upper wings); female (right, no dark bands), both on Ragwort
This is the third year I’ve seen Gatekeepers here, and I saw two males and one female, which makes me very optimistic that this attractive summer butterfly could become one of our regulars if they manage to breed successfully. I saw them on several days this month.
The Meadow Brown was the best of the new sightings, because I’d previously only seen one flying past along the Spring Bank West verge a few years ago. This time I saw one on two days mid-month, and managed to get some photos.
Female Meadow Brown showing upper and underwing markings; the males have a much smaller amount of orange on their wings
I only saw the Ringlet on one day, the same as I did last July, so it could just have been a passing visitor. I also saw Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Comma, Green-veined White, Painted Lady, Small White and Red Admiral. A total of 10 different species of butterfly this month!
Top from left - Ringlet, Holly Blue and Speckled Wood
Bottom from left - Comma, Green-veined White and Painted Lady
Plants
I noticed a significant change in the plant life from the start of the month to the end, with many of them finishing flowering by the time of writing this (31 July). Most noticeable of the dead ones were the Hogweeds with their pale, dry seed heads, still containing plenty of food for the cemetery wildlife.
Hogweed seed heads. With the right lighting they can make excellent photographic subjects!
During the month I found some Wild Basil, Wall Lettuce and Betony. Where any of our less common wildflowers grow near headstones, I always encourage our volunteers to work around them where there are not many examples in the cemetery in order to maintain our biodiversity.
Wild Basil
Wall Lettuce - the leaves (inset) look a bit like salad Rocket
Betony
Today I checked which plants are still flowering, and I found 11 different species inside the cemetery and a further 10 species growing on the verge. Whilst this might seem like a lot, I only found one flower on several of them – only the Tansy and Ragwort contained good numbers of flowers.
Birds
I’ve seen quite a few fledgling Blue Tits and Great Tits this month, suggesting to me that these are from a second brood – as the weather has been so warm for so long, this will have encouraged the birds to carry on breeding. Some can even go on to have a third brood if the conditions are good enough.
I also saw Dunnocks, Robins, Wrens, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Wood Pigeons, Coal Tits, and Long-tailed Tits. I caught a brief glimpse of a Goldcrest, possibly a fledgling, on a number of days throughout the month. I also saw another Greenfinch one day, but wasn’t quick enough to get a photo!
Wren
Robin
Fledgling Blue Tit
Fungi
Despite the very dry weather, there was still plenty of greenery carpeting the ground, retaining valuable moisture which kept the trees and ground moist enough to allow some fungi to grow. I found some very nice examples of Dryad’s Saddles, one near our storage cabins and another one in a more secluded part of the cemetery.
Conclusion
This month has been an incredibly dry one, and all the paths inside the cemetery are very easy to walk on, with no muddy or even slightly damp puddles to avoid. Yet the wildlife seems to be surviving, despite there being no natural source of water inside the cemetery. Moisture in the ground is being retained under the ground cover foliage; the roots of the mature trees and shrubs will be reaching deep down into the soil for sustenance. And no doubt many of the birds will simply fly off to nearby gardens and parks for a drink and a bath, returning to the quiet shade of the cemetery later. For the first time since bringing you these reports, I’m actually hoping for some rain next month!
A very active squirrel of the month, just about to leave. See you next time!
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