Nature is beautiful in its simplicity, pureness and honesty. What seems to us gruesome, is perfectly acceptable and part of a finely tuned balance, if left alone.
On my adventures I do come by some quite surprisingly gruesome moments, as well as fairly puzzling situations where it is not quite clear what happened.
This page is going to keep track of all the natural 'crimes' (not crimes at all but it sounds more catching) that I encounter on my adventures in a big small world.
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Crime scene: any tall piece of grass or plant in meadows
Suspect: Killer Fungi - Cordyseps
Suspect: Killer Fungi - Cordyseps
Cause of death: Being eaten from the inside
Cordyceps:
This 'killer fungi' will eat its host on the inside. It will eat all the soft tissue, leaving bascially only the empty 'husk' or shell.There are 400 species of this killer fungi. Some of which can even change the victims behaviour, making it climb up stems - or as perhaps in the case below a thistle - where it then dies. This is perfect for the fungus' fruiting body which grows out of the insects body. The extra height allows the spores to be more wildly distributed by the wind.
But its not all bad: some of this fungi seems to have medical proprties, too.
There are quite a lot of insects nearby that seems to suffer from this infection. I shall try and upload further photographs as I get time.
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Crime scene: thistle
'Purpetrator': Soldier Beetle Male
'Victim': Soldier Beetle Female
I have watched these two with a mix of surprise and somewhat a little shocked that nature could get things so unclear. This female had no desire to mate at all but he blatantly ignored it. She has probably already mated so from that point she doesn't need to mate again.
I am not emotionalising this as I know it doesn't work like that in nature but I am still quite puzzled that this male did not simply go and find a female that hasn't mated. Surely that would make the whole thing more effective?
There are also studies to discover if these beetles have a selective mating behaviou.
There are also studies to discover if these beetles have a selective mating behaviou.
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The mystery of the impaled insects
Crime scene: Spear Thistles
Suspect: Unknown
Cause of death: pierced by a thistle spike
The
spear thistles especially are a great place to go and hunt for strange
sights. As the plants grow, its spears grow too and anyone that has ever
fallen on a spear thistle knows just how strong these spikes are!
Throughout late spring and summer, the thistles nearby offer a
quite sorry sight because of all the many insects pierced on the long spikes. And I
am not sure yet sure how they land up there ...
I have posted on the forum of the National History Museum and someone mentioned Red-Backed Shrike, a very rare bird, that was apparently known for doing this.
Here from a victorian text about the Red-Backed Shrike (or Butcher Bird):
"Most extraordinary is the manner of feeding of the Butcher Birds —whence
their name. Occasionally, indeed—perhaps it may be that they
are then unusually hungry—they hold the bird or insect they
have killed between their claws, or fix it between two stones, or
in some narrow place, and pull it to pieces after the manner of the
Hawks, breaking the skull, and eating the head first as the most choice
morsel. In general, however, after killing their prey, they fix it
in its proper attitude on a thorn, or in the cleft of the small branches
of a tree, and making these serve as the tenter hooks of a larder,
garnish the hedge with their game, and consume it ' secundum artem.'
Nay, it has been imagined that they also use such as baits to entice
small birds within range, for otherwise the latter are shy of their
company, and shew their dislike, if one approaches, by sounds of anger
or distress. They are said to have been known to pull young pheasants
through the bars of a coop, and are strongly suspected of making free
with the nestlings of other birds, when the parents are from home.
One was found to have been fixing three frogs and three mice on a
hedge."
The above text is quoted from an entry on BirdCheck
An so, the conversation continues with the fact that these birds seem to be rare or hardly seen nowadays. Therefore the search continues but at least we have a possible suspect ... and it seems to have been seen in the UK this year as registered here on BirdGuides
I now have contacted the local Ornithological Society and hope for some more info ... stay tuned!
[File entry: 9th June 2016:]
I have been informed that the RBS is extinct in this area, with the last records dating back to 2009. There is however a Great Grey Shrike which deals with insects in the same manner but it doesn't arrive in the UK until Autmn, and it sometimes stays through winter and as late as April or May. The photos of the impaled insects (except the one below) were from beginning of June last year ... so the GGS is an unlikely suspect ... unless its a very late or very early bird.
I am yet hoping for more information as to what other birds might do this ... if it was a bird.
[File entry: 9th June 2016:]
I have been informed that the RBS is extinct in this area, with the last records dating back to 2009. There is however a Great Grey Shrike which deals with insects in the same manner but it doesn't arrive in the UK until Autmn, and it sometimes stays through winter and as late as April or May. The photos of the impaled insects (except the one below) were from beginning of June last year ... so the GGS is an unlikely suspect ... unless its a very late or very early bird.
Victim or accident?
I am yet hoping for more information as to what other birds might do this ... if it was a bird.
Meanwile POTR is introducing its first undercover agent: Agent B
Thorough examination of the 'murder weapon' ...
... checking for fingerprints!
Note Agent B's little sidekick ...
[File entry 20th June 2016]
I'm afraid we have come to no further results in this case. No-one seems to know any more and it is still questioned if it even is birds ...
Unfortunately this year there aren't as many spear thistles about like last year but I will keep an eye open for more of these strange impaled insects.
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Crime Scene: Stonewall
Victim: it looks to be a caterpillar
Suspect: Possibly a teamwork effort between spider and birds
Cause of death: Either poison or being split in half .. .whichever came first!
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Crime Scene: Stonewall
Victim: Cranefly
Suspect: Teamwork perhaps, could be the same team as in the above case!
Cause of death: Either poison or being split in half .. .whichever came first!
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Crime Scene: Spear Thistle
Victim: Soldier Beetle
Suspect: spider
Cause of death: not sure, poison, starvation?
It looks as though the spider forgot about it's catch. Or perhaps it had to move along and this beetle got caught in abandoned strands of silk. Although to does look well wrapped, but if he was wriggling to get out, that is probably enough to make the entrapment worse.
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Crime Scene: Queen Anne's Lace (Plant)
Victim: A fly
Perpetrator: Dung Fly Male
The male dung fly dines mainly on smaller insects; mostly other flies. For additional source of energy, they also sometimes consume dung and nectar. Meanwhile the females forage in vegetation and visit dung pats only to mate or to lay their eggs.
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Crime Scene: Queen Anne's Lace (I think)
Victim: A fly, already dead - possibly Cordyceps?
Perpetrator: Scorpio Fly, Male - caught; in flagranti
Cause of death: Most likely the fungal infection.
I am rather surprised to see that the scorpion fly (a male, see reproductive organ in shape of a scorpio's stinger) is dining on an insect invested with some form of fungal infection.
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Crime scene: spiders' web
Perpetrator: Spiders
Cause of death: One of the two moths was dead, the other was still moving ...
Various cases:
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| It seems a big family feast lies ahead ... |
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| Hidden from our view and I must say a quite clever trap set up by this spider inside an Ox Daisy. |
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| No life without death ... this little weevil was still wriggling while this crab spider bit it's head off. |
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| Flies seek out the warmth of the stones and this is perfect hunting ground for this nursery web spider. I watched it for quite a while as it was hiding in the shadows of the stones, waiting for the right moment to strike. It happened too fast for me to capture so here the endresult: dinner in shape of a St. Mark's fly. |
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Crime Scene: anywhere suitable
Perpetrator: various insect carnivores
Cause of death: being munched or sucked dry.
 |
The above scene took me by surprise. From a distance I thought these two were mating (admittedly, I am shortsighted!) and proceeded to discretely creep up to examine. Upon closing in however I noticed there was no romance involved here at all and they weren't even the same colour.
A dagger fly (suitably red) is sucking the juices out of a crane fly. Its 'dagger' is inserted at the crane fly's neck. The crane fly was still trying to get away.
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| A sawfly very clearly enjoying its tea - which was a soldier beetle. It had no intention of leaving its lovely food even with my lens approaching. And so it offered me the opportunity to capture the moment. It veraciously worked its way through the remaining pile of beetle ... leaving nothing but the wings. |
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| The following day: same area, almost same time, perhaps even the same sawfly? Yet again devouring another soldier beetle. |
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