Colin Gray writes:

The Southern Wood Ant (Formica rufa), and pictured above and below, is a very dominant species along the eastern side of the pond, from the lower footpath right through to the DE woodlands around the car park.

Nests of the southern wood ant are usually located along woodland rides and clearings where they can intercept the spring and early summer sunshine. This isolation appears to be critical to initiating colony activity and brood development after winter. Nests will also encroach from woodland onto more open heath and scrub. Each nest may contain over 100,000 workers, several queens and, from May to July, winged gynes and males. Different nests can be interlinked by trails to form huge colonies.

The workers also form long trails to trees bearing honeydew-producing Homoptera, which they tend. They will also scavenge and take invertebrate prey. Honeydew forms a key component of their diet and the presence of suitable trees and Homoptera may be a limiting factor on populations. The southern wood ant is found across the Palaearctic from southern Europe and the Caucasus to approximately 63 degrees north.

The southern wood ant is a conspicuous ant of southern British woodlands with large aggressive workers and a prominent nest mound. As such it is relatively well recorded and studied. Populations occur locally in Wales and England as far north as Cumbria and Northumberland. It is, however, most common in southern England, particularly in south Devon, south Dorset, Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. Suitable woodlands in such areas may support strong, and even increasing, populations of the species. However, there is also evidence of a contraction of its range, particularly in northern and eastern England, the Midlands and North Wales, where a number of smaller isolated populations have reportedly become extinct. In North Wales and northern England the range of the southern wood ant overlaps with that of the hairy wood ant, F. lugubris, so care should be taken in determining specimens from these areas.

In Great Britain this species is classified as Local. It is classified by the IUCN (1996) as globally Near Threatened.

Colin produced the above written material for use in Fleet Library as part of their National Insect Week exhibition this year.

Picture credits: Wikipedia.

Colin Gray writes:

Solitary Bees
Did you know that Britain has more than 250 species of native bee? All of these bees play an essential role by pollinating flowers. But these bees are becoming scarce, with fewer wild flowers and suitable nest sites and an increase in pesticide use. Now around 25 per cent of our native bees are listed as endangered species.

Out of these 250 species, over 90% of them are solitary bees. By solitary we mean that a single female, after she emerges from her pupae and is mated by a male, constructs, provisions and lays an egg in each cell in a nest by herself. This in comparison with social (called eusocial) bees like the Bumble Bees, Honey Bees and Stingless Bees, all of whom have a Queen who lays eggs and a number of workers who look after them.

Female solitary bees prepare their own nest in the ground, in cracks or crevices in walls, or in wood. They gather nectar and pollen as food for their own offspring, and provide little or no further care after their eggs are laid.

Solitary bees come in many different sizes, colours and shapes. Common solitary bees are mason bees, miner bees, sweat bees, wool-carding bees and carpenter bees. They vary in colour from basic black to bright metallic green, blue or red. Some solitary bees superficially resemble wasps.

Solitary bee picture credit here.

Leafcutting and Mason Bees, collectively called megachilids (pronounced mega kyle’ lids)

Leafcutter bees nest in soft, rotted wood, thick-stemmed pithy plants such as roses and in similar materials that the bees can easily cut through and excavate. Nest tunnels may extend several inches deep and coarse sawdust is thrown out at the entrance.

After the nest has been produced, leafcutter bees collect fragments of leaves to construct individual nest cells. The bees cut leaves in a very distinctive manner, making a smooth semicircular cut about 3/4-in in diameter from the edge of leaves.

These are carried back to the nest and used to fashion nest cells within the previously constructed tunnels. Each leaf-lined cell is then provisioned with a mixture of nectar and pollen. An egg is then laid and the cell sealed, producing a finished nest cell that somewhat resembles a cigar butt.

A series of closely packed cells are produced in sequence so that a finished nest tunnel may contain a dozen or more cells forming a tube 10cm to 20cm long. The young bees develop and remain within the cells, emerging the next season. Leaf-cutter bees differ from related species in that they collect pollen on their abdomens rather than on their hind legs.

Leaf-cutter bee picture credit here.

Colin produced the above written material for use in Fleet Library as part of their National Insect Week exhibition this year.

Fleet Pond is the largest fresh water lake in Hampshire and the nature reserve has 54.6 hectares (135 acres) of varied habitats for the enjoyment of the local community. The pond itself occupies about half this area. The picturesque 21.4 hectare (53 acre) water was recorded in Saxon times as “Fugelmere” and supplied fish to the monks of St. Swithins (now the Cathedral) at Winchester.

Unfortunately in the past 25 years Fleet Pond has become very shallow due to large amounts of sand silting it up, with a depth of only 16″ right across the pond. Fishing and boating is allowed during the period between 16th June to 14th March. Fishing is only from 6 swims (namely, particularly good places for fishing) along the railway bank and one at the bottom of Chessnut Grove Rd. All the platforms have recently been given a facelift and provide improved comfort thanks to the Fleet Pond Ranger!.

Typical fish stocks are: perch and hybrids up to 2lbs, tench up to 4lbs, bream up to 5lbs, carp up to 10lbs, roach and rudd up to 11.5 lbs and pike up to 18 lbs.

Picture: Common Carp, credit here.

To fish at Fleet Pond a permit from Hart District Council is required. These are available from the reception desk in The Harlington Centre, or ‘Tackle Up’ on Fleet Road. Also required is an Environment Agency rod licence which is available from the Post Office or the Environment Agency website. Fishing is only from a boat or an approved fishing jetty, site by-laws apply.

The top picture is taken from an article in The Independent in March 2008, which includes the interesting statement that “If your home is where Hart is – well, lucky you. It is a tranquil corner of Hampshire where the statistics suggest that the quality of life is higher than anywhere else in the country”.

Please also see here.

Joanna Lawrence, The Fleet Pond Ranger, writes:

Earlier this year, Fleet Pond Society and Hart’s Countryside Service together purchased two tern islands. These artificial islands, made from 100% recycled plastic, provide the terns who visit the Pond with somewhere to nest.

Common terns (pictured above, picture credit here) are summer visitors to Britain and the rest of Europe, spending winters in the tropical regions of West Africa. They arrive here in April to breed, and feed on fish and crustaceans.

The islands at the Pond are filled with gravel which the terns create small depressions in, line with soft material, and lay their eggs. The clear plastic walls around the island prevent any predators getting to the chicks.

The good news is that these islands have already been used this summer by a few pairs of terns, despite only being put out on the Pond in June. This is very encouraging news means that next year we expect even more of these birds to be using the islands to rear their chicks.

Peter Martin writes:

There was a considerable reduction in the number of butterflies normally seen at Fleet Pond Nature Reserve in 2007. With the cold, dull, wet and windy weather, the number of sightings in 2008 has not been much better. Mid-October has produced a few warm and sunny days, however, resulting in the appearance of a number of Red Admirals (pictured above, picture credit here).

Until recent years the autumn brood was normally killed off by our hard winters but milder weather has enabled some butterflies to survive. Last year, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch of “Butterfly Conservation” had records of them being seen in all twelve months of the year, so keep your eyes peeled if you are walking round the Pond and you may see them even during the winter.

Some other members of the Nymphalidae family of butterflies such as the Peacock, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell hibernate during the winter months, but may be encouraged to wake from their slumbers if we get some reasonably warm, sunny days. These and the yellow Brimstone butterflies may also be seen within the Reserve during the winter months.

Peter Martin is the President of The Fleet Pond Society and is a local expert on butterflies. Peter will be providing a series of ‘Butterfly of the Month’ articles from April to September next year.

Further information on butterflies can be found here.