May is here and nearly all the Public Rights of Way network and much of the countryside is still closed due to Foot and Mouth Disease. So again we are mostly restricted to our gardens, roadsides and urban areas. April certainly brought April showers but it also brought the first

Brimstone Butterfly

Cuckoos heard singing in the last two weeks of the month. Swallows, House Martins, Sand Martins and other visitors have returned from Africa, to pair up, mate, nest and bring up their young.

Small Tortoise-shell (Aglais urticae)

Listen out and you may be lucky to hear the melodious song of the Nightingale, especially if you are near an area of scrub with small dense trees like Blackthorn and Hawthorn.

Butterflies to come out of hibernation at this time of year will include the Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni).The male of this species is bright yellow, whilst the female is a much paler, almost white in colour. The female lays her eggs on the underside of Buckthorn or Alder Buckthorn leaves, the young caterpillars will feed on the leaves when they hatch out.

Another seasonal butterfly is the colourful orange-red and black Small Tortoise-shell (Aglais urticae). It has hibernated over the winter and is tempted out to look for a mate in the spring sunshine. The male and female butterflies are similar in appearance, although the female is usually larger. The female lays her eggs on Stinging Nettles, which are also a popular food source for some of this country's most colourful butterfly species like the Red Admiral and the Peacock.

Red Campion (Silene Dioica)

On the roadside verges and woodland edges you may see the Red Campion (Silene Dioica). This pink- flowered plant attracts insects with its colour. The scientific name "dioica" means" two houses", which refers to the fact that each plant is either male or female and so if this plant is to produce seed it is important that insects pollinate it by moving from a male plant to a female plant.

Look out for Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), which at this time of year, before the woodland canopies fill in with leaves, can turn a complete woodland floor into a beautiful blue-mauve carpet. Almost certainly this flower has been in Britain for centuries, but it was only documented in 1548 when it was known as "Crowtoes". There is, however, archaeological evidence that bluebells were used during the Bronze Age. In a number of burial sites, remains of arrow shafts have remnants of bluebell juice on them, the juice was used to stick feather flights to the arrows.

Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

The juice is very sticky and was used for glue and also it was used for starching elaborate ruffs and collars worn during the Elizabethan Period. It is illegal to pick flowers from the wild and yet the numbers of bluebell woods have dwindled over the years because people pick them. They are also susceptible to trampling and they will die if their leaves are crushed. The leaves cover the woodland floor to enable them to produce energy whilst there is an abundance of light before the canopy of the overhead trees blocks the light.

Bluebell woods (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

The energy from the sun is gathered in the leaves and then fed into the bulb below to ensure its survival. One animal that takes advantage of these energy rich bulbs, and devours them whole, is the Badger.

The Badger (Meles meles), although mostly found in the countryside, can be seen within urban areas where there is adjoining woodland.

Unfortunately our most common sightings of this mainly nocturnal, protected species is dead on the side of the road, especially at this time of year when young, inexperienced cubs are out and about exploring.

Badgers'(Meles meles) leaving a 'sett'

May is badger mating season and it is also when they find a richer variety of food as many insects emerge and there is fresh succulent plant growth. Their main food source is the humble common earth worm but they do eat slugs and snails and that is why it is important not to use slug pellets in case a badger comes foraging in your garden. It will kill them if they eat too many poisoned snails.
If you do have a problem with slugs and snails eating your plants then use small tubs filled with beer to attract them. Snails love beer and will end up drowning themselves in it and later it can be used in the compost (if poison free). Alternatively place jagged edged broken pots around your prized flowers to deter them.
Next month will be June and I will talk about wild roses and orchids.