The Onion Weed

Onion Weed - Asphodelus fistulosus 

The onion weed is a spring-flowering plant of the lily family. It is found in Mediterranean countries but has been introduced in many areas with a Mediterranean climate particularly in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. It has also been introduced in Australia and New Zealand.

In the Maltese islands it is a rare species that can be found only in a few localities. I have seen in growing mostly on the walls of the bastions at the Argotti Batonic Gardens in Floriana and at Sa Maison Garden in Pieta’.

In Maltese it is known as berwieq żgħir.

In non-Mediterranean countries it has become a pest and measures are taken to try to eliminate it. This is a common situation where plants are introduced in areas where they are not indigenous. In Malta this has occurred with many species the best known being the Cape sorrel which in Maltese is known as the ħaxixa ngliża.

The onion weed is an asphodel. It is related to the very common species known as the branched asphodel. Both plants are very similar except for a big difference in size. The branch asphodel can grow up to 150 cm while the onion weed rarely reaches a height of fifty centimetres.  

This plant is an annual or short-lived perennial. It reproduces by seed which can be dispersed by wing water, machinery or agricultural produce. The seeds can also be carried around by mud attached to animals and vehicles.

The very common and larger branch asphodel flowers in winter and early spring. It grows in most habitats but is more common in rocky steppe. In some places, especially in areas that are regularly burnt, it can become the most common flowering plant.

This article was published in the Times of Malta on 23 April 2015, 

Mason Bees

The mason bee is common in spring. It can easily be identified by the thick layer of reddish brown hair that covers its thorax, the hairless blackish brown abdomen and reddish legs. Females have an abdominal broom. This is a structure formed by fringes of hair which is used to collect pollen.

This species is found in western counties of the Mediterranean including Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Malta as well as North African counties as far east as Libya. In Italy it is restricted to southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia.

In Maltese the mason bee is known as naħla tal-koppla because of the rounded structure of its nest which looks like a church dome.

Mason bees are solitary bees but at this time of the year several can be seen close together on the ground especially in rocky areas, collecting gravel and small stones which they use to build their nests.

Females the building material collected from these places and cement it by mixing it with a secretion from their labial glands to form a mud. The mud is used to build rounded nests which are attached to walls or rocks. The labial secretion makes the dried mud impervious to water and the nest can last for many years.

The internal structure of the nest consists of several elongated cells which are filled with honey and pollen. An egg is laid in each cell. The larva forms a pupa which overwinters inside the nest. The adult bee emerges in early spring to start nest building and to collect pollen from flowers

The mason bee belongs to a family known as megachilid. Most bees belonging to this family are known either as mason bees or leafcutter leaves depending on the material they use to build their nests. A small number of species which collect plant or animal hairs and fibres are known as carder bees.

About fifteen species of megachiclid bees are found in the Maltese islands.

Megachiclid bees are inefficient pollen collectors. They have to visit several plants to collect sufficient pollen for their needs and this makes them very important pollinators. 

This  article was published in the Times of Malta on 16 April 2015. 

The tadpole shrimp

Tadpole shrimp - Triops cancriformis 

Tadpole shrimps are small crustaceans that were already alive 300 million years ago. They are living fossils that have outlived the trilobites, dinosaurs and mammoths and millions of other species.

They live in ponds and pools, an unstable habitat because they often dry up during parts of the year.

The tadpole shrimp found in the Maltese islands, which goes by the scientific name of Triops cancriformis, has existed unchanged for the past 200 million years or so. It is the oldest living species known.

Triops cancriformis is found in Europe, the Middle East and Japan. In many parts of Europe it has lost its habitat and has decreased considerably. In some areas it is endangered and strictly protected. Only two populations are known in the UK.

The tadpole shrimps I have seen in the Maltese islands have been about six centimetres in length although it is not unknown for members of this species to grow up to eleven centimetres long.

In Malta it has become very rare mainly because of destruction of its habitat. Many of the sites in which it used to be found have disappeared and it has also disappeared from most of its old but still existing sites.

Like the frog which shares the pools in which it lives, the tadpole shrimp has a very fast life cycle. It becomes a mature adult within two or three weeks of hatching. This allows it to complete its life cycle before the rain pools in which they live dry up.

The eggs are very resistant to drought and extreme temperatures and can survive for many years in the dried mud or dust at the bottom of a pool waiting for the right hatching conditions. They can even survive digestive juices and can pass through the digestive system of a bird unharmed. It is probably the ability of the eggs to survive under very difficult conditions that has enables the various species of triops to survive for so many millions of years.

Tadpole shrimps feed on small invertebrates, microscopic particles and plants. They absorb oxygen through their legs and can be seen moving their legs rhythmically all the time to move the water around them. They usually swim with their shield upwards but when oxygen is scarce they swim upside down with their feet close to the surface of the water where there is usually more oxygen.

The name Triops is derived from two Greek words meaning three and eyes. It got its name because these species have a pair of compound eyes and a third eye known as the ‘naupliar eye’ in between. 

This article was published in The Times of Malta on 3 April 2014.

The Sicilian Squill

Sicilian squill - Scilla sicula 

The Sicilian squill is a perennial plant endemic to Malta, Sicily and Calabria in southern Italy. 

The plant grows from an underground bulb that can survive in shallow soils in valleys garigue and maquis. In Sicily and mainland Italy it is a very rare species. In Malta it used to be considered as rare but nowadays it seems to have increased and is considered as a scarce plant. In fact it does seem to be increasing. 

A few days ago I found it growing in good numbers in a valley along the south Maltese coast. In one area I found a patch of soil in which there were more than thirty plants in flower and many others plants still to flower.

The flowers are light bluish grey. Sometimes they are so light that they are nearly white. The inflorescence consists of small flowers growing around a short stem creating a pyramidal shape.   

In Maltese the Sicilian squill is known as għansar ikħal.

The scientific name of this species is Scilla sicula. The Scillas are found mostly in the hot arid regions of the Mediterranean.

Scilla is derived from the Greek word for ‘to hurt’ or ‘harm’. The name was given to this genus because of the poisonous nature of the bulbs. It is also similar to Scylla a mythical twelve-headed sea monster which in ancient times was believed to live opposite Charybdis a vortex from hell. The Greeks believed that Scylla and Charybdis lived in the Straits of Messina. When navigating through the dangerous straits Greek sailors had to decide whether to sail close to Scylla or Charybdis.

This article was published in The Times of Malta on 27 March 2014.

Bees make the world buzz!

For many, a bee is just the honey bee, which is just one species of more than 20,000 recorded bee species. 

Bees are closely related to wasps and ants and are important pollinators. They evolved from wasps which are predatory insects and can nowadays be found wherever insect-pollinating flowers manage to live.

Insect-pollinated flowers, before the appearance of bees, were pollinated by other insects such as beetles, flies and butterflies. The appearance of bees probably led to a greater diversity of flowering plants.

Bees became specialised nectar and pollen feeders which put them at an advantage over other insects. Nectar is the source of energy which allows these insects to fly tirelessly in search of flowers and nectars provides the proteins for the growing larvae.

More than sixty species of bee have been recorded in the Maltese islands and more are likely to be found as this group of insects has not been thoroughly. 

Some bees live in colonies while others are solitary. Bee communities may semisocial. These consist of colonies of sisters living together in which there is division of labour. 

More advanced communities are called eusocial. These are more complex organisations consisting of a queen bee, female workers and male drones.

Solitary bees do not live in colonies although in some species the individual nests are built close to each other giving the impression of a colony. The largest of the solitary bees is the large carpenter bee which is known in Maltese as bomblu iswed.

The bumble bee, known in Maltese as bomblu, is a social bee of great benefit to humans because of its pollinating activities.

A close look at indigenous flowers including species which flower during the summer months such as the pennyroyal (plejju), fennel (busbies), caper (kappar) and squirting cucumber (faqqus il-ħmir) can lead to the discovery of the interesting world of bees. 

This article was published in The Times on 13.06.2012

The moth with golden wings

Goldwing (Synthymia fixa)

Moths are common insects but being nocturnal they are often unseen and unsung. 

Most moths spend the day resting in a safe place flying off at night in search of a partner or to lay eggs on the right food-plant. During the night some species also visit flowers to obtain nectar which provides them with energy.

For safety they rely on camouflage. Most moths are grey or brown and when resting remain motionless until approached too closely. Some also have brightly coloured underwings. These are the two wings which when the moth is resting are hidden under the forewings. In some species these wings are brightly coloured being yellow, orange, red or pink. 

When the moth is resting the colourful wings are well hidden but when the moth is disturbed it flies off uncovering the hind-wings and startling approaching predator which very often is too surprised to continue with its approach. This gives the moth enough time to fly away. 

The moth usually does not fly more than a couple of metres but as soon as it lands it hides the brightly coloured hindwings and again becomes practically invisible.

One such moth is the goldwing, which is known in Maltese as baħrija tas-silla tal-mogħoż.  The silla tal-mogħoż is the pitch trefoil, a common annual plant on which this species lays its eggs and thus on which the caterpillars feed. 

The adult moths can be seen in April and May It is a small moth with a wingspan of less than 40mm. It is native in southern Europe and North Africa.

The goldwing belongs to the owlet moth family; a large family with over 42,000 species. Of these 1,4500 are found in Europe of which just over 160 are found in the Maltese islands. Some of these are agricultural pests and can damage crops. 

This article was published in The Times on 23.05.2012

Emblem of hope

The hawthorn

Hawthorns are large bushes or small trees that belong to the rose family and are native in Europe, Asia and North America. 

These trees y are an important source of food plants for birds and insects. and are often planted by naturalists to attract wildlife.

Hawthorns are at their best in spring and autumn, most pictures of these small trees show the trees in autumn when their branches are laden with small apple-like fruit. 

The fruit is beautiful to look at but its function is not to please us but to attract thrushes and other birds and entice them to eat the fruit so that they would help disperse the seeds. 

Same is true in spring. The pleasant fragrance released by the beautiful white flowers of the hawthorn attracts large numbers of insects which are important for their pollination.

The name hawthorn is now used for all species in this group of plants but it was originally used only for one species that is common throughout most of Europe including Malta.

In Maltese it is called żagħrun. This species grows wildly in the Maltese countryside but is usually noticed only in autumn.

A less common species, the Crete hawthorn, is known in Maltese as għanzalor. 

Although this species is found in other Mediterranean countries it is not known whether it is indigenous to the Maltese islands as it might have been brought and planted here for its fruit. 

Sometimes one can also meet hybrids which are known in Maltese as għanżalor bagħal.

The hawthorn was commonly used in traditional medicine and is still being studied as a source of antioxidants and other phytochemicals which can be used as a cure for a number of medical conditions including cardiac insufficiency. 

The fruit can be made into jellies, jams and syrups and to add flavour to brandy. The petals can also be used in salads.

It is inevitable that such a popular plant would have many important folk traditions surrounding it. It is the emblem of hope and in parts of Britain and Ireland it was considered unlucky to uproot it. 

This article was published in The Times on 09.05.2012

Tree mallow

Tree mallow

In Malta several species of mallow are found growing wild. They are known as ħobbejz, a word of Arabic origin meaning small loaf.

The name was presumably given to it because of the seed pods which have the shape of a loaf. A similar name is used for the seed pods in Jersey where they are known as “petit pains”.

The English name mallow comes from Old English malwe which itself comes from the Latin word malva. 

The Latin name is itself derived either from an old Greek word for yellow or from a Hebrew word which sounds like the Maltese word melħ and which like the Maltese word means salty.

In 1859 the French name for mallow, mauve, started to be used for a colour.

This plant should be instantly recognizable, yet, most people hardly notice it growing along roadsides and in abandoned fields especially close to the coast. It can grow up to two metres high with strong woody trunk which in Malta would qualify it as a small tree.

It has large leaves and from March to June unmistakable brightly coloured flowers. It grows along the coasts of Western Europe and the Mediterranean as far east as Greece. It is often very common on islands.

The tree mallow (ħobbejża tas-siġra) can grow in environments with high salinity. Like the tamarisk tree, known in Maltese as bruka, it can survive in these difficult conditions because it is able to excrete salt through glands on its leaves.

In many parts of Europe the leaves of the tree mallow were used to make poultices which were used to treat sprains and burns and in some places they are still used as animal fodder. 

They have also been used as an alternative to toilet paper.

In the Middle East the leaves are used in a traditional Arab dish known as khubeza. 

This article was published in The Times on 02.05.2012

The star of Bethlehem

Plant and animal names are a fascinating subject and can be a good topic for research and studies. 

The large star of Bethlehem, a spring-flowering plant, is a case in point.

In Maltese this flower is known as ħalib it-tajr kbir, a distinctive name for a beautiful flower but this is probably not the name country people used when referring to it. 

It is also known as ħara taċ-ċawl meaning jackdaws’ faeces. 

A hundred years ago such a name would have been considered as too rude to be used in print. 

The authors of a book on Maltese flora written in the early 20^th century left the name of this species out from their book. 

Sometime later somebody coined a new name by using its scientific name Ornithogalum and translated it into Maltese. 

Ornithogalum is made up of two Greek words ornis meaning bird and gala meaning milk  a name given to it because of its white flowers and because ‘birds’ milk’ was used by the Romans to describe wonderful things, hence ħalib it-tajr.

The white flowers of the large star of Bethlehem open on a stalk that is about thirty centimtres high which is just tall enough for the flowers to stand above the surrounding vegetation. 

It belongs to a family of bulbous plants found mostly in Europe and southern Africa. The family consists of about 150 species although not all are large and showy as this species.

Two other species, which also flower in spring, can be found in the Maltese islands. Both are much smaller.

The lesser star of Bethlehem known in Maltese as ħalib it-tajt skars was believed to be extinct but was found again less than ten years ago near Buskett. The other species, the southern star of Bethlehem, ħalib it-tajr żgħir in Maltese, is frequently found in rocky areas especially in late spring when much of the vegetation has dried up. 

This article was published in The Times on 25.04.2012

The endemic spider orchid

The Ophrys melitensis or Maltese spider orchid (brimba sewda) is one of twenty four species of plants endemic to the Maltese islands.

It is one of a small number of insect orchids that flower in spring. This orchid has a velvety reddish brown petal with variable metallic blue markings in the centre of it.

Another endemic orchid is the Maltese pyramidal orchid (orkida piramidali ta’ Malta) but the best known Maltese endemic is Malta’s national plant, the Maltese rock centaury (widnet il-baħar). 

It was first described by Stefano Zerafa a Maltese doctor with a keen interest in the botany of the Maltese islands.

The word endemic is often confused with indigenous. An indigenous species is a plant or animal that is native in a particular place. The opposite of indigenous is non-native. 

In the Maltese countryside we find many species of non-native species including the Cape sorrel (ħaxixa Ingliża) a native of South Africa which was introduced in Malta in the early 19^th Century.

Endemism on the other hand means that a species is found in a defined area. Thus Maltese endemic plants and animals are found in Malta and nowhere else in the world.

 There are also regional endemics. In the case of Malta these would be restricted to Malta and some small neighbouring islands such as Lampedusa, and Pantelleria or Sicily.

Many endemic species are found on islands as a result of biological isolation which allows a species to evolve separately and differently from the same species in another area. 

The number of endemic species in the Maltese islands is lower than on other Mediterranean islands. 

This is probably a result of millennia of human pressure which must have led to the extinction of many species.

Endemic species are considered as internationally important. 

Because of their restricted range they are often in danger of extinction or given a vulnerable status are often protected by means of national and international legislation. 

This article was published in The Times on 11.04.2012

How the wild rabbit was tamed

The wild rabbit is not indigenous to the Maltese islands but it has been here for so long that it is now considered as part of the Maltese fauna. 

The rabbit originated in the Iberian Peninsula.  

From there it was taken to other countries and is now found throughout Europe. I

t was probably introduced in Malta by the Romans or possibly by the Phoenicians. 

Malta was one of the stops of the Phoenicians as they sailed across the Mediterranean their western colonies and their homeland and they could have released rabbits on the Maltese islands to ensure a supply of fresh meat during their journeys. 

The rabbits survived in the Maltese countryside and eventually provided meat for the local population. 

The Knights of St John issued several edicts to restrict or prohibit the local population from hunting rabbits.

In 1773 the restrictions even resulted in a revolt known as the Rising of the Priests.

It is not known when rabbits started to be domesticated in the Maltese islands. 

Some farmers used to keep a doe enclosed with four stone walls each between 80 and 100 cm high. 

The doe was well fed and was too heavy or too lazy to jump out. Males on the other hand would jump inside at night to mate. 

This provided the farmers with a supply of meat close at hand. 

These rabbits were probably the progenitors of the local domestic rabbit known as ‘tax-xiber’.

Wild rabbits are usually a pale sandy brown or greyish with white underparts and different colour varieties can be found in the same area.

Wild rabbits are still relatively common in the Maltese countryside but they are rarely seen because they emerge to feed at dawn and dusk and are very timid as a result of centuries of hunting. 

At the Għadira Nature Reserve, where hunting has been prohibited since 1980, many rabbits have become tame and active during the day and can be seen regularly by those visiting the reserve which is open to the public on weekends. 

This article was published in The Times on 04.04.2012

Plant that looks like a lamb’s tail

The small white flowers grow on a columnar stalk that looks like a lamb’s tail hence its Maltese name, denb il-ħaruf abjad.

The flowers are so small that to appreciate the beauty of this flower you should move in close and if possible use a magnifying glass to study the details of the individual flowers.

The white mignonette grows in Europe, Asia and North Africa but has also been introduced in the Americas and Australia. It is now also cultivated as a garden plant. 

Garden varieties can grow up to a metre high but the wild plants found in the Maltese islands hardly ever grow half as tall. 

This species grows mainly in disturbed habitats and is commonly found throughout the Maltese islands. It can be seen flowering between December and May.

Mignonettes were grown in Victorian England in pots and placed on windowsills to counteract the noxious smell of the city air with their scent. In Roman times the plants were used to produce a sedative and to treat bruises. An oil, extracted from the flowers, is used in perfumery.

The yellow mignonette, a species closely related to the white was also of use. A yellow dye called weld was produced from its roots as far back as 3,000 years ago. Dye production stopped at the turn of the 20^th century when cheaper synthetic dyes became available.

The yellow mignonette is also found in the Maltese countryside but unlike its relative it is very rare. In Maltese it is known as denb il-ħaruf isfar. If you are lucky you can find this plant in flower in April and May.

Both species are rich in nectar and pollen and attract large numbers of butterflies and bees. 

This article was published in The Times on 28.02.2012

Scented Maltese stocks

The Maltese stocks is a special plant because like the national plant (the Maltese centaury – Widnet il-baħar) it is endemic to the Maltese islands. It is known in Maltese as Ġiżi ta’ Malta, because it not found growing wild in any other country. 

The Maltese stocks is not considered as a separate species but as a subspecies flowers from March to May. Another race which is not indigenous to the Maltese islands, the garden stocks (Ġiżi komuni) was introduced in Malta as a garden plant but can be found growing wild in a number of areas especially on the fortifications at Valletta, Floriana, Tignè and Manoel Island. 

The Maltese race was first described by a local and two foreign botanists in 1988.

It is a perennial plant belonging to the mustard family. It is very rare in Malta but less rare in Gozo. It is an endangered species and is protected by law.

Other species of stocks can be found in the Maltese islands. 

The Mediterranean stocks, known in Maltese as Gizi tal-baħar, is an annual plant with pale violet flowers. Until 20 years ago it grew mostly in disturbed ground along the extreme east coast of the Malta but has now spread to other areas especially along the Sliema, San Giljan and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq coast and is much more common than it used to be. 

The increase in range probably started by the dispersion of the seeds when a strong east wind blew them across the Grand Harbour to the other side of the Valletta peninsula from where it continued to expand its range further west. 

This species has an interesting mode of dispersion as, when the seeds have become ripe, the plant breaks off at the base and tumbles in the wind leaving a trail of seeds along the way.

Another species is the night-scented stocks (ġiżi tal-lejl) which is non-indigenous and rare. 

This species is of Eurasian origin and is often grown in gardens, especially in cooler regions, mainly for its pleasant scent which is most noticeable during the evening and at night.

This article was published in The Times on 21.03.2012

A kingdom of... fungi!

Fungi are very common everywhere and play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter. An uneaten piece of fruit or any other food within a short time becomes covered with a layer of mold which is nothing but the reproductive bodies of fungi. 

In nature these fungi recycle the nutrients which end up in the soil thus becoming available again for other plants.

Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of a variety of fungi that generally have a stem on which the familiar gilled structure grows. The best known species are the cultivated edible species. 

Until a few decades ago, fungi were considered as part of the plant kingdom but now they form part of a kingdom. This is because although they have characteristics in common with plants, animals and bacteria they evolved separately from them. They have their own characteristics but are more closely related to animals than to plants.

About 100,00 species of fungi have been described although it is believed that hundreds of thousands if not millions more are still to be discovered. In Malta about 300 species have been recorded although this number does not include the microscopic species.

While fungi can cause serious diseases in humans they play an important role in the pharmacological and food industries. Perhaps the best known antibiotic is penicillin which was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 when he noticed that a fungus which was contaminating his bacteria specimens was actually killing the bacteria. 

Another closely related species is used to inoculate cheese such as the Stilton and Roquefort to give them a unique taste and texture.

Baker’s yeast, a single-celled fungus, is used in the production of bread while another species of yeast is used in fermentation which leads to the production of alcoholic drinks. Other species are used in the fermentation of Soya beans in the production of soy sauce.

This article was published in The Times on 08.02.2012

Beetle mania

Recently while taking some early morning pictures at Fiddien I found a species of black beetle that I had never seen before. A friend of mine, a specialist in beetles, identified it for me.

It was a nocturnal weevil known to entomologists as Otiorhynchus lugens but for which I could not find a common name.

Weevils are recognised by their long snout and small antennae which have small knobs at the end. They are plant feeders and are often found on or near their food plant.

The weevil family is very large. Over 40,000 species have been identified worldwide of which more than 120 species, including several endemics, are found in the Maltese islands.Most of the weevils I am familiar with are either a shade of brown or grey.

Being black and nocturnal this species made me think about the fact that although the most familiar beetles such as ladybirds and leaf beetles are brightly coloured, many beetles, many of which we do not often see, are black.

A study carried out about ten years ago in Brazil found that the body colour of beetles is strongly related to their daily activity pattern. In other words, nocturnal beetles are likely to be black while diurnal species are either brown or brightly coloured.

Bright colours are used to warn predators, especially birds, that that particular insect is either bad tasting, poisonous or that it can inflict a painful sting. Brown or grey colours camouflage them, making them difficult to see against their surroundings. On the other any brown or grey beetle would be easy to spot in the darkness so nocturnal beetles have evolved black bodies which makes them difficult to see at night.

This gives them an advantage over beetles that are not black, as, being more difficult to see there is a smaller chance that they are eaten by predators.

This article was published in The Times on 28.12.11

Of seeds with ‘papery wings’

The sandarac is Malta’s national tree. It was presumably chosen because of its rarity in the Maltese islands. 

Its main range is in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Outside North West Africa it is found only in Malta and Cartagena in southeast Spain.

It is a conifer and like all conifers the seeds are produced in cones. 

In this species the cones are between ten and fifteen millimetres long. When young they are green, turning brown as they age. 

They consist of four thick scales arranged in pairs to form an uneven sphere. When the cones open, the seeds which have papery wings float gently to the ground.

In Maltese the sandarac is known as għargħar, a semitic name that indicates that this tree was already present when the when the islands were occupied by the Arabs. 

Up to about thirty years ago it was thought that this tree grew only at Maqluba, near Qrendi, but a small grove was found near Mellieħa. 

In the past this tree was said to have been much more common especially in the area around Birkirkara and around the village of Għargħur.

It is a tree adapted to the hot dry summers of the Mediterranean. It can survive burning and can re-grow from cut or burnt stumps. Trees that have been burnt repeatedly over a long period of time form burrs known as lupias. 

Burrs are stress-induced deformations usually in the form of rounded outgrowths of the trunk. Burrs are usually highly prized and sought by furniture makers and artists. To obtain the lupias the sandarac trees are destroyed and this has led to large parts of Morocco being deforested.

The tree produces a resin which is used to make a varnish which was used to protect paintings and antiques. For many centuries sandarac was the only varnish in use until it was replaced by cheaper varnishes. 

In parts of North Africa the resin is traditionally used to make a liquor and as a remedy in cases of difficult childbirth as well as to reduce cramps. Sandarac is burned to treat colds or taken internally to treat roundworms and tapeworms.

The wood of the sandarac is known as citron. In Romans times it was often used in house building and is still used in cabinetry and to make decorative objects. 

This article was published in The Times on 21.12.11.

Fly that pretends to buzz like a bee

Hoverflies, as their name suggests, are well known for their habit of hovering in front of flowers. 

Many adult hoverflies feed on nectar and pollen while the larvae feed on a variety of animal and plant material. 

In some species the larvae are insectivores. These are now being used to control plant-sucking insects such as aphids which can cause widespread damage to agricultural crops.

Hoverflies are found on all continents except Antarctica. 

At least six thousand species have been identified and named of these about 30 species have been recorded in Malta but I would not be surprised if more species are discovered in the future.

Hoverflies rely on mimicry to protect themselves from predators. 

They resemble dangerous insects especially bees and wasps and even hover and buzz like them. Their mimicry is so good that predators mistake them for dangerous insects and leave them alone even though they are not dangerous as they do not sting. 

Hoverflies are so confident of their mimicry that unlike most other insects they do not fly away when approached and one can get many opportunities to get good close up pictures of them. 

Pictures can be useful when trying to identify this group of insects as unless one is a specialist it can be very difficult to tell species apart in the field.

Many species of hoverflies can be seen on flowers on warm spring days but even at this time of the year one can observe a number of species feeding on pollen produced by autumn and early winter flowering plants such as the daisies which are already in flower. 

Common species in Malta include the drone-fly (dubbiena dakar), the lesser drone-fly (dubbiena ta’ l-għajnejn irrigati), the common yellow-banded hoverfly (dubbiena żunżanija) and the slender hover-fly (dubbiena tal-fjuri). 

This article was published in The Times on 14.12.2011

The shell that lets in light

I spent an enjoyable afternoon last Sunday taking pictures of sea snails and shells washed ashore during the recent stormy weather.

I found several interesting species which are normally associated with a sandy sea bottom.

The Maltese islands do not have regular tides, but the sea level sometimes goes down by a few centimetres, which in places like Għadira Bay can result in a considerable retreat comparable to a tide.

When this happens one gets the chance to observe more specimens of marine flora and fauna.

The most common seashell on the beach was that of the rayed trough-shell (Mactra stultorum), which is known in Maltese as arzella tal-baħar.

This species belongs to a family of bivalve molluscs commonly known as trough shells or duck clams.

Ten members of this family are found in the Mediterranean but only four species have been recorded around the Maltese islands.

The rayed trough-shell is found in the north, from Norway down the west coast of Europe to the Iberian Peninsula and along the African coasts as far south as Senegal. It is also found along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts.

It lives in sandy bottoms from five to 30 metres deep and is often found cast up on beaches. It has a thin and delicate shell through which light can pass, providing one with many opportunities to create beautiful pictures especially early in the morning or late afternoon.

Like many other species of molluscs, the rayed trough-shell is edible and in some places it is collected and sold in markets.

This article was published in The Times on 7.12.11

The healing field marigold

The field marigold is a member of the daisy family. It is native to central and southern Europe including the Maltese islands. 

It has now been introduced in many countries throughout the world in some of places it is considered as a pest. 

In Malta we find two subspecies of field marigold one of which even exists in two varieties. 

This makes identification of this species somewhat confusing a situation which is not made any easier by the fact that the daisy family which is made up of over 20,000 species is the largest plant family. In Malta the daisy family is represented by about 120 species.

The two races of field marigold are known in Maltese as suffejra tar-raba’ and suffejra kbira tar-raba’. The variety being shown in the picture has been named suffejra tar-raba’ ta’ ġiex kuluri.

The field marigold is widely cultivated as a garden plant but it is better known for its medicinal properties. 

It is said to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and has been used extensively to heal wounds. It is believed that its anti-bacterial properties are partially a result of the structure of its sugar which stimulates the body’s immune system. 

To heal minor wounds the leaves and petals can be ground or crushed into a paste, mixed with water and applied to the wounds. The flowers have also been used to treat stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal problems for hundreds of years.

Plant identification is an interesting and sometimes challenging task. Until the invention of modern pharmaceuticals most people interested in plants were pharmacists and doctors who studied botany because many plants were used for medical purposes. 

Botanists today still study plants because of their medicinal value but a growing number of enthusiasts are taking an interest in wild plants as a hobby. 

This article was written in The Times on 30.11.11

The leaf beetle family

Chrysolina variolosa

Leaf beetles are members of an insect family represented  by about sixty species in Malta. 

The one pictured with this article is known simply as a leaf beetle and in Maltese as żabbella a name that was used also for the ladybirds. The scientific name which distinguishes this beetle from all other leaf beetles is Chrysolina variolosa.

This species is frequent although not common. 

It is usually found on the spiny asparagus, (spraġġ in Maltese) as it probably eats its leaves.

But the specimen I photographed last Sunday at Mistra Bay was walking on rocks far from any asparagus plant.

The leaf beetle family is the largest and most commonly encountered beetle family. It is estimated that there are over 35,000 species in this family. Several species are of economic importance because of their impact on agricultural produce. 

Some have been used to control weeds biologically especially in Australia and in California.

But the greatest impact is probably that of another species - the Colorado potato beetle which can devastate entire crops of potato.

The Colorado potato beetle is indigenous to the Americas but it was not until 1840 that it started to become a pest of the potato plant. 

It appeared in Germany in Germany in 1877 but was soon eradicated from there. It reappeared in Europe sometime during World War I. It was first observed near American military bases in Bordeaux and from there it spread to Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain eating its way through potato fields.

Soon after the Colorado potato beetle started to spread in Europe the Maltese Government, prohibited the importation of crops from any areas where this beetle was present and managed to keep the Maltese islands free from this pest.

In 2008 the European Union issued a Directive by means of which Malta was declared a protected zone and was thus given special protection to be able to take measures such as plant quarantine to keep the Colorado potato beetle away from the islands. 

This article was published in The Times on 23.11.11)