The eucalyptus tree

Most of the 700 or so species of eucalyptus trees are native to Australia. A small number of them are native to New Guinea and Indonesia and one species is found in the Philippines. Several of these species have been planted in other parts of the world. At least three species have been planted in the Maltese countryside, often to the detriment of local flora.

The roots of many species of eucalyptus are able to draw up water very efficiently and can dominate the flora in arid zones. In many countries they were planted to drain marshes.

In the 1930s Mussolini planted thousands of eucalyptus trees in the marshes around Rome as part of an attempt to drain them and create new agricultural land and destroy the habitat of the anopheles mosquito which transmits malaria.  

In Malta eucalyptus trees are often planted by bird hunters because they are fast growing and within a few years they are large enough to lure migrating birds within range of the waiting hunters. In Maltese eucalyptus trees are known as ewkaliptu but many hunters use the name siġra tal-gamiem meaning the bird of the turtle doves.

The three species of eucalyptus that have been planted in the Maltese islands flower at the end of summer. The flowers of the commonest species, the red gum eucalyptus consist of an ovary surrounded by a large number of stamens topped by pollen-carrying anthers.

The flowers are rich in nectar and pollen and attract large numbers of bees. Many Maltese apiarists nowadays depend on the presence of these trees to harvest honey during autumn. For some apiarists eucalyptus trees have become so important that they protested when eucalyptus trees were cut down. They even appealed for more eucalyptus trees to be planted.    

Eucalyptus trees are still being planted by hunters in the Maltese countryside. This practice should stop and trees that have already been planted should be replaced by indigenous species such as Holm oak (siġra tal-ballut) and Aleppo pine (siġra taż-żnuber). Eucalyptus trees in built areas could be kept and perhaps more could be planted to provide bees with nectar when few if any other sources of nectar are available.

This article was published in the Times of Malta on 11 September 2013.

Silky yellow sea poppy

Glaucium flavum - Yellow-horned poppy - peprin isfar

The yellow horned poppy is one of the few indigenous plants that flowers during the summer. It is a biennial or a short-lived perennial. The flowers are similar in size and structure to those of the common poppy but are yellow instead of red.

The seeds are formed in a long thin pod.

The yellow horned poppies is native to many parts of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It was introduced in many parts of the United States and in some places it is considered as a weed.

In Malta it is most common along the north and east coast of Malta. It grows near the sea and is never found far inland. It prefers sandy areas but it can also be common in rocky areas especially in dust or soil-filled depressions.

In Maltese the yellow horned poppy is known as peprin isfar.

The leaves are thick and leathery, an adaptation to life close to the sea. The thick leaves store water in them and they are covered in a layer of wax which stops water from being lost through them.

The first flowers appear in late April, although it is not easy to find a plant in flower so early in the season as they start flowering in earnest in early June.

Like many other plants, the yellow horned poppy is both poisonous and medicinal. Every part of the plant is toxic and eating it can result in respiratory failure and even death. A clear yellow oil is obtained from the seeds. The plant’s main medicinal component is known as glaucine. This substance has properties similar to those of codeine. It is used in some countries as an antitussive but it can have side effects such as sedation, fatigue and can also bring about hallucinations. 

Thos article was published in the Times of Malta on 4 September 2013

Why cicadas only sing in summer

The continuous buzzing sound of the cicada is typical of Maltese summer days.

The cicada appears punctually during the second week of July. The larva digs its way out of the soil in it had lived for many years. It then climbs up the nearest vertical object which is usually the trunk of the tree of which it had been sucking juices. Occasionally instead of a tree it finds a wall or other stone structure.

Once it is high enough it expands slightly and this causes its external skeleton to break along a weak line at its back. It then pushes itself out of the exoskeleton and slowly walks away from it. This is a very vulnerable moment for the now adult insect. Its new external skeleton is still soft and in case of danger it is not able to fly.

The new external skeleton and the wings do not take long to harden and soon the male cicadas start singing while the females start their search for singing males.

When a pair of cicadas meets, they start courtship and then they mate. Courtship consists of repeated hugging and touching each other with their legs.

Soon after, the cicada lays its eggs in the soil close to the surface. The eggs hatch in late summer or early autumn in well enough time for the newly hatched larvae to dig their way further down into the soil where they will be spending the rest of their lives as larvae.

Once mating takes place and eggs are laid adult cicadas have no further need to stay alive and start dying. The number of singing cicadas has started to decrease and soon the last one will stop singing leaving behind a silence that indicates that the end of the summer season is fast approaching. 

This article was published in the Times of Malta on 28 August 2013.

Snapping nature at home

Nature photography is generally defined as the photographing of landscapes as well as plants and animals in their natural habitats. Purists do not consider any picture that includes man-made objects as a nature picture.

Some nature photography competitions stipulate that an image cannot be allowed to compete if it includes non-natural objects. This attitude would be commendable were it not for the fact that nowadays none of us live in untouched surroundings. Most of us live in towns and villages surrounded by buildings with little or no greenery.

For many the only nature they regularly come in contact is found in gardens and other man-made open spaces.  For them, nature consists of cultivated flowers, trees and nature programs on television.

On the other hand for those who are tuned to nature there is much more. As they walk through a street, they see wild plants growing wherever there is some soil. Wild plants grow even in cracks on pavements. Vegetation attracts wildlife and though we do not have large animals we have an interesting variety of insects and other arthropods. Some of which even enter buildings including our home.    

Sometimes unusual and interesting species such as the ant-lion end up in houses. Should one photograph an ant-lion on a wall? Yes, because although ant-lions normally spend the day resting on vegetation, the fact that it sometimes spends the day resting on a wall is of interest and worth recording.

This long-winged insect is active mostly in the evening and is more commonly found in sandy areas. The larva lives at the bottom of a funnel-like pit where it spends the day waiting for unwary ants to venture over the edge of the pit. The ants are unable climb out of the pit and fall to the bottom and are eaten by the ant-lion.

About 2,000 species of ant-lion are found world wide. 

This article was published in the Times of Malta on 21 August 2013

Malta-Gozo Channel: Malta's first Marine Important Bird Area

Caper flies

Caper fly Capparimyia savastani

The caper fly is one of several species of insects that lives on the caper plant. It is a small fly that lives exclusively on caper plants and if you want to see one you need to look for it only on this host species.

This fly species is found in some Mediterranean countries and in parts of Asia. It has been recorded in Italy, France, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Oman and Pakistan. In 2008 it was found in large numbers on wild and cultivated caper plants on the Greek island of Milos and was immediately considered as a pest because of the potential damage it could cause to the caper production industry.

It is very similar to fruit flies such as the Mediterranean fruit fly (dubbiena tal-frott) which causes damage to fruit particularly oranges. It can be distinguished from the fruit flies by its yellow abdomen but the most important feature that would help you identify it from other flies is the fact that you will always find it resting on the leaves and flowers of the caper plant.

I have not found a Maltese name for the caper fly but dubbiena tal-kappar sounds like a good name for this species.

Female caper flies lay three to five eggs inside the buds and fruits of the caper plant. Once a fly has laid its eggs there is nothing to stop another fly from laying its eggs in the same bud or fruit and sometimes up to seven eggs can be found together in one bud or fruit.

The eggs hatch in two to ten days. The larva looks like a typical fruit-fly larva. The larva remains in the fruit or bud throughout its development which lasts from ten to eighteen days. When it is ready to pupate it emerges and falls onto the soil and digs itself in. The species probably has several broods per year. The adults can be seen only during the warmest months. It survives the winter as a pupa buried in the soil. 

This article was published in the Times of Malta on 14 August 2013.

White poplar

White poplar Populus alba

The white polar is the only native poplar of the Maltese islands. It is indigenous in southern and central Europe and to the east as far as Central Asia. It lives in moist habitats such as the sides of streams and rivers. In Malta it grows in valleys such as Chadwick Lakes and at Wied il-Luq which is Maltese for valley of the poplars.

In old English the white poplar was known as ‘Abele’ from the Latin albellus meaning white. Its scientific name is Populus alba which also means white polar.

The white poplar was introduced in North America in 1748. It is widely cultivated for its wood and in some areas it is considered as an invasive species. It is an invasive species also in many parts of Australia and in South Africa

The tree is easily recognised. The trunk is smooth greyish-white and the leaves appear white underneath. The white colour is a result of whitish-grey hair that grows on both sides of the leaves. The hair on the upper side of the leaves wears off uncovering the green surface of the leaves. That on the bottom remains on the leave until it falls off in late autumn.

In Ancient Greece the white poplar was dedicated to Hercules after he crowned himself with its branches to celebrate his victory over Cacus on Aventine Hill which was covered with white poplars. Those offering sacrifices to him bound their heads in a similar way as did those who conquered their enemies.

The white poplar is one of several species of poplars native to the Northern Hemisphere. The exact number of poplars is unknown mainly because of difficulties in distinguishing species and the existence of hybrids. It is believed that there are between twenty-five and thirty-five species.  

This article was published in the Times of Malta on 7 August 2013