it was one of our group, not me, who knew what caused the infestation. I am told that in
fact the tree is rarely killed, as the infestation lasts for a rather short time and some new
shoots are made later. I am beginning to feel that I should really learn a bit more about
our common insects.
By mid-May we were still having very cold nights with a few frosts, and cold breezes in
the day. But the plants seem to be coming into flower all over the place, regardless. We
had a good day out at Davy Down with several uncommon new plants found, but the
details are all in the report elsewhere in this issue. The next day I planted out 60 tomato
plants (yes, we are very fond of outdoor home-grown tomatoes) in our garden, and then
feared for their lives in the cold nights. However, a week later they were still doing well
so no harm has been done.
We went for a holiday to the French Pyrenees again (a different part) in late May and
returned in mid June. It was warm down there, and when we returned it was pretty warm
here too and virtually no rain for the whole 3 weeks we were away. Now, in late June, we
are sweltering in temperatures of 30°C, and have still had almost no rain. One creature
in warmer climates is the Field Cricket, and we encountered these in the camp-site in the
mountains. They stridulate 22/24, the river roared in spate 24/24, and the dawn chorus
of birds filled the 2/24 when the Crickets were silent. So it was rather noisy, but the
Crickets were the worst and kept us from sleep night after night. When we took the tent
down, we found 3 of these insects, on the tent fabric where it was against the grass. No
wonder they had kept us awake; they were right next to us! We caught one and took
photos of it (see plate 3), and later identified it. The animal was nearly 3cm long, not
counting its long antennae, and we saw it make its noise by rubbing its two wings together.
Now, dear friends, Peter Harvey told me that this creature is a legally protected and
nationally endangered species found nowadays in only two or three locations in Sussex.
But with global warming, in warm south Essex.......just make sure you don't allow
these things too near you at night!
Firmly back home again I tried to catch up on some botanising. Out on my own in open
areas near Cranham and Upminster for two days, I was pleased to find a new plant of the
infamous Deadly Nightshade, but no, I won't tell you where it is as I understand the
police are duty bound to dig out this particular poisonous plant. Why, I cannot imagine,
as there are so many plants you could use to kill somebody that are just as poisonous as
this one, or more so. The Deadly Nightshade is actually quite uncommon, so it seems
especially hard to pick on this one. I also found another colony of the Dyer's Greenweed
(see plate 6); hitherto only one site has been known round here. It looks like a short
Broom, but dies down every year. Another plant new in this area was the Hairy St.
John's-wort, and it was distributed up and down a north-south corridor of open land,
about a mile or more long, including an arabic field margin.
On the subject of poisons, there are lots of plants that make substances that are harmful
to browsing herbivores, whether vertebrates or arthropods or molluscs, and this is an
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 48, September 200S
7