Some Pests

The horse-chestnut leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella) made its appearance in England a few years back and its moths are thought to have been brought over from mainland Europe travelling on trucks.  Certainly it is very obvious that trees closest to roads are the ones worst affected.  It is now a common sight for horse-chestnut trees to look as if they are heading for autumn in mid-August, some trees completely brown by the end of August.  There was some opinion when the moth first appeared that this could spell the end of these trees in England, much as Dutch elm disease had removed mature elms from the countryside in the 1960s.

A pest when you are out walking, it also has medicinal uses: stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) can be found in impenetrable colonies like this one all over the countryside.

Impenetrable is probably a word much better used to describe brambles (Rubus fruticosus), here seen attractively growing around some straw bales left in the field since last year.  It's about this time that the fruits start ripening and blackberry picking becomes a common weekend activity.

Striking red berries of Bitter Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) are eaten by birds, which accounts for their very successful distribution.  They are, however, very poisonous to cattle and people, although it also has some medicinal uses.

Mildew can be found on many oaks at the end of a hot, wet summer.  Much more of a problem for the trees is the gall wasp, which lays its eggs in the buds of the trees.  The size of the gall is determined by the number of larvae competing for space within the gall.

Finally, I have no idea what killed off this young beech tree, but it was possibly a succession of dry years and a poorly developed root system unable to cope.