Labyrinth Spiders of Manorbier
Choosing places to visit lately includes the additional consideration of
how busy said destination is likely to be. Isn't it amazing how crowded this
country gets when hordes of tourists aren’t jetting off around the world! For
the large part our choices have proven wise with one such being the
Pembrokeshire village of Manorbier. Regular readers will no doubt recall
previous trip reports and I’m happy to confirm that those red sandstone
cliffs, blue seas and artistically positioned castle are all still present and
correct.
Birds too were putting on a good show with the fields holding decent flocks of
Rook (one of the best corvid species) whilst a pair of
Chough (clearly
the best corvid species) were regularly
patrolling along the coastline though never quite settling within camera
range. It was also nice to see
Stonechats seemingly having another good year with several
family groups spotted. I’ll be honest though, as good as all this was I spent
much of our visit with my eyes trained firmly to the ground, or more precisely
the Gorse bushes which lined our route. The reason? They were covered in
masses of funnel shaped spider webs, home to the aptly named
Labyrinth spider. Unlike their Australian cousins, with which these can
sometimes be confused, the
Labyrinth spider poses no threat to humans.
Instead they are a marvel of construction with the funnel leading to a series
of tunnels hiding at its heart an egg sac. This the mother will protect until
her young are old enough to leave the web. Of course nature being nature
nothing is quite as cute or gentle as it may first appear. Not all females for
instance survive the vigil but in their passing do provide a handy meal for
their emerging offspring.
Walking the coast path we must have seen hundreds if not thousands of
individuals with some webs so thick as to be almost opaque. Others merged with
their neighbours so as to create a metropolis of tunnels and entrances. I can
only imagine that at this time of year the hunting must be good and we did
spot one lucky spider with a whole moth ensnared upon which to feast.
Getting clear photos was not as easy as the above images may at first suggest.
For instance the
Labyrinth spider usually sits well back in its funnel
meaning that getting the lens in close through that mass of web is a tricky
proposition. Touch a single strand and the spider is either going to go
hurrying back deeper into cover or jump forwards to see what prey has just
stumbled into trouble. Trust me the latter is rather alarming when viewed
through a camera up close.
With so much of my attention being diverted to the ground it was inevitable
that we’d discover other macro delights. Chief amongst these and winning the
award for most colourful insect of the day was this
Rose Chafer, a
stunning vision in metallic green which flew in briefly near Swanlake Bay.
There were caterpillars too (and lots of butterflies but they had an annoying
habit of flying away) including my personal favourite, the
Cinnabar moth. They were the first we’d seen this year which of course
meant that we found two in our own garden as soon we got home. These
individuals were however far more photogenic.
A few meters away a ball of
Peacock caterpillars were another great
find considering we’ve seen very few of the butterflies themselves of late.
I’ll close this entry out with a cautionary tale. Not, as you might think,
concerning the insect life or those darting spiders but instead with the pay
and display machine in Manorbier itself. Firstly it is cash only so don’t
arrive expecting to use contactless or mobile apps (there’s no phone signal
anyway). Secondly don’t pay for an all-day ticket in ten pence pieces. The
time limit to complete a transaction is insufficient for the feeding in of so
many coins resulting in the whole lot being returned to the machine’s change
draw. No major issue I hear you say, until that is you realise all that loose
change has now jammed said change draw shut with no way of retrieving your
money to even attempt a second go. Cue much prodding with keys which,
thankfully, proved successful in the end. Never a dull moment where we’re
concerned.
The Rose Chafer reminds me of happy afternoons drifting in and out of cloud at the Mull of Galloway, the only place I have seen this sparkling insect. And Manorbier, ah, I was only looking through my old photos the other day. I'm wondering, Adam, if any Small Tortoiseshells have flittered across your path this year? I have only had one 'probable' sighting - such a shame.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen a single Small Tortoiseshell as well Caroline. Seems to have been a poor year for them again.
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