Stings, wings and hairy things - Bee by Rose-Lynn Fisher

Do bees really have knees? According to artist Rose-Lynn Fisher's new book BEE, they do. Using a scanning electron microscope, Fisher has taken 60 photographs of bee anatomy – at magnifications of up to 5000 times and I have just received my copy of the book! I have been waiting for 2 months for it to be delivered from the States as a birthday present from my brothers and it was well worth the wait the pictures are glorious. Pictures are below with quotes from the book. 

Sting in the tail 650x 

"The sting is actually a modified version of an ovipositor, the queen bee's organ for laying eggs. A honeybee will sting only in self-defence or in defence of the hive. When a bee stings a person or other mammal, the barbs of the sting become anchored in flesh, and as the bee tries to free herself she dies."  

Drone's wing 10x 

"The drone's sole purpose in life is to mate with the queen. Once he has accomplished this, he dies. Because mating takes place in flight, the drone has evolved powerful wings to pursue the queen. They can even fly backwards. All bees have two pairs of wings, which they beat at up to 230 times a second. The heat generated by the wing beating evaporates water from the nectar in the honeycomb and thickens it into honey. It's also what produces the bees' buzz."  

Elliptical dome of bee eye 190x 

"This is the eye of a honeybee. It's hairy, unlike the eyes of most of the 20,000 species of bee that exist on the planet today. The eye is composed of thousands of hexagonal lenses, which capture light at different angles and detect movement. Each lens is sensitive to ultraviolet light, which can reveal markings on flowers that are invisible to humans but inform the bees where to land in order to find nectar."  

Antenna pollen 1100× 

"A foraging honeybee gets dusted with pollen as she travels from flower to flower. This is a photo of pollen trapped in the hair on the bee's antenna. Bees use their antennae to smell, taste, hear and detect changes in temperature, vibration, wind and humidity. Set into sockets on the head, the antennae pivot freely." 

Secluded Sanctuary

When I first arrived in Galloway Street early January 2010 a section of the garden that was down the back had a large vege plot. Although the only thing that really grew in this vege plot was weeds so it began to look quite untidy. The best option at the time I thought was to get rid of it and replace it with grass so my partner and I spent a weekend weeding, removing the border, flattening the area and sowing grass seed. 

Before (during summer)

After (winter)

However it is quite damp in this area and in addition this is where the bees are now housed so mowing these lawns with a push mower is a bit of a mission to say the least. Although I am yet to fix the boggy ground by planting a more shade loving grass seed I have created a garden bed that will one day make a nice backdrop for this area. I transplanted from other parts of my garden two hydrangeas and a mexican orange blossom along with some forget-me-not seedlings I found loitering in my upstairs vege plot. I then had a thought that I could fill the last spaces with arthropodium a lovely native grass that flowers during the summer and does nicely in sun or shade. After receiving my 12 root divisions bare rooted via the post I put them in the ground. However a week later I came down to mow the lawns and found that some of the plants had been removed. I need to explain now that this part of the garden is semi shared with the neighbours next door however I do have my side and they have theirs. However I think while one of them was tidying up their section they mistook the arthropodium plants as weedy agapanthus and have pulled them out to stop them spreading. I am little annoyed to say the least, but I have a soft spot for my neighbours as they are old, quite cute and I am sure no harm was intended so I will just let it be. However watch this space, in the next few months I am sure these plants will flourish and I will soon have a lovely section amongst the natives (kowhai, pseudopanax and arthropodium) where I can sit and feel completely cut off from city life.

Arthropodium - Renga Renga Lily

Winter Wonderland

After a wonderful weekend in Invercargill celebrating the engagement of my partner's brother and girlfriend we had the rather challenging task of travelling back to Dunedin after a good 20-30cm of snow had fallen Sunday morning. It went all pretty smoothly until we got to Galloway street where it got a bit slippery. After sliding into the gutter we unpacked and began to marvel at the whiteness. My garden had been transformed into a magical fairytale. 

Sitting in a bed of white - Hyacinth in bloom 

The wintry blast has blanketed Dunedin

Woke up this morning to find this little begger hunting around on the bird table for breakfast. Also found that the sugar water had been emptied and after 3 minutes of putting it back on the table the silvereyes, tui and bellebirds had made the discovery.

Greenfinch

Bellbird

Silvereye

Tui

Cheeky Chubsters

Big on Birds

Since I was a child I have been fascinated by birds, yet there were never many birds in the garden at the house I grew up in. We had cats and a dog that would always manage to scare them off. However since moving to my home in Mornington, Dunedin I have been able to enjoy the vast amount of birdlife that New Zealand has to offer. My house is situated within 1 kilometer of the town belt, a strip of land that is protected by the council and provides a safe haven for birds including the Kereru, Tui and Bellbird. This means that I am lucky enough to have regular native visitors.

My partner (who wanted me to add a pic of himself being silly) kindly made me a bird table and in winter when I put sugar water out I encourage large flocks of birds into the garden, I find that I am having to put a litre of sugar water out everyday. 

shake your tail feather

 

beaut bird bath

thomas

There is sometimes upwards of 30 silvereyes in my cherry and pseudopanax trees and I can almost always hear the beautiful bellbirds song. I do however have to be careful when putting out seeds for the birds. They are so messy, they scatter the seeds from one end of the garden to the other so I am always finding little grass and grain seedlings popping up here and there.

It seems as though there are many people around New Zealand that are just as keen on birds as I am. More than 2000 surveys for  the 2011 Garden Bird Survey by Landcare Research have been completed recording the presence of 125 unique species of bird and the preliminary results from 1445 of these surveys have been published on their website. The long-term aim of the survey is to determine trends in bird numbers over time. 

Interesting stats about the number of silvereyes visiting gardens this year have emerged from the survey. From 1445 survey returns processed to date, the average number of silvereyes was less than half the number counted last year (6.5 compared with 13.2 per garden). Survey participants made comments such as, ‘Where are all the silvereyes?’ and ‘The lowest number of silvereyes we’ve had in years’.

The website puts the decrease in silvereye visits down to the mild winter the country has experienced this year. "The lack of snow and frosts may mean there is still plenty of natural food around, so birds have not been forced into gardens in search of food". 

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The website also noted that 'there are some spurious results such as piopio, which will be deleted when the data are edited". Curious considering that the piopio Turnagra capensis, also known as the New Zealand Thrush,  is now extinct.  

Hot Topic

In my last blog I posted a number of images that were rude in nature and I swore I wouldn't do it here. But given that this is a gardening blog and this next image is gardening related I couldn't resist.  

"Peter peppers", "Penis peppers" or "Chili willys" is an heirloom hot pepper (Capisicum annuum)  and in addition to the conversation value of this pepper, it has a variety of uses including salsas and ground pepper. A seller on trademe is selling a pack of ten seeds so I will be ordering mine today!

Ornamental Alliums

I have just purchased the "statement piece" for my garden. A gigantic allium is going to be swaying its sweet head above my flower bed. Ornamental alliums are relatives of your ordinary garlics and onions and are truly magnificent, Allium giganteum can reach up to one metre in height and has a massive twenty centimetre blossom. I purchased one of the above from Blueskin nurseries and it set me back a rather costly price of twenty dollars, but worth it, so I am not complaining. However one of these beauties wasn't enough and today I found via trademe a nursery that sells a smaller ornamental allium Allium spaerocephalon and a large number of other plants  from their base in Taranaki. I bought six planter bags each containing six bulbs and they are due to flower in December. The cut flowers might make excellent centre pieces for christmas dinner table! 

Globemaster - Allium giganteum

Allium spaerocephalon

Next time you see these wonders they will be hanging with some of my roses acting as a deterrent against the pesky aphids.

Plant of the Week: Arum Lily

My friend and flatmate is getting married next year to my other friend and flatmate and she has chosen the Arum Lily for her bouquet flower. However when it comes to the tradition of throwing her bouquet  to all the unmarried women at her wedding she would rather skip this part than lose that expensive  flower bunch. Arum Lilys prosper in boggy soils in full or half sun and down the back of my garden I have a few Arum Lilys growing like weeds. As I recall from last year they flower in January perfect timing for my friends' wedding. So I am just going to whip her up a bunch of "homemade"  Arum Lilys so she can throw those instead. Only catch to all this is that she aims for my hands!

The Arum Lily, Zantedeschia, is thought to be named after Professor Zantedeschi, an Italian physician and botanist. Although called the arum lily, it is neither an arum ( the genus Arum) nor a lily ( genus Lilium). It is an excellent cutflower and lasts a long time in water. Interestingly, the striking arum lily "flower" is actually many tiny flowers arranged in a complex spiral pattern on the central column (spadix). 


The white arum is very easily cultivated by seed or division. The fruit is ripe when it has turned yellowish and is soft. The pulp should be removed and the seed dried off. The fleshy rootstock can be divided, use a sharp spade to cut out a section for replanting.

Scoopin Lupins!

I have just walked into work under the most extreme conditions. It actually feels as though my ears will never come back to life. Frozen to the bone I am. So although a frozen treat at this time would'nt be welcomed with open arms, I do love one or two when it gets a little toasty in summer.

In Fraunhofer Labs in Germany they have been working on a brilliant little morsel. Ice-cream that is made from flowers (and rainbows and sunshine). It has no dairy, gluten or animal fats  and it’s cholesterol-free, says Fraunhofer and ice cream is now on sale at a German supermarket chain. Vegans rejoice!


"Lupinesse", as it is called is derived from the seeds of the blue sweet lupin now hailed as the "soyabean of the north".

Scientists tried to produce food products from lupin in the 1990s, but to no avail. The protein-rich seed of this particular lupin, plus a new production method developed at Fraunhofer Labs, has made this new ice cream possible. It comes in various flavours including Vanilla-Cherry, Strawberry-Mousse, Walnut Dream and Choco-Flake. However don't get your hopes up over thinking this is a low fat option, it has just as many beastly calories as normal dairy ice cream. 

PhD Perk

One of the perks of studying bees as part of my PhD research is that I get to keep a few hives that belong to my lab at my house. Usually they cause me no trouble at all. They are right down the back of my section and I only occasionally have to don a beesuit to attend to them. 

However the other day I was down there after making a small garden bed and I had to tidy up the lawn. However as I began to mow I hit one of the hives sending it onto its side. Out flew several bees with me engaged in their sites. I ran around in circles slapping my head and arms until the buzzing had stopped. One of the suicide bombers had been caught in my jumper so I picked her out and "returned her to the hive" because I am just that nice. All that said imagine what I thought of my little encounter when I read this news story on http://www.stuff.co.nz. 

"Truck spills 14 million bees on US highway"

400 hives were spilt on the highway when the truck driver crashed. Mmmm what a sticky mess.

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“when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” or Jo Blakie's Lemon and Yoghurt Cake

I'm not overly into baking. I hate the mess that is left at the end. But when things taste this good I can make an exception. I made this cake using lemons from my own Lemon "Meyer" Tree. The Meyer is particularly hardy and does well in cold climates like Dunedin although will need a bit of protection from the frosts in the form of a shade cloth.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of sugar

2 lemon rinds

2 eggs

1 cup oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsweetened yoghurt

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

2 cups self raising flour (plain flour +3 heaped tsps baking powder)

icing sugar

set oven to 160 degrees celcius

In a food processor put:

sugar, lemon rinds then mix

then add eggs, oil and salt and mix till thick and smooth (3ish mins on high speed)

add yoghurt, lemon juice then mix

added sifted flour (the more you sift the flour the lighter the cake will be) and blend mixture using several pulses (only enough to mix in flour - this keeps it light)

pour into loaf tin and bake at 160 degrees celcius for 45mins.

check that it is cooked right through with a skewer (should come out clean)

may need 5-15 extra minutes depending (you could also put it on fan bake at this stage) 


ice with a lemon icing or sprinkle over icing sugar.

Winter Waiting

I would almost go to say that winter was my favourite season in the garden. Winter means little weeding and a time to make big changes in your garden because it is easy to see what things are working and what things aren't. The best thing about winter however is the little surprises you find amongst the skeletons of other plants.

The Snowflake - Leucojum

It closely resembles the large and taller Snowdrop although it is easy to disguinsh them as Snowflake has a green spot at the end of each petal. Like Snowdrop, they bloom in late winter and early spring. Snowflake thrives in milder climates where Snowdrop will not grow. It is one of the only bulbs that will thrive in heavy, moist soils in sun or shade. My Snowflakes suddenly appeared in one of my garden beds that is set into the clay hill and is dappled in shade. 

Hellebores - The Winter Rose

Sometimes referred to as the "Christmas Rose" due to it's flowering time in the northern hemisphere and the "Lenten Rose" hellebores are the stars of a winter garden. It was a delight to see these flowers emerge this year because they were absent from my garden this time last year. 

 Nasturtium - (Tropaeolum majus)

Nasturtiums grow best in semi-neglected areas. Just make sure it's well drained as they don't getting wet feet. I didn't plant my plant from seed it just grew one day. It sits below my balcony beside my jasmine and gets all day sun but not a lot of rain because it is sheltered by my house. Narsturtiums are annuals and apparently will die off after the first frosts but I we have had frosts in Dunedin this year and my plant doesn't look as though it is going anywhere anytime soon.       

Jasmine - Jasmine polyanthum

That gorgeous scent! My climbing jasmine started off as a big bush sitting just below my balcony. To one side of it was an ugly opening to the underneath of the house. In the past year I have been trying to train it onto some trellis in order to cover up that gaping mess. Finally it has begun to move and with another lot of summer growth should completely engulf it. Although the Jasmine probably flowers most prolifically in autumn it does put out flowers all through the year so is a great addition to any garden. Like the nasturtium is doesn’t like wet feet and loves plenty of sun.

Primula

Belonging to the family Primulaceae which includes a large number of species including primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. I planted these seedlings back in February of March and had no idea what to expect. I actually thought they were never going to flower and then in May these beautiful pinks flowers appeared on tiny stalks. The planting suggestions said to plant in shade and so they border my stairs that are sheltered by the Pseudopanax and Kowhai tree standing in my garden.  I am definitely adding this one too my list of favourites as I love beautiful flowering plants the can flower in amongst the shade.

Although there isn't much colour around in winter, the scarcity of green makes the garden lovely and airy, and at times it feels as though the garden is sunniest in winter. Dunedin provides beautiful crisp days and when there is no wind I think it is one of the best places in the world. However although I do enjoy wrapping up warm and walking around watching winter in my garden I feel as if I am forever waiting for the first signs of spring. Although spring is still a wee while away, clues that it is on its way are starting to emerge within my garden.

Tulip Bulb - I planted most of these in pots but put a few in the garden to. Big mistakes! I have forgotten where I planted them and the other day hoed them all up. Not ideal.

Hyacinth - I had one of these bulbs growing in a hyacinth vase, (instruction here) however it has already started to flower without properly forming a stem. So although it smells nice in my room it isn't pretty to look at. Will have to give it another go next year.

Unknown - It is like xmas waiting to open presents I just hope this one isn't coal.

Daffodil

Peony Rose Crowns

Last year I fell in love with peonys. My mother bought me a large bunch of them and they lasted for about a week and a half in a vase on my beside table. A few weeks later the peonys in my garden also bloomed and although the weren't as magnificent as the store bought ones I am hooked. Last year each of my peony plants produced 4-5 flowers which is a pretty bad turn out. So this year I am on the lookout on how to get more blooms. First on my list was to buy another few tubers so I can have different coloured blooms and did so through trademe. I then transplanted some of the tubers already in my garden to better suited spots (in full sun). I have also added a little fertiliser in the form of sheep pellets and now I am just playing the waiting game. Watch this space!