CLOSE-UP QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Hawthorn Shield Bug

    One of many brightly coloured, largely      plant-feeing ‘true bugs’, known as shield      bugs because of their shape. This one is      probably the most common

2. Pill Millipede

    Not to be confused with the similarly-      looking pill woodlouse, here shown in its      rolled up defensive position. The white      edges to the segments are distinctive.

3. Ivy Berries

   Really a climbing shrub. Contrary to     popular belief, ivy isn’t a parasite and     doesn't kill trees, merely using them as     support.

4. Peacock Butterfly

    The eye markings are thought to startle      potential predators, such as birds. This      one of several butterflies which hibernate      in the adult state.

5. Starling

    A surprisingly colourful bird with its      iridescent plumage. A communal species,      famous for the spectacular mass aerial      gyrations, called murmurations, at      roosting time.

6. Berries of Wild Arum, Cuckoo Pint,     Lords and Ladies, Jack in the Pulpit     This has probably more alternative      common names than any other wild British      plant. The brightly coloured berries are      extremely poisonous.

7. Southern Hawker Dragonfly

    This is probably the most common of the      larger dragonflies. Like its relatives, it      demonstrates astounding agility in the      air and is  a formidable predator of other      insects, which are caught on the wing.

8. Male Mallard - Drake

     Although the most common of our wild      such species, the mallard is one of the      most beautifully coloured - well, the male      is, in contrast to the largely brown female.

9. Eggs of a Slug

    I think in the popularity stakes, slugs     would come top of the list with most     people. However, slug eggs, laid in the     soil or under stones and logs, resemble     pearls.

10. Female Orange-tip Butterfly

      A butterfly on the wing in spring and early         summer. Only the male has the orange         tips to the wings. Both sexes have an         intricate mossy pattern on the         undersurfaces of the wings.

11. Shaggy Ink-cap

        Like other ink-cap fungi the cap dissolves         to an inky-mush from the bottom up so         that the gills and their attached spores         are sequentially uncovered to allow for         gradual spore dispersal by air currents.

12. Seed-head of Dandelion

        The close-up photo shows the receptacle         into which each of the dry one-seeded         fit into. Each is provided with an         exquisite parachute of hairs, which         enable it to float away in the wind a long         way from the parent plant.

13. Male Catkins of Goat Willow

        Male and female flowers grow on         separate trees. In early spring, the         catkins develop - the male catkins grey,         stout and oval, becoming yellow when         ripe with pollen; the female catkins longer         and green.

14. Blue Tit

        The males and females of this attractive         and common garden bird look identical.         

15. Ringlet Butterfly

        Another butterfly with eye markings, only         on the undersides of the wings. The         upper surfaces are a plain dull brown.         

16. Turkey-tails Fungus

        One of the many bracket fungi, growing         on tree stumps and logs. In close-up, the         attractive banding resembles a veined         mineral, such as blue-john.

17. Common Frog

        An animal which is much less common        than it was, due to the disappearance of        field ponds as a result of the        intensification of agriculture. Garden        ponds have proved to be a lifeline for it.         

18. Creeping Thistle

        The most common of thistles, this is a         much maligned ‘weed’ of agricultural         land. However, the flowers, really         attractive in close-up, are much         visited by a huge range of insects,         including hoverflies and butterflies  

19. Berries of Hawthorn

       The most common shrub making up field         hedges, the bright red berries, ‘haws',         being an important food for birds in         winter.         

20. Dipper

       A member of the thrush family,  often to be        seen around the rivers and streams of the        Peak District.  Its name comes from its        habit of bobbing up and down while        perched on a boulder of log. Periodically it        dives under the water in search of insects        and other small prey.