Ardpatrick
January 23, 2018
Flag iris (Feleastram Iris pseudacorus)
A plant of wet meadows and riversides that is unmistakable when in..
Category: Biodiversity
Valerian (Caorthann Chorraigh Valeriana officinalis)
A common plant of wet meadows, lakesides riversides and open woodland. In summer it bears clusters of pink flowers with a strong sweet..
Water Dropwort (Dathabha Bán Oenanthe crocata)
Very common by rivers and streams. Sometimes known as water hemlock because of its..
Ragged Robin (Silene flos-cuculi)
This flower is found in damp grasslands, its petals have been modified into damp strips so that they cope with harsh weather..
Cuckoo Flower or Lady’s Smock (Biolar Gréagáin Cardamine pratensis)
This plant has either purple, pink or white coloured flowers, and blooms in April. Its preferred habitat is damps fields. The Orange Tip butterfly often lays a single egg on each plant and the caterpillar feeds on the..
Giant Hogweed (Feabhrán Chapaill Heracleum mantegazzianum)
This is a non-native plant that is extremely invasive along..
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
A non-native and invasive plant that spreads along..
Mayflies (Cuileoga Bhealtaine)
Mayflies are found in rivers and lakes thoughout Ireland. The name is misleading: one species the very large and conspicuous Green Drake Mayfly (Ephemera danica) appears on lakes and rivers in May around the time that hawthorn is in bloom, but there are many other smaller species that can be seen thoughout the year. In the Maigue catchment rivers, the Large Dark Olive mayfly (Baetis rhodani) is the first to appear as an adult in February, followed by the Small Dark Olive, Iron Blue, Medium Olive, Green Drake, Yellow May Dun, Fisherman’s Curse and Blue-Winged Olive. Mayflies have a complex life cycle, which involves a larval stage that lives on the river or lake bed for one or more years, and a short-lived, winged, adult stage in which mating and egg-laying takes place. The adult flies are generally olive to yellowish in colour and have a pair of large wings and a pair of smaller..
Sedge Flies
Sedge flies (or caddis flies) are the adult stage of aquatic insects known as caddis larvae. There are many different species of caddis. Many of them build tubular cases of sand grains of vegetation in which they hide (cased caddis) , while others are “caseless” or..
Dragon Flies and Damsel Flies
These are large insects with four pairs of wings, with often with spectacular colours. The Banded Demoiselle damsel fly is common along river banks. The females are metallic green and the males metallic blue. Dragon flies are considerably larger than damsel flies and are mainly found near lakes and ponds. Both have an aquatic larval..
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