What is this tree with fruits on it at this time of year? Is it a native species? Brendan McGilligan, Co Wicklow
This is Arbutus unedo – the strawberry tree. It flowers in autumn and the fruits take a year to ripen so they are always on the tree. It is called crann caithne in Irish, and Smerick in Co Kerry, among other placenames, derive from it. It was mentioned in eighth century Irish law as one of the lower divisions of the wood. It was apparently introduced to Co Kerry from northern Spain by Bronze Age copper miners 4,000 years ago – so a runner-in then. Go out and admire this beautiful tree during this National Tree Week from March 8th-15th.
We were entertained on a recent walk by very active and lusty frogs who were making the most of the warmer day, having just recently come out of hibernation. They were all the usual yellowy-brown colour. But then we spotted one which was very red indeed. Was this because of its intense exertions or embarrassment at being caught in the act? T Taaffe, Stillorgan, Dublin
Embarrassment is just a human trait – frogs don’t care. The colour in frogs comes from their pigment cells which lie in the deeper layers of the skin. There are three kinds. The deepest ones, the melanophores, produce brown and black. The top ones, the guanophores, produce white. The middle ones, the lipophores, usually make yellow or orange, but occasionally there are red granules there that produce true red and this occurs in some of our common frogs.
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Further to the white-tailed sea eagle you featured recently, I took this picture of one with a ring in Labasheeda, Co Clare, on February 18th. You may be interested in what Clare Heardman of the National Parks and Wildlife Service told me when I sent her details of the ring. John Glynn, Kilrush
“This eagle is one of three siblings that successfully fledged from the nest along the shores of Lough Derg in 2023. It is a male and was ringed under licence before it left the nest. The other two were ringed as well and one of them got a satellite tag too. The ID ring reads GA232.” It will breed, hopefully, at six years of age.
I found this fungus growing on a fallen log along the Owenee river near Gartan. Can you identify it for me please? Tom Hannigan, Co Donegal
While this is a beautiful picture of a bracket polypore fungus, I couldn’t identify it and I sent it to the mycologist Hubert Fuller. He pointed out that it would be helpful if readers seeking identifications of mushrooms would, where appropriate, provide images not just of the caps, but also of the cap margins, the stems, the stem bases, and the gills or pore surfaces. All this is required in difficult cases like this. He suggested it could be a Ganoderma species or possibly Fomitopsis, perhaps Fomitopsis pinicola, a species which is common and widespread in European conifer woodlands but rare in Britain and for which there doesn’t appear to be any Irish records.
I have found several of these insects while tilling the soil. Could you let me know are they friend or foe? Anne Cullen, Co Kilkenny
It depends on whether you are a smaller soil-dwelling invertebrate or a human-sized gardener. This is Haplophilus subterraneous, a blind, burrowing centipede with 77 pairs of legs. It is carnivorous and feeds on smaller invertebrates which it kills by attacking them with its poison claws just behind its head. It is said to glow if disturbed at night.
Please submit your nature query or observation, ideally with a photo and location, via irishtimes.com/eyeonnature or by email to weekend@irishtimes.com
