Dog Daisy AfternoonWild West Yorkshire nature diary, Saturday 19th June 1999
Dog DaysTHE ORIGIN of the phrase Dog Days for the hottest weeks of summer comes from a Roman tradition that Sirius the Dog Star, which rises at about the same time as the Sun in midsummer, adds its heat to that of the Sun. The star that dominates the night sky in the Northern summer is Vega.Auden wrote;
'Out on the lawn I lie in bed, Richard Bell, 
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THE SMALL HOVERFLY visiting the Dog Daisies is one of several species that gain some protection from predators through their resemblance to wasps.
The Drone-fly resembles a honey bee drone, but its flight gives it away as a hoverfly. Its young stage, the rat-tailed maggot (what an unfortunate start in life, having a name like that), lives in stagnant water, breathing through its tail, a telescopic tube.
The diminutive Hairy Bittercress has spring-loaded pods which can hurl its seeds a couple of feet away. Someone has calculated that a single plant can produce 50,000 seeds. No wonder it is such a common, but often overlooked, weed in gardens.