AN ABUNDANCE of acorns in autumn is a godsend for wildlife.

Jays and squirrels will reap the harvest and bury some of it to store for winter. Squirrels often forget where they have stashed them but jays have a better memory. Any forgotten will grow into sapling oaks but they won't produce acorns for about 40 years.

They may form small copses which in time will grow into small woodlands courtesy.

Our areas have three species of oak. The acorns of the common oak are borne on long stalks unlike the leaves, which are virtually stalkless. The reverse applies with the scarcer sessile or durmast oak, its leaves possess stalks but the acorns are short-stalked. The third species, the Turkey oak was introduced in the 19th century and is distinguished by its leaves which have many deep lobes whilst the acorns sit in small hairy cups like mini birds' nests.

Many oaks display 'galls' which are abnormal growths produced by plants in response to a stimulus from another organism such as an insect mite, nematode worm or or fungi.

By far the largest number are caused by tiny greenfly-like wasps whereas others are caused by midges, moths or scale insects.

The life-history of gall wasps is complicated exhibiting an attraction between a sexual and an asexual in the same year. The sexual generation consists of both males and females. Those females lay eggs containing the next sexual generation. Complicated innit!

The oak apple gall is the most famous of all plant galls which even has its own festival in Britain - oak apple day on May 29. The oak apple literally resembles a small apple, each each one containing up to 30 larvae of the sexual generation. Males and females emerge from separate galls in summer. Oaks were one of the first trees to re-colonise Britain after the last ice age and therefore, over time, many other species rely on oaks for a living.

These include spiders, may bugs, slugs, bush-crickets, lice and flies. The purple hairstreak butterfly is perhaps surprisingly the only butterfly dependent upon oaks for its caterpillars to to feed on. Other woodland butterflies including purple emperor, white admiral ,silver-washed fritillary and speckled wood rely on oaks for shelter but many moths use oak leaves for caterpillar food.

Here's wishing all readers the very best for Christmas and 2024.