#1H NoCMoC – Visitor Centre - Pond Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

Kitty!!: After almost 10 years it is time for this series to go.

1020 different Geocachers have logged one or more finds of my caches in Hanningfield. As most Geocachers visit in pairs or as a family this probably represents 2 or 3 thousand Geocachers! A total of 4,945 finds were logged. Favourite points were not introduced until long after the trail was set and, as the trail was intended to be a family orientated starter trail and attracted non-premium cachers who could not award points. On this basis I am very proud to have received 291 points.

Thank you to the 738 finders of this cache and the 12 who awarded it a favourite point.

Thank you to The Warden, Bill, and his team at Hanningfield for accommodating my caches. It was a privilege to be able to place them on the Reserve.

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Hidden : 10/21/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:



Full details of the NoCMoC trail of caches, hints and a map can be found here. Please note that to access these Visitor Centre Caches you MUST go through either the Visitor Centre or Fishing Lodge at the bottom of Gifford Lane. See waypoints on GC41JAQ #1A wood Ants.


Ponds
There are eight ponds on the Hanningfield reserve. These are important habitats for feeding, breeding and providing water to a huge variety of animals and plants.

Some of the insects that can be found include Great diving beetles, Caddis Flies, Water Spiders, Mayflies, crane-flies and midges.

Great Diving Beetles (Dytiscus marginalis) collect air bubbles in their wing cases. They renew their air supply by sticking their abdomen up through the surface of the water. As the "Great" in their name suggests they are large beetles. Adults are generally around 3cm in length. They are a brown to black in colour on their back and wing cases (elytra) and yellow on their abdomen and legs. The male's wing cases are shiny, while those of the female are finely grooved. The jaws of a great diving beetle are strong compared to their body size making it a voracious predator feeding on many smaller invertebrates, tadpoles and even small fish.

Some species of caddis fly larvae build cases to protect their soft bodies. Using their silk glands they spin a web around themselves then cover this with sand and small stones.

Water Spiders are able to live in the water by making a house of air bubbles. The female spins a flat sheet of silk which she attaches to weeds near the surface, she then collects air bubbles which she releases under the sheet forming an air filled bell.

The swarms of insects that can be seen at the water's edge or above the pond on a calm evening or after gentle sumer rain are mostly males awaiting the arrival of females to mate. Swarming insects include caddis flies, mayflies, crane-flies and midges.

Mayfly The common name ‘Mayfly’ is quite misleading because this group of insects can appear throughout the year. At one point they were called "dayflies" due to some of the species having an adult life of a single day. The common name comes from the habit of one species, Ephemera danica, which emerge as adults when the Mayflower or Hawthorn is in bloom.

Mayflies start life as an egg on the bed of the river, before hatching into a nymph. The nymphs feed on algae and other vegetable matter on the bed for up to two years in some species, before emerging from the surface of the water as an adult.

Mayflies are unique as insects in having two winged adult stages. After emerging from the water they fly to the bank where they shelter on the underside of leaves or in the grass. They then moult again, leaving behind their drab ‘dun’ skin to reveal their shiny ‘spinner’ skin. Following this moult they fly back to the water and form mating swarms above the surface. Mayfly nymphs will not live in polluted water. Their presence is a good indicator that the pond is healthy. Mayfly larvae, and the mayfly adults emerging from the water, are a vital source of food for many other freshwater creatures, especially fish such as trout and salmon. Mayflies, and other riverflies, help ensure that our rivers, lakes and streams are home to a rich variety of wildlife.

Plants Many of the plants that live in water have two very different types of leaf. The upper ones that float on the surface are large and flat, but the leaves below the water are long and ribbon like. The narrow leaves offer less resistance to currents and avoid the roots being torn up.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

pbeare srapvat - oruvaq cbfg naq ybt

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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