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©Michael John O’Mahony
Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4
©Michael John O’Mahony Can you name these Irish Plants and Animals?
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JI1
Common Nettle Description
Nettles grow to 60-100cm
Habitat found
The Common Nettle is usually found as
high and are well-known for an understory plant in wetter
their unpleasant sting. They environments, but can also be found in
Common Name: Common Nettle have spear-shaped toothed grassland and meadows. It is an
leaves, which are arranged important food plant for the caterpillars
Irish Name: Neantóg in opposites. of many Irish butterfly species.
Scientific Name: Urtica dioica DO NOT
TOUCH a
nettle
Nettle plants start unless you
Plants die down to the are wearing
ground in winter, and to grow in early
rubber
take a rest, when there Spring- they get
gloves!!
is very little energy their energy from
coming from the sun. the Spring sunshine The Common
Nettle's
Life
sting comes
from acid
New plants are which is
Very tiny light-green
Cycle
produced by the new released
flowers grow on the when the
seeds being dispersed
Nettles from June to tiny hairs
and also by spreading
September: see them in break off
roots (rhizomes) under
the picture on the left! and stick
the ground.
into your
skin.
These flowers spread their Fun Facts!
pollen using the wind -
Believe it or not, Nettle Soup is very tasty,
when a flower receives
pollen from another one, it and because it is made by boiling up the
can then produce little nettle leaves, it does not sting at all!
Flower: July – September seeds.
Fruit: October
JI1
Draw a Nettle Leaf:
Common
Nettle
The seeds rest In Spring the seeds
on the soil start to grow into
during Winter. new Nettle plants.
Draw some caterpillars Old plants grow
eating the nettle leaves: again too.
Life Draw the tiny Summer flowers:
By Autumn the
Cycle
flowers have turned
into seeds. The seeds
look like tiny circles.
They blow away with In Summer the
the wind. Nettles grow some
tiny flowers.
JI4
Rowan Tree Description
The Rowan is a medium sized
Habitat found
It grows in most types of soil. In
tree which grows to about 15 the wild it is found in ‘glens’ or
Common Name: Rowan / Mountain Ash metres tall. It has distinctive little valleys, beside mountain
Ash-like leaves, although it is streams, in woods and rocky
Irish Name: Caorthann not actually a species of Ash. places. It is a popular tree for
The leaves are green on both planting in gardens and in parks,
Scientific Name: Sorbus aucuparia sides, with up to 9 pairs of so you are likely to find one not
oblong, toothed leaflets. too far from your school!
Rowan trees are deciduous: this
means that they drop their leaves
in winter. This helps them to save
energy – as there is not much
point having leaves in the winter The Rowan begins
if there is very little sunshine to to grow again in
make food from. Spring. Its dark
green leaves first
appear in April.
The berries feed many types Life
Cycle
of birds in the Autumn. The
birds help the tree to spread
its seeds far and wide in their Large, flat heads of
droppings! numerous creamy-white 5-
petalled flowers bloom in
May and June.
Fun Facts!
Once a flower receives pollen A Mistle Thrush (the ‘first cousin’ of a Song
from another Rowan flower Thrush) will defend a Rowan tree, keeping
(usually carried there by an other birds away; therefore having its very
Flowers: May – June insect!) it turns into a berry, and own ‘restaurant’ or feeding place for the
Fruit: August – October the familiar clusters of red winter.
berries appear in this way in late
Summer and Autumn.
JI4
Draw Rowan Tree leaves:
Rowan Tree
In Winter the
berries fall to the
Draw a bird eating the berries ground and the seeds In Spring Rowan
from the Rowan Tree in Autumn: will get washed into Trees start to
the soil. The tree grow new leaves.
also drops its leaves
Life
By Autumn these
Cycle
flowers have
turned into bright In Summer
red berries, with groups of
seeds inside. small white
flowers grow
all over the
tree.
Robin
JI3 Description Habitat found
Probably the most familiar garden bird with The Robin can be found across Ireland,
its bright orange-red face and breast. Its in gardens, hedgerows, parks and
upperparts are greyish brown, and its belly woodlands. It mainly feeds on insects
Common Name: Robin or Robin Red-breast is a greyish white. The beak is dark and including flies, caterpillars and small
pointed. They can seem plump and rounded
worms.
Irish Name: Spideóg sometimes, especially in cold weather when
It is a friendly bird, and readily comes
the birds fluff out their feathers to trap
air: this forms an extra layer of insulation to bird tables,
Scientific Name: Erithacus rubecula around their tiny body. Female and Males Most nests are located on or near the
look alike. ground in hollows, nooks and crannies.
Parents help the little chicks
After a mild
for about 3 weeks after
winter Robins will
fledging, and they may have
start looking for a
two more broods in the same
partner; as early
year. In Autumn all Robins
as January
begin to live on their own for a
few months, until Spring
©Michael John O’Mahony
arrives.
A cup-shaped nest is built
by the mammy or
When the chicks start to leave
the nest (fledge) at two weeks
old, they are still not able to fly
Life ‘female’. It is made of
leaves and moss, and is
lined with hair.
Cycle
very well for a few more days,
even though they have all of
their feathers.
The female will lay 4-6
eggs in April; one egg
each day until the
The chicks hatch without feathers,
and need their parents to give them
clutch is complete. Fun Facts!
©Michael John O’Mahony food and warmth. Both the mammy Robins are very friendly! Robins often follow
and the daddy or ‘male’ look after gardeners around the garden hoping to catch
the nestlings. She sits on the eggs to insects that they have dug up. If you spend enough
keep them warm for 13
days; her partner will time working in your garden at school or at home,
bring her food, so she you will surely make friends with a Robin!
doesn’t get too hungry. Image by Thomas Love
via Flickr.com
JI3
Robin Draw the mammy and daddy Robin at their nest:
©Michael John O’Mahony
In Autumn the chicks will
move away from their In Spring the
parents, and they will spend Robin finds a
the Winter on their own. partner and
builds a nest
Life
Cycle
By late Summer the chicks
have hatched and are being
In Summer the
fed caterpillars and other
mammy lays about 5
food by both parents, until
eggs in the nest. She
they are ready to fly.
sits on them to keep
them warm.
JI6
Description Habitat found
Song Thrush The Song Thrush is about the The Song Thrush lives and breeds throughout
same size as a Blackbird. It has Ireland - mainly in hedgerows and gardens. It is
Common Name: Song Thrush plain brown upperparts and a usually seen in ones and twos - never in flocks.
creamy underside, with arrow- You can commonly see it bounding along the
shaped dark spots in lines down ground in search of worms. It also eats fruit,
Irish Name: Smólach ceoil the breast and flanks. Its legs such as Rowan berries, and it will eat snails in
are pale pinkish-grey. drought/hard weather.
Scientific Name: Turdus philomelos
©Michael John O’Mahony
In Autuman and
In Spring the daddy or
Winter the birds
‘male’ bird sits on top of a
will leave the nest
tree and sings loudly to
site to find good
boast about the territory
feeding grounds.
he ‘owns’ in order to attract
a ‘female’ or mammy.
The parents often
have another
‘brood’ (a small
family) or two in
Life Once he finds a partner,
she builds a nest, usually
Cycle
the same Summer. deep in cover in trees,
bushes, ivy or brambles.
©Michael John O’Mahony
He brings her food, so
that she doesn’t get
hungry.
Once the chicks hatch,
both parents feed them Fun Facts!
until they are ready to - The Song Thrush’s song is really variable and distinctive. It
fly, which also takes The female lays 3-5 eggs over a
sings a phrase then repeats it three or four times before
about two weeks. few days. On the last day of laying
singing a new phrase and repeating it in the same way.
she will sit on the nest to keep the
- The Song Thrush likes to eat snails. It breaks the shell off,
eggs warm. This is called
incubation, and it lets the chicks
by smashing it against a stone with a flick of the head. If you
grow inside the eggs. The chicks ever find a stone, with lots of smashed snail shells all around
are ready to hatch after about two it, you’ll know you’ve found a Thrush’s ‘anvil’ or dinner table!!
Image by NottsExMiner via Flickr.com
weeks of incubation.
JI6
Draw the mammy and daddy Thrush eating Snails and
Song
©Michael John O’Mahony
Berries:
Thrush
In Winter all the In Spring the daddy
birds will leave the bird sits on top of a
nest tree and go tree and sings loudly
look for food. about what a great tree
he has.
Life
Cycle
Baby birds will hatch
from the eggs, and
If a mammy bird likes
Mammy and Daddy will
him, she will stay with
feed them until they
him, and make a nest. In
can fly away in Autumn.
Summer she will lay
about 4 eggs.
JI2 Description Habitat found
Small Tortoiseshell This beautiful butterfly has a
wingspan of around 5cm. It is
This is a very common butterfly
which visits gardens at homes and
mainly reddish-orange with schools, woodlands and hedgerows.
Common Name: Small Tortoiseshell black markings and blue spots
Its caterpillar babies feed on the
Common Nettle. The adult butterfly
Irish Name: Ruán Beag around the border. The feeds on (drinking nectar from) lots
underside is quite dull. of different flowers.
Scientific Name: Aglais urticae
Adult butterflies come
The butterfly will either out of hibernation (a long
breed straight away (if it’s sleep over winter) in
still summertime) or else it March or April
will go into hibernation for
Images courtesy of Dean Morley via Flickr.com
the winter.
Life The mammy or
‘female’ lays eggs on
Cycle
They stay in the cocoon the underside of
as they ‘pupate’ for nettle leaves.
about two weeks, They ©Michael John O’Mahony
then come out in the
shape of a butterfly!
Eggs hatch after 10 days,
and little caterpillars Fun Fact!
come out. Caterpillars Small tortoiseshells often hibernate in our
then grow by changing
Moulting is a bit like us houses and sheds over the winter. It is
getting new clothes as we the size of their skin a
few times, aka ‘moulting’ better to have them in the shed than the
grow bigger. After their
final moult they hang
house, as the heating in the house will trick
from plant stems, them into thinking that Spring has arrived!
wrapped in a cocoonJI2
Draw a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly:
Small
©Michael John O’Mahony
Tortoiseshell
Butterfly
In Autumn they find In Spring the
Draw a cocoon hanging from butterflies wake
somewhere warm and
under a Nettle leaf: dry to sleep for the up, and find a
whole Winter. partner. The
mammy lays eggs Draw the caterpillars crawling around eating
on Nettles. the Nettle leaves:
Life
Cycle
By later Summer the
caterpillars build a
cocoon. In only 3 weeks In early Summer
they turn into a caterpillars come
Butterfly! out of the eggs and
start to eat the
leaves of the
Nettles.JI5 Description Habitat found
Common Garden Snail This snail’s shell is thick, with a
wrinkle-like surface. It has about 5
These snails are often associated
with gardens and parks, and are also
quickly expanding rounds of the shell found in dunes, woods and hedgerows.
Common Name: Garden Snail spiral or ‘whorls’. The shell’s mouth They feed on several kinds of plants
(the part that the soft body comes including some fruit trees and crop
Irish Name: Seilide garraí out of) is large, with a thickened
white ‘lip’. The shell is usually pale
vegetables. During the day they can
be found hiding under fallen leaves
brown, occasionally yellow, with up to and other sheltered places close to
Scientific Name: Cornu aspersum 5 dark spiral bands. They are the ground, for example under fallen
variable and are often flecked with Rowan Tree leaves. They are most
white or yellow-brown. active at night time.
Snails hibernate when
winter comes, by
retreating into their
shells and sealing off Snails come out of
the entrance. ‘hibernation’ (a big
long sleep over
winter) in Spring
Life
Adult snails will lay
eggs a few times in
Snails are
the year, if the
Cycle
‘hermaphrodites’- this
weather is good; warm
means that every snail has
and wet weather is
female and male body
what they like best! Image by Andy Hay via Flickr.com
parts. So every single
snail can lay eggs!
After 2-4 weeks the Fun Facts!
eggs hatch into tiny Each snail will
baby snails, which lay up to a Snails have teeth all over their tongue
will grow into an hundred white to help them to chew their food!
adult in just 2 years! pearly eggs in
the soil.JI5
Draw a Snail eating lettuce in a farmer’s field:
Garden
Snail
In Winter snails fall
asleep; the get cosy by
finding a cool and dark
place and by closing off Snails wake up
their shell’s entrance. from
‘hibernation’ in
Spring Draw a Snail laying eggs in the soil:
Life
In Autumn these Cycle
eggs turn into
baby snails and
start to grow by
In Summer
eating lots of
snails lay white
leaves.
eggs in the soil.You can also read
