On a warm summers day parts of the Moss smell fantastic at the moment. With the heat of the sun the smell of the bog myrtle fills the air and what a fantastic smell it is.
It is a smell that captures the whole feel of Flanders Moss in summer for me but it is hard to describe it, resinous, warm, pleasant and then I run out of words but you will know it when you smell it. Tradition says that bog myrtle has insect repellent properties and some companies are making products which are meant to keep midges at bay out of an extract from the plant. However as I have been walking out on the Moss on midge filled days I have seen clouds of them come up from bog myrtle bushes that I have walked through so I am not sure how effective it can be. The smell is all part of the chemical warfare conducted between plants and insects. Plants producing chemicals that make the plant less edible so stopping it getting completely munched. However there are always ways of overcoming this form of defence and 3 of our special moths all live on the abundant bog myrtle on Flanders. The Rannoch brindled beauty, the great brocade and the argent and sable are all nationally scarce moths (that means that they have only been recorded in less than 100 10km squares in the UK) that use the bog myrtle on Flanders for their life-cycle. Mostly their caterpillars have worked out a way of overcoming the plants chemical defences and feed on the leaves for example the argent and sable caterpillar sticks the leaves at the end of branches together into a sort of tent inside which they can chew the inside of the leaves while hidden from predators.
Purely from a peatland habitat point of view the bog myrtle usually grows on parts of the bog that have been damaged by ditching or the surfaced disturbed. So as is often the case what is important for some special animals represents damaged to another even more special habitat. But the bog myrtle is there to stay now and there is not much we can do about it so I will continue to enjoy the heady aroma and also the beautiful inhabitants that live on it. I may even try the old shepherds trick of trying to keep the midges at bay by putting a piece of bog myrtle behind each ear. Then you'll know me when you see me.
