Deeping Lakes Insects and Spiders

Following a request from Peterborough Bird club for recording at Deeping Lakes Tony Parker and I headed there in the evening to record insects and spiders. Despite the continuing run of rather cool weather for early June the temperature held up well into the night and more moths would have been recorded had we stayed later than 23:30. Some of the moths and most of the spiders were recorded in daylight by searching and beating vegetation. Most spectacular was the Eyed Hawk-moth spotted by Tony after I had nearly trodden on it among some low waterside vegetation. The two Elephant Hawks cames crashing in to the 125W MV light towards the end of the evening.

Perhaps most remarkable was the huge number (surely into the hundreds) of freshly emerged Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) dragonflies, many resting on their exuviae. Click on photos for a larger image.




Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellata)


Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor)


Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis)


Shoulder-striped Wainscot (Mythimna comma)


Cork Moth (Nemapogon cloacella)


Cyclamen Tortrix (Clepsis spectrana)


Platyptilia gonodactyla (a plume moth)


Nematopogon metaxella (a longhorn moth)


Combined list of moths resulting from netting, 15W actinic and 125W MV lights.
0017 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus), 10
0143 Nematopogon metaxella, 1
0148 Nemophora degeerella, 4
0216 Cork Moth (Nemapogon cloacella), 1
0937 Agapeta hamana, 1
0993 Cyclamen Tortrix (Clepsis spectrana), 1
1076 Celypha lacunana, 3
1293 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella), 1
1348 Ringed China-mark (Parapoynx stratiotata), 1
1501 Platyptilia gonodactyla, 1
1727 Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata), 2
1742 Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata), 1
1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria), 1
1906 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata), 2
1980 Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellata), 1
1991 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor), 2
1997 Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula), 1
2087 Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum), 1
2089 Heart & Dart (Agrotis exclamationis), 6
2102 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta), 2
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum), 2
2160 Bright-line Brown-eye (Lacanobia oleracea), 1
2199 Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens), 2
2205 Shoulder-striped Wainscot (Mythimna comma), 1
2334 Rustic Shoulder-knot (Apamea sordens), 1
2337x Marbled Minor agg. (Oligia strigilis agg.), 3
2340 Middle-barred Minor (Oligia fasciuncula), 1
2434 Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis), 1
2450 The Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita), 1
2474 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis), 1
57 moths of 30 species

Odonata
Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

Spiders
Enoplognatha ovata
Tetragnatha extensa
Tetragnatha montana
Achaeranea lunata
Dysdera crocota
Pisaura mirabilis

Other insects
Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
Scorpion Fly (Panorpa communis)
Crane Fly (Tipula maxima)
Soldier Beetle (Cantharis livida?)
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)

All photos taken with a Nikon CP995