More Little Egrets

And then there were two. In fact a day later there were four. Perhaps Dogsthorpe Star is finally starting to live up to the expectations raised since it has been drained.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
 
 
 
 
Digiscoped with the Nikon CP995, Leica APO77 and 20x eyepiece.

Bugs, bugs, bugs

Not everything that arrives in a moth trap is a moth. Here are some recent visitors to the garden light trap.

A small Ichneumon perhaps Diplazon sp.


A Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus investigator)


One of the many forms of 2-Spot Ladybird, Adalia bipunctata


This large Ichneumon fly is a regular at light traps and the bad news for the moths is that it is ectoparasitic on their larvae.
Netellia testaceus




Capsid Bug

Nikon CP995.

Weedon's Slug Theory debunked?

Not making any friends here I suspect but this whopping slug on the house wall appears to be a very clean example, which seem to refute the mucky-end theory proposed by my (former?) friend Mike Weedon. The exception that proves the rule?!

Swaddywell Insects

Picking the only sunny day for ages Katie Fuller, Mike Weedon and I headed to the excellent local nature reserve at Swaddywell for some top quality insects. Common Darter, Four-spotted Chaser, Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer dragonflies, several pyralid moths that were probably Udea lutealis and a Silver Y also showed.

First another of those top insects: the longhorn beetle Agapanthea villosoviridescens




Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet is a grassland species flying in June and July and was the highlight of the visit.




Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)



Skipper sp. probably Essex (Thymelicus lineola)


Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)


Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)


Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)

Elton Bridge Insects

The weather continues rather cool and breezy so when we set off for a walk to look for White-letter Hairstreaks around the abundant Elms near Elton Bridge we were not very hopeful. As expected there were few insects about but a large, sheltered bramble bush hosted masses of bees, hoverflies and other insects including these.

A Speckled Bush-cricket nymph (Leptophyes punctatissima)



Male and Female Scorpion Flies (probably Panorpa communis)



Most ragwort was infested with Cinabar Moth caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae)


Ladybird pupa (Coccinellidae)


A striking spider (Enoplognatha ovata)

Phew, what a whopper!

Found this huge snakeskin on an otherwise uneventful visit to Ferry Meadows Country Park. Measures in at well over a metre (about 3'6") so must be from a pretty well full-grown Grass Snake.

Dogsthorpe Star Pit birds

A regular morning check of Dogsthorpe Star Pit (which has revealed very little lately) on the way into work this morning brought a couple of surprises in the shape of an adult Black-tailed Godwit and an adult Little Egret. The birds were a little distant for digiscoping but I stretched a point to get these pics using the Nikon CP995 and 32x lens on the Leica APO 77.

A Purple Patch (at least if you ignore the photography)

Oh dear! The quality of the photography has taken a nosedive. I think this indicates more digscoping practice is needed. In any case this was a much more successful lunchtime outing and, in addition to as many as 8 Purple Hairstreaks (pictured), a couple of White Admirals and a few White-letter Hairstreaks showed very nicely. The area, about half way up the western track at Bedford Purlieus, had a fairly mature Elm with Oaks and other trees and a varied and luxuriant understory. This spot was also heaving with birds including Blackcap, Willow Warbler, tits and Treecreeper feasting on the abundant insect life.

Bloodsucker

You see these little fellows around everywhere in summer. Rhagonycha fulva is a Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae). The common name relates to the colour.

Know your larvae

So you come across a caterpillar. But is it lepidopterous (a moth or butterfly) or symphytous (one of the sawflies)? The answer is to count the legs. Ignore the true legs near the head, there will always be three pairs of them. Count the prolegs, which normally start a little way behind the true legs. Butterfly and moth larvae have four or five pairs whereas those of sawflies generally have six or more. There are a few sawfly larvae with fewer prolegs but they tend to be those that tunnel inside plants. So which of the following are lepidopterous and which are not?





They are:
1. The Drinker (Euthrix potatoria) - a moth
2. Tenthredo mandibularis - a sawfly
3. An unidentified micro moth
4. An unidentified sawfly larva

If you can help with either of the unidentified beasts, please comment.

Scarcely Chasing the Dragon

I've heard a fair bit about these here Scarce Chasers at Woodwalton Fen so, having had a glimpse of one at the PBC field trip a few days ago I decided I would take advantage of the slightly warmer day to take a look. As well as the target species there were Brown Hawker, Four-spotted Chaser, Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter, a probable Ruddy Darter, Azure, Common Blue, Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies. Not a bad little haul for a quick lunchtime dash.

Female Banded Demoiselle - or is it?

I learned recently about a colony of Beautiful Demoiselles (Calopteryx virgo) at Ferry Meadows, Peterborough. This species' usual range is well away from here so went for a look on 29 June. I only saw Banded Demoiselles (C. splendens) for certain but this female was very obliging and appeared to have very dusky wings. Several people have commented that it looks fine for C. virgo but I think I will wait to see a male.

Much Mulleined

This blog is largely moth free at the moment for reasons which may or may not become apparent but here is a smashing larva. Swarms of Mullein larvae can decimate some plants while leaving others nearby completely untouched.

Blue-tailed Damselfly

This is an immature or it may just be a bit cool, which gives it that extra bit of colour.

Fox Cub

Not the greatest photo and it was taken by digibinning (taking the shot through one lens of binoculars). This cub somehow remained oblivious to my presence. I got much closer, even though I was walking out in the open, but I had put the camera away and it ran off as I started to get it out again.

Get the point!

This is probably Alex's finest find to date. An eight-year-old is that bit smaller (and very keen), which seems to make it easier to find such items. We are still finding out about this tooth but it seems likely it came from a marine reptile. He found it in a pile of clay/shale dumped next to one of the footpaths in the new Hampton housing development near Peterborough. It ain't all that big (the scale is in mm) but it is in excellent condition considering it is over 65 million years old.