Two More Species

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These are record shots (ie not very good photos) for two new species to add to my garden list. First up a caddisfly Tinodes waeneri (#990) which was caught in the moth trap at the weekend. This caddisfly is fairly uniform brown with dark veins on the wings. It flies throughout the summer from May-Sept, with a peak in May.

Mostly the buttercups in my garden are Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens), but this one growing between the paving stones is Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris, #991). I’m sure I must have over-looked this plant previous years, but the shape of the leaves is quite different.

300 Moths

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I’m getting quite close to my 1000 species target, but on the way recorded my 300th moth this weekend, adding May Highflyer, Grass Rivulet and Oak Knot-horn.

Grass Rivulet is a species of open grassland, it’s larval food-plant being Yellow Rattle. I do have that in my mini wildflower meadow; which as it’s only about 2 square metres maybe shows that every little really does help! Oak Knot-horn is a micro usually associated with Oak trees; it’s a common enough species, but usually flies in June-July.

Flying Carpet Moths

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Lots of carpet moths on Sunday morning, including different forms of Common Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma truncata) and one new species, May Highflyer (Hydriomena impluviata, #988). May Highflyer has one generation flying from May-June and is usually around Alders - a tree I do not have nearby, to my knowledge. The white bar across the centre of the wings helps identify this species from other carpet moths.

Big Beetles

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Big beetles were flying the other night, with two each of these coming to the moth trap. Cockchaffers are an annual thing at this time of the year, but it’s always a thrill to catch one. Carrion feeding Black Sexton beetles are the most impressive black beetles that I’ve found so far - maybe one day I’ll get a Stag Beetle!

Chocolate Tip (Clostera curtula, #986)

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As a new species for the garden, Chocolate Tip moth (Clostera curtula) was the highlight, but there were also some other beautiful moths in and around the trap this morning. With some warmer weather we were up to 20 types of moth today. In England, Chocolate Tip has two generations, one now and another in Aug/Sept; it is a woodland species preferring Poplar, Aspen & Sallows. It’s not rare, but seems less frequently encountered than the other moths caught today.

#985 Nut-tree Tussock (Colocasia coryli)

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The small collection of moths in the moth trap this morning, included this Nut-tree Tussock Moth, which is a new species for my list. This moth’s food-plants are trees such as hazel and beech. It flies in 2 generations, in April-June and July-September.

Other moths included four Sliver Cloud moths, which are a local speciality with a small range in UK centred on the Severn & Wye valleys, and a few other typical Spring fliers.

Cleeve Hill Fungi

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It’s not a big season for fungi, but one exception is St George’s Mushroom, which is a Spring fungus, usually found from St George’s Day (23 April) through to June. It is an edible mushroom, tending to be found in short grass, but also other habitats. Yellow Brain is a more specialised species, found on hazel or (as in this case) on dead Gorse branches.

Mining Bees

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Nice to have some bees about. On the left Chocolate Mining Bee (Andrena scotica) and on the right Ashy Mining Bee (Andrena cineraria). Late April is about the best time for both these common mining bee species.

Pinion-spotted Pug (Eupithecia insigniata)

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Finally, the first outing this your for my moth trap. The star of the show was a Pinion-spotted Pug (Eupithecia insigniata, #982), top left. This is not a common moth, usually only a few caught per year in Glos, so the most unusual moth I’ve caught in a while and a great start for the year. Otherwise there were not many moths flying, but a Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac) is always welcome. The small grey cranefly, maybe a Monophilus species, was likely a new species, but not sure if I’ll ever confirm any ID for it.

An Irish Slug

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Irish Yellow Slug or Green Cellar Slug is a common garden species, often found - like in this case - under rotting logs. Originally native to Crimea and the Black Sea area it is believed introduced to Ireland in the 17th century and then on to UK is 20th century. In the UK, Limacus maculatus seems to be replacing the Yellow Cellar Slug (Limacus flavus), itself a 17th century import to UK from Eastern Europe, across much of its range.

#980 Irish Yellow Slug (Limacus maculatus)

Netted Crust (Byssomerulius corium, #979)

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This blob of what looks like old chewing gum on a dead Buddleia branch, is I believe Netted Crust (Byssomerulius corium), a new species for the garden. This fungus is found all year round on dead wood - usually deciduous/ The white spots on another piece of dead wood, this time from my Corkscrew Willow, are some kind of slime mould.

Egyptian Locust (Anacridium aegyptium)

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I’m currently over in France. and came across this enormous grasshopper in the yard, hiding out on some old fence materials. Female Egyptian Locusts can grow up to 7cm in length and apart from their size can be recognised by their odd striped eyes. They can be found year-round here, over-wintering as adults; but they do occasionally turn up in UK either as accidental escapes or potentially wind-blown vagrants.

Autumn Fungi @ Kemerton #2

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Eight fungi and a slime mould from a guided walk at Kemerton Lake this weekend. Several fungi I never saw, or managed to identify, before. Now I just need some to pop up in the garden, where I’ve barely seen any fungi this year - it’s certainly damp enough…

Cleeve Hill Fungi

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Some spectacular fungi up on Cleeve Hill on the Cotswold scarp last weekend; they were everywhere. Still a few I didn’t identify yet.