A few insects around the garden today. Some like the Red-legged Shieldbug and lacewing Hemerobius lutescens (a new species, #907) were attracted by the moth trap. The large Tegenaria spider was found in the trap having killed and consumed four moths. The Oak Bush Cricket was found in the paddling pool.
After a 2-week break there are some different moths around. New species today were Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon) and Brindled Flat-body (Agonopterix arenella). The former is a migrant species that does not survive winter in UK; today I caught three of them. Orange Swift and Copper Underwing were the first of the year.
I photographed this fly feeding on mint flowers in the garden. With the yellow/black bands on the abdomen and boldly striped thorax, I believe it is Locust Blow Fly (Stomorhina lunata). This species is a visitor from the continent, where it is a predator of the egg pods of locusts (but ,they think, it doesn’t predate any UK grasshopper species). Not sure about its status in Gloucestershire, but although once rare in UK this fly has been turning up more frequently in recent years.
Yet another rescue from the paddling pool; in this case a Common Emerald Moth. This one flies usually in June-July, so it’s a little late. It’s larvae are found in hawthorn, blackthorn, willow, hazel & oak - so no shortage of habitat locally.
Would have been nice to reach 900 with something spectacular, but the new moths today were Dingy Footman, looking like a large sunflower seed, and (an even dingier) Rusty-dot Pearl. Magpie Moth and Lesser Swallow Prominent were more handsome catches amongst 100+ moths of 42 species caught.
This tiny fly, fished out of the swimming pool this evening, is a fruit fly, Anomoia purmunda. The intricate wing pattern is distinctive for this species, whose eggs are laid on hawthorns and larvae eat the berries.
In terms of numbers and diversity of species it has been a good summer for butterflies in the garden, with ten different species last week and nine both of the previous two weeks. The flowering period seemed short for some insect-friendly flowers, especially the Golden Rod, but the Lavender and. more recently. Buddleia have been pulling them in. Large & Small White, Holly Blue, Meadow Brown and Red Admiral are around most days, with a smattering of Small Tortoiseshells, Green-veined Whites, Peacocks, Commas, Ringlets & Gatekeepers. Less usual drop-ins have included Small Skipper and Common Blue. The main species not present yet are Painted Lady and Speckled Wood, which some years have been fairly common, but not so (at least here) this year..
=176 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
So far this year I haven’t had many bugs, for instance shield bugs seem in short supply, but here are three bugs & beetles from the last few days. The Red Soldier Beetle was fished out of the swimming pool, looking a bit the worse for wear; it’s only maybe the third I’ve recorded though it’s common enough in the surrounding countryside. The small & stripey Pea Leaf Weevil dropped onto my dinner plate one evening Mirid bug, Liocoris tripustulatus, is also small and easily overlooked, but present; especially where I left a clumps of stinging nettles.
The kids caught this monster in the swimming pool - a Common Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca, #898). About 1.5 cm long, this is a predator of aquatic insects and even sometimes tadpoles. It can even give anyone handling it a bit of a nip too. This one must have been flying around in search of a new pond. It’s a similar-looking bug, but a lot larger and more impressive than the water boatmen who occasionally wind up in my moth trap.
A cooler night meant fewer moths than the previous week, but some of the highlights are here. White-spotted Pug ( Eupithecia tripunctaria) and Small China-mark (Cataclysta lemnata) were new species.
These are two of the caddisflies that are attracted most frequently to my moth trap. They both have a long flying season, from spring right through to autumn and are readily attracted to light. There’s not really any suitable water for them nearby, so they must travel quite far afield during the night.
I don’t always catch a lot of micro moths, but this weekend (in addition to a lot of ermine moths, greys and grass moths) there were several interesting micros. Below a selection of them, including the five new species caught: Dingy Dowd, Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner, Grey Knot-horn, Spindle Knot-horn and Large Grey. These take the garden list several steps closer to 900, with now 252 species of moth.
A huge haul of moths on Saturday morning, with a selection of exotic & beautiful examples. 138 individuals of 55 species took me half the weekend to go through the photos. Pebble Hook-tip (Drepana falcataria) was the only new macro species, but there were some new micros too - more on those when I get time.
This Dor Beetle, Geotrupes spiniger (#889) is my first dung beetle in the garden. Unfortunately it had got itself caught in a spider web, and eaten. I’m not sure if was attracted to light by the moth trap or was just unlucky. I love the blue colour on the underside of these beetles. The beetles lay their eggs under the dung of herbivorous animals.
It took me a while to nail down the identification of this water beetle that turned up one morning in the paddling pool. Agabus nebulosus (#888) is a common pond beetle that frequents stagnant ponds and ditches. It is a strong flier, sometimes attracted to light, and often found as in this case in temporary pools and water troughs. Its spotted markings are quite distinctive.
A few new species on the list this week. Most exciting thing was a Small Skipper butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris) that stopped on the lavender for a while, but was too fast to get a decent photo. It was my first new butterfly species in three years. The hot weather early in the week certainly was good for butterflies. The Dingy Shears moth (Apterogenum ypsillon) appeared in the swimming pool and got fished out more or less unscathed - a species that so far didn’t get into my moth trap. Finally at least 2 meters high, I belatedly spotted a couple of Rosebay Willowherb plants (Chamaenerion angustifolium) that are established by the fence at the back of one of the borders.
Looking superficially like a squat, little hoverfly, this male soldier fly is new for the garden. It is supposed to be found in damp places and near ponds, so it’s fitting that I rescued it from the paddling pool, where it was probably trying to cool off.
Another warm and fine night for moths on Friday night, with 33 different spoecies caught, including five new ones for the list. Star of the show, for rarity value perhaps rather than looks, was a Waved Black (Parascotia fuliginaria), whose larvae live on rotten wood & fungi, and which is not often recording in Gliucestershire. Pale Prominent, looking much like a bunch of dead leaves was also a good catch.
This Speckled Bush Cricket nymph was perched up on the Golden Rod flowers. They are more active at night and around dusk than in full daytime (2.00 pm in this case), but this one didn’t seem bothered about being out in the sunshine.
On Saturday morning I had a bumper haul of 90 moths of 35 different types in and around the moth trap, thanks to a still, warm and cloudy night. This included no fewer than nine Elephant Hawk-moths and three new species: Chinese Character (Cilix glaucata), Large Tabby (Aglossa pinguinalis) and Clay (Mythimna ferrago). Seems the good weather is here to stay for a while, so it looks good for more mothing this week. A few moths below including the Tabby, Clay and three types of Ermine moth.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target was 1000 species, which I eventually hit in June 2024. But there’s still plenty to see and learn about.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
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