Californian Maple Aphid (Periphyllus californiensis)

Spotting my regular pair of long-tailed tits feeding on a small Japanese Maple, I thought it worth checking what they were going after. It turned out to be a pretty heavy infestation of honey-dew secreting aphids; in this case Californian Maple Aphids (Periphyllus californiensis). These are not native to UK, as you might guess from the name, though in fact they come originally from East Asia rather than the USA, but have now spread more or less globally wherever ornamental garden maples are grown.

#916 Californian Maple Aphid (Periphyllus californiensis)

#915 The Satellite (Eupsilia transversa)

After a wet March and being away over Easter, I finally put the moth trap out for the first time this year. Catches included my first Satellite (Eupsilia transversa, #915). This moth over-winters as an adult and can be caught right through the winter when the weather is mild, up until April. Sometimes the spot on the wing is white, rather than orange like in this case. Apart from Common & Small Quakers and several Clouded Drabs, the more interesting catches were a handsome Streamer, a (rather early) Scorched Carpet and this fine Black Sexton Beetle.

#915 Satellite (Eupsilia transversa)

#809 Scorched Carpet (Ligdia adustata)

#839 Streamer (Anticlea derivata)

#733 Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator)

Holly Leaf-miner (Phytomyza ilicis, #914)

My first new species for a while, mainly due to my being busy and not spending enough time outside. This leaf mine contains the larva of a small fly, Phytomyza ilicis; the only UK leaf mine found on European Holly.

#914 Holly Leaf-miner (Phytomyza ilicis)

The first Mining Bees

Still a bit drowsy (and easier to photograph), due to the cooler temperature, but the first mining bees are out and about in the village. These are male Yellow-legged Mining Bees (Andrena flavipes) which live in a large colony on a south facing bank by the road. These bees have two generations, one in early spring and a second in the summer. They are quite widely distributed in the southern half of England.

#309 Yellow-legged Mining Bee (Andrena flavipes)

Coming out of Hibernation

It’s not that warm, but warm enough in the sun for these two signs of spring. A very early Red Admiral catching some rays on the fence today. It’s not normally a species I see early in the year. Usually Brimstone or Small Tortoiseshell are first to put in an appearance, towards the end of Marc; so I’m not sure what this one was doing out and about today. The Brown-spot Flatbody moth is also quite early, but a few do come out in the early spring with a larger second generation in the summer. This one was disturbed while I was doing some gardening yesterday. I also saw the first bumble bees of the year this week.

#155 Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

#325 Brown-spot Flatbody (Agonopterix alstromeriana)

Box Tree Moth

This Box Tree Moth was the only moth that came to light this weekend. While a did manage to find a night with no rain, it was pretty windy, so combine that with the season and there wasn’t much about. Yesterday (Halloween) during a sunny spell I saw Rad Admiral butterfly and a Common Darter dragonfly in the garden; maybe the last of the year. To mark the coming winter the first fieldfares flew over and at night Tawny Owls are making a lot of noise.

The Autumn Shift

There’s a change-around in the moths with some autumn species coming to the fore, though there are still plenty of Large Yellow Underwings to catch. Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing both fly in September-October, as does the Deep-brown Dart, a new not-so-common moth for the list. Whereas the Chestnut can appear any time during the winter from October onwards.

#707 Beaded Chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis)

#913 Chestnut (Conistra vaccinii)

#912 Deep-brown Dart (Aporophyla lutulenta)

#685 Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa)

Tipula confusa & Nebria salina

Tipula confusa is an autumn flying crane fly with distinctively marked wings. It’s a good season for crane flies right now, resting up around the garden in the morning. The ground beetle Nebria salina was a new species for the garden. Found in dry habitats, the combination of leg/antenna colour and shape of pronuptum indicates this species.

#364 Tipula confusa

#910 Nebria salina

Frosted Orange & Red Underwing

Two very smart new moths in the trap this morning, among the other moths, which included now fewer than 37 Large Yellow Underwings. The caterpillars of Frosted Orange (#909) live inside the stems of plants such as thistle and foxglove. Red Underwing (#908) with a 7cm wingspan is one of UK’s larger moths, with a bright red underwing when its wings are open. Its larval food-plants are poplar and willow.

#909 Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavago)

#908 Red Underwing (Catocala nupta)

Harvest Moon Moths

With a near-full moon it wasn’t the best night for catching moths, but at least there was no rain - just heavy dew. A small haul of common moths (28 individuals or 12 species), with only the non-native Box-tree moth (an accidental import from SE Asia) adding a touch of the exotic.

#595 Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria)

#594 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum)

#825 Box-tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis)

September 1st Moths

It starts to get colder overnight, and there are fewer moths, especially fewer small moths, and less variety. More interesting moths today included a Chinese Character on the window by the trap and a Burnished Brass.

#876 Chinese Character (Cilix glaucata)

#788 Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis)

#682 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)

#761 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi)

Misc Insects: 29 August

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.

#154 Oak Bush Cricket (Meconema thalassinum)

#292 Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

#907 Hemerobius lutescens

House Spider (Tegenaria sp)

Back from Holiday

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.

#904 Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon)

#682 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)

#761 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi)

#821 Copper Underwing (Amphipyra sp.)

#815 Orange Swift (Triodia sylvina)

#774 Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis)

#905 Brindled Flat-body (Agonopterix arenella)

#336 Elbow-stripe Grass Veneer (Agriphila geniculea)

Locust Blow Fly (Stomorhina lunata,903)

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.

Common Emerald (Hemithea aestivaria, #902)

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.

900 Species in Low-key Style

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.

#900 Dingy Footman (Eilema griseola)

#901 Rusty-dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis)

#666 Magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata)

#667 Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma)

Anomoia purmunda (#899)

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.

Summer of Butterflies

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)

This week's Beetles / Bugs

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.

#530 Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

#735 Pea Leaf Weevil (Sitona lineatus)

#793 Liocoris tripustulatus (Liocoris tripustulatus)

Common Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca)

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.