This caddisfly, Stenophylax permistus, was also in the moth trap. Brown speckled with pale patches on the wings, this species has two generations in spring and autumn. Its habitats are seasonal ditches and watercourses, and it is a species that comes to light quite often.
After a few wet and windy weekends I was able to put out the moth trap on Friday night. The catch of moths was right down from early September, but there are some Autumn-flying species around. This moth, Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata), is one such species, flying in Sept-Oct, hibernating as an adult, then flying again in early Spring. With its cryptic green colours, it’s a handsome moth and a new species for the garden.
This red and metallic-green Centurion fly got trapped inside the house. Called the Twin-Spot Centurion (Sargus bipunctatus) because if the two white spots on the front of its face, it is a late-flying member of this fly family, typically seen sunbathing on vegetation from September through to November.
I wondered what was shredding the leaves of alpine strawberry plants in a planter outside the front door. Turns out to be sawfly larvae from the Strawberry Sawfly (Claremontia confusa). The sawflies are supposed to fly in May-June and people report their strawberry plants being eaten in July, so maybe these are from a second generation.
This is another insect attracted to flowering Ivy. German Wasp is pretty similar to the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris), but has some slightly different features - especially the black on the front of the face. Where Common Wasp has an anchor-shaped black mark above the mandibles, German Wasp has 3 black spots, though sometimes the centre one is fused (as in this case) into a line. It’s a rather common species, but this is the first one that I’ve identified in the garden.
I’ve been looking for these late-flying bees the past couple of autumns, so I’m glad they have reached my neck of the woods this year. These stripey Colletes bees fly from September to November, timed to match when Ivy is in flower, and nest (sometimes in huge colonies) in sandy South facing slopes. The ivy on our wall is now flowering and attracting lots of insects, and several of these bees were present. Ivy Bee is another non-native species in UK, first recorded in 2001 and now spread across southern England and Wales.
This Parent Bug nymph (final instar) dropped on me out of the birch trees. The nymphs go through several development phases before becoming adults, which overwinter to breed the following spring. Parent Bugs (Elasmucha grisea) live in Beech and Alder trees, and are so-called because in this species the females stick around to brood the eggs and young larvae.
This brightly coloured hairy caterpillar was munching some plantain at the allotment. It’s a the caterpillar of a Knot Grass moth (Acronicta rumicis), a grassland species which I have caught in the garden.
The Box Tree moths I have caught previously have been an elegant white with black margins around the wings, so this one had me a bit confused, even though its shape is pretty unique. But yes, Box Tree Moths do also have a dark morph. This one came into the house the other evening.
Cypress Pug is a new species for my garden; seemingly not that common in Gloucestershire. It is a non-native moth, first found in UK in Cornwall in 1959, which has since spread across southern England and up to the Midlands. It lives on (also non-native) Cypress trees.
Other nice moths today included this Canary-shouldered Thorn - very fluffy, several Centre-barred Sallows and another Old Lady moth.
This chrysalis of a Large White (Pieris brassicae) butterfly appeared at the top of the door frame of the back door. The caterpillars search out a sheltered, dry place to pupate; quite often under window sills, etc. There are no cabbages in the back garden, but I expect the caterpillar must have crawled about 5 meters from the nearest Nasturtiums.
This Red-legged Shieldbug, posing nicely at the top of a Rosemary bush, is a common late-summer insect. Adults appear from July to November in gardens and wooded areas. They over-winter as larvae in deciduous trees.
I caught a couple of these in the moth trap at the weekend. Old Lady moths don’t often come to light, but were probably attracted by rotting figs and grapes courtesy of my neighbours’ fruit trees, and found the moth trap a comfortable place to hide up for the day. These are quite big moths, around 6 cm wingspan, that fly for one generation in July-August.
#960 Old Lady (Mormo maura)
We made a stop-over near Lac d’Orient in the North of France for a couple of days. There is a lot of nature to see there in the forest and around the lakes. Birds included Osprey, Black Storks, Purple Heron, Black Woodpecker and most surprising for me, a Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus). The kites are spreading north from their stronghold in Spain, and have even turned up in UK, but this was my first in France and a good find so far North. With thousands of young Marsh Frogs all around the lakes, there was plenty of food for herons, storks and the dozens of great white egrets.
In the forest fungi were everywhere and lots of were people foraging. We picked Black Chanterelles (known in France, as Trompette de la Mort), which were very edible - great on pizza! The red Devil’s Fingers (or Octopus Stinkhorn) has an unpleasant smell of rotting-meat. It is an accidental introduction from Australia that was first found in France during the first world war, believed imported with military supplies.
Sharing some photos from a multi-day hiking trip to the Mercantour National Park, staying in CAF refuges. Apart from some incredible mountain scenery there was plenty of wildlife about. Notably Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) were common and often very tame; likewise we saw several Ibex (Capra ibex), also close to the trails and refuges - much easier to see here than other places I’ve visited in the Alps.
I’m currently on holiday in France, so here are some garden insects from the Var. I brought my moth trap, but failed to catch anything more than a handful of micros. The largest insect that was attracted to the light was a largish lacewing fly, Chrysope italienne. Meanwhile a local jumping spider, Menemerus semilimbatus, was eating one of the few mall moths that came. Ameles spallanzani is a small species of praying mantis. All of the above are largely Mediterranean species.
After a cool spring that was not good for butterflies, we have quite a butterfly bonanza going on at the moment. Red Admirals and Whites (Small and Large) are the predominant species, but in the last week we also had Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth around the garden, with our lavender and neighbour’s buddleia being the centres of activity.
A new plant growing on the gravel alley to the house - Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola). This is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce, but it comes with prickles on the stem and the underside rib of the leaves. It is supposed to be edible, if with a bitter taste.
Here’s a couple of beetles that turned up recently. The ground beetle Dromius meridionalis was found in my moth trap the other morning. It’s a woodland species, often found under tree bark.
Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) is common around the area, especially on the flowers of Hogweed and other umbelliferous plants. I don’t get many in the garden though - this one was on Welsh Poppies.
I posted some of the “macro” moths earlier - here are some of the smaller moths, including a few new species.
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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