Found this beetle in the brown compost bin after doing some gardening on Saturday. This bristly weevil’s larvae feed on the roots of clover plants, the adults appear in the late summer and over-winter in soil or leaf litter.
#969 Clover-root Weevil (Sitona hispidulus)
These lacewings were attracted to the moth trap last weekend. The one on the left is a Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea agg), which are the commonest species in the autumn as unlike other species they hibernate as adults. I’m not sure about the one on the right - should have had a closer look at it, as it lacks the pale dorsal stripe and has some black markings on its head - so perhaps it is another species.
A couple of caddisflies in the moth trap at the weekend. On the left Limnephilus lunatus is the most frequently caught large caddisfly, named after the crescent moon-shaped pale mark at the tip of its wing. Smaller and less marked, Limnephilus auricula (#968) is a new species for the list. It frequents water edges that dry out in summer, the adults laying eggs in the autumn and the larvae overwintering.
A bit drab, but Ashy Button (Acleris sparsana) was another new species for the garden trapped this weekend. Not a big surprise to record this as it likes Beech trees, of which there is a large one nearby in next-door’s garden. Another micro in the trap, actually a few times lately, was Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) - another species which didn’t need to travel far from its plant host.
There are less moths, but this weekend some new species and a bit more variety. White-point was a new one for the garden. Flying in the Autumn, it’s an immigrant from the continent caught mainly in the South-East of England, that may have started establishing a resident population - not a bad catch for Gloucestershire. Superficially similar the Satellite has a different shaped while spot on its wings. This moth can be caught throughout the Autumn & Winter, from September until April. Deep-brown Dart and Black Rustic are both autumn species, typical for this period.
This is one of the commonest Autumn finds in the moth trap. Flying from August to October, it comes in different forms: most commonly (here at least) a dark form with pale veins over the wings, and a paler sandy-coloured form where the veins don’t show so much, but you get black spots towards the tips of the wings instead.
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.
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 is 1000 species - let's see where it goes.
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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