A couple of non-moths in the moth trap yesterday, including a new caddisfly, Limnephilus marmoratus. This caddisfly, distinguishable by its boldly marked wings, lives around ponds and commonly comes to light. The Ophion ichneumon wasp (hard to identify to species level) is also nocturnal and commonly found in moth traps - this family of wasps are parasitoids of noctuid moths.
This Ichneumon wasp was hunting around the window frames, presumably for spiders egg sacs, as it lays its eggs on them as food for the larvae. This wasp is seen throughout the summer and autumn.
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 snapped this mason wasp exploring a hole in the limestone wall. These wasps cache caterpillars in holes in wood or masonry for their caterpillars to eat once their eggs hatch. Usually several cells are created with earth walls between each compartment, each cell containing an egg and food for the growing wasp larva. There are several species of very similar wasps, but I believe this one is Ancistrocerus nigricornis, which is one of the commoner ones, often using bug hotels.
This large and rather scary parasitic wasp trapped itself in the greenhouse. At 40 mm long, excluding an ovipositor longer even than the body, it’s an impressive bug and UK’s biggest parasitic wasp. The females (like this one) detect beetle larvae deep in dead wood, and their ovipositor can pass through the wood to lay eggs in or near the grub. The wasp larvae then eats the beetle larva. This species is normally found in woodland with dead logs, so it is a good find for my garden which is not very near a wooded area.
Three of these wasps came to the moth trap the other night, but there are several species that all look pretty similar, so not something I can identify to species level. They are all parasites mainly of different types of moth, where they lay their eggs on caterpillars which their larvae kill and devour from the inside, emerging in due course as adults.
This caterpillar’s short life was interrupted by something. I thought at first a fungus, but after a bit of research I think the white blobs are actually insect eggs, probably from a parasitic wasp whose larvae are growing up inside the dead caterpillar. Yuck…
It’s been all about moths lately, but there are other insects about. One great thing about moths is the wealth of information about them online. The same is not true for wasps and I can’t even get close to identifying these two that I photographed last month, despite getting some quite okay pictures. They are probably some type of parasitic wasp that lays eggs in other insects, but there’s just too many species - a huge diversity of around 6,500 species, just in the UK - so I’ve thrown in the towel on ever working out what they might be. These wasps typically synchronise their appearance with that of their hosts, usually with more appearing later in the summer. I’m hoping this will include some of the more spectacular big & brightly coloured ones which I might be able to identify.
The common wasps are back whenever we sit outside for a meal; but these two wasps are not the kind to bother you when you are eating.
The one on the left is a parasitoid wasp, rejoicing in the name Gasteruption jaculator. With its amazing long, white-tipped ovipositor it lays eggs into the nests of solitary bees, where its larvae will eat the bee larvae. According to the NBN atlas there’s not many records in Gloucestershire, so happy to snap it on my Goldenrod.
There’s a nice article here talking about the lifecycle (and name) of this pretty bizarre looking wasp https://www.gwct.org.uk/wildlife/species-of-the-month/2017/gasteruption-jaculator/.
The other wasp was fished out of the swimming pool, and with its smart black and yellow colour it looks like a potter wasp. These make their nests in hollow stems of plants like brambles, perhaps they might use a bee hotel as well. They hunt larvae from beetles and other insects, which they bring back to the nest for their own larvae. Species-wise I wondered about Gymnomerus laevipes (Box-header Potter Bee), but there are lots of similar-looking species, none of which seem especially well recorded and it’s hard to tell from the photos.
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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