Crystalline Green

The garden moths traps were splendid last night, but I'll save the moths for another day. Especially so as an hour after emptying the traps the rain came down and temps plummeted, it's not going to be a great week weather-wise and, anyway, I'll be busy doing some more decorating. We were meant to be lapping up some sun and alcohol on Sal this week but obviously that was cancelled. We've still got the time off though so more sanding, prepping and rollering - can't wait. I like trying to precariously reach the highest part of the landing above the stairs best ....

There were a few other bits in the trap though, including a number of small ichneumonids that I can't honestly say I've bothered noticing before. I've already had Ophion minutus this week, and there were another couple last night plus what I think are two other species. Maybe they'll get named on the 'moth trap intruders' facebook group.

Ophion minutus again

Possibly this is Perilissus albitarsis. And possibly not.

Think this is another species - black thoracic markings, darker antennae, black 'feet'

Pill Beetle

Here's a couple of bits from yesterday's walk ..

I swept this hopper from grasses and low vegetation. After mulling over it for a bit, I worked out it is Agallia consobrina, posted it to a facebook group and got the ID confirmed.

Apparently a common species, but looks like there are only a handful of previous VC55 records. A new one for me either way.

More standard fare included these swept from hawthorn ....

Grammoptera ruficornis

Cantharis nigricans

And the most interesting bit of a swept cranefly ....

Tipula vernalis

Loving the green eyes on that.

One Man Went To Mow ....

.... went and bloody well mowed the meadows I was hoping to sweep on Wednesday evening for an hour or so after work. I nipped to a local site that I refer to as Countesthorpe Meadows. I haven't been there for a long while, and as soon as I got there I had de ja vu.

It probably looked great a week or so before ....

Anyway, I swept around the margins and pointed my camera at a few bits. Nothing new or exciting, but still good practice. I was keen to see if I was still capable of pointing the camera at anything hand-held in the field without specs. Confirmed I need specs, these were lucky!

Cardinal Beetle

Common Malachite Beetle

Cantharis nigricans

Red-and-Black Froghopper

I was home very late from work yesterday, but managed to get the trap out for around 22:30. Turned out to be well worthwhile.

Puss Moth

Eyed Hawk-moth

Elachista albedinella

Chocolate-tip

Ephestia unicolorella

I've got the (long) horn

Nipped out to one of the local sites that I used to bash during the 2013 1000 in 1K square challenge, but I haven't been there for a good three years or so now. The site was more overgrown in some repsects, with wide grassy/weedy margins and decent-sized hawthorn hedgerows - but the main 'meadow' parts were slightly sad as they'd been recently mowed leaving swathes of cuttings all over the place. Also, a large dead ash tree that I'd previously gathered a few beetles from is now inaccessible, buried in nettles.

I managed to net, pot and photograph a few bits though, with a handful of PSL ticks like Dasytes aeratus, Pachyprotasis variegata and Nomada fabriciana (none of which I've pointed the camera at!).

I did point the camera at some of the more obliging beetles though .......

Anaglyptus mysticus - love this species!

Cantharis rustica

Cantharis figurata

Wasp Beetle

Cantharis nigricans

Cantharis somethingorother (haven't worked this one out yet)

Freshly mown down and not as good as it could be meadow

Large inaccessible felled ash tree

From the garden trap 23/05/2012

Another improved night in the garden traps ....

Total catch 36 of 18sp.
(125W MV 19 of 14sp., 22W/18W Synergetic/CFL combo 17 of 9sp.)

0017  Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus)  2 (NFY)
0130  Incurvaria masculella  1 (NFY)
0247  Tinea trinotella  2
0409a  Argyresthia trifasciata  5
0602  Elachista apicipunctella  1 (NFY)
0647  Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella)  1
0892  Mompha subbistrigella  2
0998  Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)  1
1651  Chinese Character (Cilix glaucata)  1 (NFY)
1776  Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria)  8
1819  Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata)  1 (NFY)
1834  Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata)  3
1857  Dwarf Pug (Eupithecia tantillaria)  1 (NFY)
1906  Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)  3
1920  Scalloped Hazel (Odontopera bidentata)  1 (NFY)
1936  Waved Umber (Menophra abruptaria)  1
2000  Iron Prominent (Notodonta dromedarius)  1 (NFY)
2078  Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis)  1

Also in the synergetic trap was a Cantharis nigricans, which I decided to pot up to try and get a better photo. In reality I've ended up just grabbing a quick shot anyway - the reason being that once I'd got the camera set up I nipped into the garden to get a bit of slate to plonk it on when I found this sat on the garden table bold as brass .....

 Hairy Rove Beetle - smart, in an odd sort of beetle way. And a tick.

Trouble is to get the above shot took much more time and effort than I could really afford this evening. The Cantharis ended up being another grabbed shot anyway.

Cantharis nigricans

So, the reason for being short of time? I've been busily getting myself sorted and the car loaded for a foray down to West Sussex to meet up with a plethora of naturalists/bloggers/listers for a couple of days in the field. I expect to learn lots, and amply demonstrate my complete and utter novice status in all things non-lepidopteran. I may well even show myself up on the lepidopteran front!! Of course I will be taking the opportunity to run some traps down there tomorrow night, abeit a modest four plus sheet - no point going overboard as I anticipate both days will be long and full. Up early tomorrow to get the garden traps emptied and loaded into the car and then I'll be heading down at 6ish.

Yet more random stuff

The garden traps are still inactive, so yet again I was out dipping into everything else. Yesterday evening I had a very relaxing 2 hour walk along a disused railway line near to Cosby, which runs parallel to the M1. Despite the traffic noise in the background, it was actually quite peaceful with plenty of birdsong and, amazingly, not a single other person during the time I was there. I had fully expected a flurry of post-dinner dog-walkers. Something was singing from every stretch of shrubbery, including four Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff and a skulking Garden Warbler. Quite a few Adela reaumurella and Parornix angelicella flying, but with the conditions being a bit overcast there was not a lot of activity. Plenty of stuff picked out though as I ambled along, with Craneflies being most prominent for some reason .....

Tipula vernalis

Tipula varipennis

Tipula fascipennis - female

Tipula fascipennis - male

Tipula fascipennis - pair in cop

There were also a lot of Limonia phragmitidis about but I failed to get a decent shot. Very few beetles and bugs noted, but I did find a distinctive small one - Anaspis maculata - which escaped somewhere in the house before I could get a photo. Otherwise I found these ..

Cantharis nigricans

Agriotes sputator - many thanks to Mark Telfer

You'll have to trust me on this one, but the following shot is 100% genuine - no coaxing of the subjects to sit where I wanted them. I just went over to check a clump of White Campion and found these two sat side by side on the same flower.

Orange-tip (female) and Green-veined White

I've taken to looking at and under fallen rotting logs whilst out on these forays just lately, and this walk proved unexpectedly productive. I found this underneath one - a very common species to light but the first time I have seen the larva ..

Dark Arches

Meanwhile I found this growing on the end of another log ..

Pale Stagshorn??

Here's some random stuff to close the post.

Psila fimetaria

Hairy Snail

Aceria macrorhynchus - gall mite on Sycamore

Hawthorn Shieldbug

?? Which Spider ??