Medley

After getting out and about throughout the week, I'm having a chillout weekend. Weather is not so great today anyway and I'm planning on a couple of beers with the Grand Prix on - that should score me some serious old-man zzzs before I go back to work.

I didn't bother putting the moth trap out last night, wind was up and it had cooled a bit. Having said that, the mothing over the two previous nights was very disappointing. The trap itself wasn't though, plenty of other interesting inverts arriving. With that and a heap of bits from Ketton Quarry I've got too much for one post. I'll share some now, which is a medley of bits from the trap and a range of beetles.

On both Thursday and Friday nights, the traps have attracted a number of beetle species and have been bulging with 100s of Bradycellus verbasci and Staphs of two species which I've worked out to ....

Anotylus rugosus - new for the garden

Oxytelus laqueatus - new for me

And a couple more selected beetles from the traps ....

Notaris scirpi - new for the garden

Dromius meridionalis - keys to this, thought it may be different as darker than I recall

Other inverts from the traps included these ....

Lesser Earwig - good to see a handful of these over the two nights

Common Wasp

Far less thrilling to be finding dozens of these in the synergetic trap, there has to be a nest nearby.

Trigonotylus caelestialum

This one is new to me, immediately stuck out with the candy-striped first antennal segment.

The following were all swept from flowering vegetation at Ketton Quarry on Friday:

Sermylassa halensis - a new one for me

Variimorda villosa - I seem to only see this at Ketton Quarry

Pyrrhalta viburni

Sprung

Today was a really nice sunny spring day; plenty of sunshine, light breeze and moderate temps. I needed fresh air and some exercise, so Nichola drove us over to Huncote Embankment for a bit of a leisurely amble. And very nice it was too, with Blackthorn and Gorse in full bloom, Chiffchaffs in full song and with a bit of invert action to boot.

The smell from the abundant Blackthorn was great, and there was plenty going on around the blooms. I failed to successfully point the camera at a few hoverflies, flies and bees but I managed to get these: 

Small Tortoiseshell

I'm pretty sure this is Andrena flavipes - Yellow-legged Mining Bee

 

Plenty going on around the gorse too, with abundant ladybirds and Gorse Weevils, plus a fair few shieldbugs.

Sloe Bug / Hairy Shieldbug

Gorse Shieldbug

Around the pool I had a bit of poke around the reedmace heads, finding larvae of Limnaecia phragmitella in the process along with a couple of Water Ladybirds and Bulrush Bugs.

I decided to collect a fallen stem, cut into foot-long sections so I could fit it in my bag. When I got home I had a poke about in the stem and found a few more bits.

Think this is also Limnaecia phragmitella, though actually in the stem-sheath.

Think this is a pair of Notaris spp. weevils, either N. acridulus or N. scirpi - retained to key.
Keyed to Notaris scirpi

European Cinchbug (Ischnodemus sabuleti)  - micropterous adult

Bulrush Bug (Chilacis typhae)