Early Grey Day

Stuck the garden trap out last night, first time in a few days as it's been pretty chilly overnight. But even then it was decidedly nippy when I had a quick check at around midnight. Not too much to get excited about this morning, Early Grey NFY, nice to see another Twin-spotted Quaker, a nice cloudy Clouded Drab and a couple of Small Quakers [I like Small Quakers].

Clouded Drab

Twin-spotted Quaker

Small Quaker

Small Quaker

Brindled Beauty

Early Grey

Diurnea fagella

There was also a Caloptilia sp. which I feel sure will turn into C. falconipennella when it is checked out properly.

From the garden trap : 06/03/2025

I expected the garden trap to be a bit busier than it was, with decent min. temps after a few warm days. But the stiff breeze that came with dusk probably affected it. 25 of 6sp. with nothing exciting.

Acleris cristana

Small Quaker

Common Quaker

Whilst I'm at it, here's a few odd moths from the garden earlier in the year ....

Clouded Drab (24/02/2025)

Hebrew Character (24/02/2025)

Dotted Border (01/02/2025)

Early Moth (18/01/2025)

Here's a properly great track from The Shamen back in 1987, before more crappy stuff they did [ie Ebeneezer Goode].

Down by The River

Today was dull and cloudy in the main, but I had time and enthusiasm enough to take myself to the river and head out onto the patch at Jubilee Park. The water levels have dropped a lot since the last time I was there, with a big drop from the bank down to the water ....

The poor lighting was not ideal for bird photography, especially with everything on full zoom, but I pointed it at a couple of nice 5MR yearticks:

This Treecreeper was constantly active up, down and around a large tree overhanging the river and getting any shot at all was a miracle - this the only one vaguely in focus/still enough to use. A near-silent Chiffchaff was also noted but too obscured by twiggery to bother trying for a snap; no singing, just a couple of pathetic 'hooeet' calls. Best of all though were a pair of these around the pool ....

I have seen Oystercatcher at this site before, and this pair was mating frequently so perhaps they'll stay. Still plenty of Wigeon around the pool, and the lone drake Tufted Duck was now joined by a pair. Both drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker and no less than four fly-past Green Woodpeckers were nice, but oddly no Little Egrets today and sadly still no sign of Kingfisher.

Just across the road, there is a large channel/scrape that was created last year. I assume it was an attempt at flood management but it's not been effective on that front. But when the water levels drop it looks like it could be attractive to the odd common wader (and it certainly wasn't created for that purpose):

Common Sandpiper, Dunlin and LRP have all been noted around the Jubilee Park pool in past years and could easily use this. Perhaps Green or Wood Sandpiper could drop in. No waders on it today though, but both Pied and Grey Wagtail bobbing around the perimeter.

Here's a beetle from yesterday that you're going to have to take my word for ....

This is Ptomaphagus subvillosus, or at least is seems to key to that okay using Duff, a new one for me. The photo above probably looks a bit odd: that's because I spotted and took some snaps of it on the shiny black roof of Isabelle's Mini before potting it - not quite the usual habitat for this group of beetles. I've squinted at it live under the microscope but not taken any snaps as yet, and I expect it will curl up into an uncardable blob once euthanised.

The moth trap has picked up a little in terms of numbers, but not so much in species diversity. Here's a couple of NFY from the last couple of nights though:

Light Brown Apple Moth

Small Quaker

And here's some catkins to cheer us up: a few more days/degrees and these should be buzzing with inverts:

Cracked

The moth trap was a little more entertaining this morning, but only just. A couple of Twin-spotted Quakers were nice, along with a couple of Small Quakers, a Clouded Drab and a Common Quaker. Not a single Hebrew Character.

Small Quaker

Birdwise, yesterday morning a male Blackcap spent five minutes or so flitting around the lilac bush before heading into the embankment a singing on/off for the rest of the day. No sign of it this morning, but today I've had a brief fly-through Swallow in the afternoon.

This afternoon I cracked. I've been cooped up in the house and garden for the best part of a week and it finally got to me. So, I got me boots on and headed out for some restrorative exercise. I headed to a nearby railway embankment that I've not walked for years. It's here, immediately parallel to the M1 and a remnant of the old Great Central Railway.

My house is approximately the red dot, the start of the embankment walk is at the blue dot on Countesthorpe Road just after passing under the motorway, and I walked down as far as the next blue dot where the track turns a bit more boggy and overgrown. This embankment pathway is generally referred to as Bramble Walk. There are benches dotted along it, and dog shit bins, which kind of explains who normally uses it but today I saw no-one.

Despite the location, it has some potential for invert interest - particularly if using a sweep net. Not that I had a net, just a few pots and camera. It was surprisingly relaxing, despite the fact that you are always within about 30 meters of the relentless thundering M1 to the east. The sun came out occasionally, and it was warm enough, but there was a fairly constant breeze which made pointing the camera at anything a bit hit and miss.

Gymnocheta viridis

If you look again at the map, there is a cyan dot just a bit less than halfway down and apparently on the otherside of the M1. At that point, there is a pathway down from the embankment which heads both under the motorway and onto tracks into the fields. I went for a squint before carrying on along the top.

Looking back west(ish) through the motorway underpass to the old railway underpass.

Looking north-west towards Cosby

I saw a few bits that I'd not seen this year, including White-tailed Bumblebee agg., Common Carder Bumblebee, Orange-tip and Pied Shieldbug. But mostly I noticed a number of smaller hoverflies. I've managed to coax three into pots for closer scrutiny along with a couple of sawflies.

Eristalis pertinax (female)

It was well worth the effort. Walking back home, Skylarks were singing not far from the house and a Pheasant was calling loudly ... neither of which I could actually hear from the house, though the wind will work in my favour at some point I'm sure.

Egretta garzetta

Remember when Little Egrets were actually rare birds in the UK? And then seeing them more regularly and further inland started being normal, and then they started breeding in small colonies, and then they're everywhere like small pointy white sticks wherever you look .......

Whilst I was being ferried about by Nichola we headed through what used to be Whetstone village (but is now just the middle of a sprawling sub-urban metropolis called Whetstone). Being a passenger means you notice things, like small pointy white sticks looking out of place high up in a tree above Whetstone Brook. As it was still there when we drove back past, I insisted that Nichola ought to bring me back in a few mins with my camera. It was still there, though trying to get anything like a half-decent shot was not easy with crappy lighting and obtrusive twigs in the wrong places. I got it looking both ways. I expect Great White and Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron and Little Bittern in the brook during the next decade.

'Pointy White Stick' in 'Whetstone Village'

Not much excitement in last night's moth trap, but there was a total of 7 Small Quakers. It feels like I usually only see one or two of these in the garden each year, so I checked back. Five or less in all years except 2010 (7 individuals) and 2012 (13 individuals with the highest garden count of 5 on 23/3/2012). I've had 12 so far this year.

Small Quaker - 22/03/2019

Agonopterix alstromeriana - 22/03/2019

Agonopterix heracliana/cilliela agg. - 22/03/2019

Ripping off the Olive Branch

Yesterday I nipped into one of our garden centers in south Leics. Whilst mooching about with Nichola, I noticed some olive trees and had a moment of de ja vu. I looked them over and sure enough found clear evidence of larval feeding with spinnings and frass. It was then that I remembered that I'd seen the same feeding damage in the same place last year and completely forgot to follow up in any way. When I got home, a quick check online and a browse through photos on my phone and I got a bit closer.

Here's a snap from yesterday:

Larval feeding signs on Olive Tree (Olea europaea)

This feeding damage was actually quite high up on a well established (and very expensive) tree. There was no way I could serruptitiously rip off the olive branch. At least not on this visit! The older photos I found were from 14/07/2018. These were on smaller and more accessible plants, but given that I wasn't sure what to look for I didn't acquire any samples. Here's a selection:

I'm absolutely convinced that this feeding damage is lepidopteran. There's really not much that is likely to be feeding on olive in this country, and the two prime contenders are both adventive species recently added to the UK list. Neither has been recorded in VC55: Prays oleae (new to UK in 2009) and Zelleria oleastrella (new to UK in 2006). There is a chance that it could be from a native polyphageous species, but what is more likely!

Either way, I am now better clued up on olive-feeding species and will be watching this place over the coming weeks to nail the ID.

Earlier in the week I had another look at local Holm Oaks, with the specific aim of finding mines of Stigmella suberivora. I found some, all vacated, on a couple of trees. What I also found was that of three trees checked, one was so heavily infested with E. heringella that it was hard to find anything else at all and there were barely any 'clear' leaves. Another was infested but no quite so heavily, and there were S. suberivora mines. The third tree appeared completely clear of E. heringella, with S. suberivora mines evident. But, the clear tree is virtually in the middle of the other two:

Tree A heavily infested, tree B clear, tree C infested. Doubtfully any Holm Oak inbetween.

Here's a couple from the garden last night to close:

Early Grey - 15/03/2019

Small Quaker - 15/03/2019

Recent Larval Finds

I've got quite a menagerie of larvae at the moment, that I'm either trying to rear through to later instars etc to confirm ID, or just because I can and they're quite therapeutic. Here's a few, there are more!

Green-brindled Crescent, a chance find at Ketton Quarry on 07/05/2018

Feathered Thorn, swept from hawthorn at Cossington Meadows on 06/05/2018

Acrobasis advenella, inadvertently collected in hawthorn used as foodplant

Pretty sure this is an early-instar Black Arches - found on hawthorn at Ketton Quarry on 07/05/2018

Small Quaker, beaten from oak at Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018

Purple Hairstreak, beaten from oak at Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018 -

this one is going back before long now I know what it is.

Copper Underwing, several on elm at Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018

Another one to confirm, but I think it's a Sprawler from Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018

And this was one of several Mullein larvae I found today at Watermead CP North -

photographed in-situ on the foodplant.