Bits from the Bog

Yesterday I nipped back over to Narborough Bog for a couple of hours in the morning before heading to the LCFC game in the afternoon. Armed with a bit more info, I was intent on properly sorting out the Phyllocnistis saligna mines and I think I was successful, but I'll save that for another day.

Whilst there I pointed the camera at a few bits, but with variable cloud cover and brief sunny spells, coupled with intense wind, it was all a bit hit and miss. Luckily I managed a hit with what has turned out to be a new sawfly for me ...

Athalia rosae

I also found some funky small beetles on umbelifers, that I have seen before but not in Leics. ...

Anthocomus rufus

And the docks were busy with both adults and nymphs of the aptly named bug ...

Dock Bug

Whilst looking for leafmines, I had another look for Bedelia somnulentella and found quite a few more mines than on Wednesday, but better than that I found a couple of adults loitering around on the underside of bindweed leaves.

Bedelia somnulentella

The garden moth trap was out last night for the first time in over a week, and the catch was fairly brown and grey. Not much excitement or colour at this time of year, though it will pick up again in a week or two.

Square-spot Rustic

Vine's Rustic

Small Square-spot

Flame Shoulder

Pale Eggar

Ghost Mines

One thing I've learnt over the last week or so is that there is a whole new type of mine to look for. I was already aware that most mines were gallery, blotch or blister types - but I wasn't aware of the mines that are hardly there at all! I've found mines on poplar and now willow that are created by Phyllocnistis spp. The larvae are feeding literally just under the surface of the leaf, not actually eating the main part of the leaf itself. the mines look like snail trails over the surface.

Those on poplar are Phyllocnistis unipunctella, and I found these at Ulverscroft last week.

Both of these leaves had pupae just under the curled edge. The larvae can be on both sides of the leaf, and the mines cans almost cover the whole leaf. They don't exactly stand out and there is no frass visible.

On Wednesday I found similar mines on willow at Narborough Bog, and thought they were good for Phyllocnistis saligna. Notably, the mines go from the leaf and along the petiole. I've had positive feedback on a FB forum (from John Langmaid no less), and at the moment it looks like there are no other VC55 records. I'm going to look for more at the weekend and particularly for tenanted mines or pupae, which will be in a leaf-fold as with unipunctella.

I also found Bedelia somnulentella on bindweed, one that I have seen before. The larvae create a distinct 'window' that is visible from the upper surface, but the larvae can be found hanging around on silk on the underside. Usually there is frass caught up in the webs. I found mines, larvae and pupae.

Finally, I found both tenanted and vacated mines on blackthorn that are Stigmella plagicolella, a tiny gallery leading to a blotch.

This last one actually has two separate mines that have converged at the blotch. You can just make out a larva at the top end.

Odd Bits

I haven't updated on the garden mothing lately - mainly cause there's not been too much of interest and even less worth photographing. The most notable thing though was a full tick for me back on the 22nd that I forgot to mention, a Bedelia somnulentella. It was a spanking individual when I potted and scrutinised it, but less than pristine by the time I'd fannied about with it for half an hour trying to get a shot. I ended up with something just about identifiable but not worthy of posting here. To make amends I finally got around to looking for its mines on bindweed today whilst out and about on the ATB. Found a few vacated mines on Hedge Bindweed pretty easily - windows in the leaf with frass (and other detritus) stuck in silk on the underside.

Otherwise not much to get excited about, but there were a couple of Old Ladies in the traps last night - one was already a bit knackered, so I shot the other one.

This evening I nipped over to Jubilee Park again - only avian interest was c15 Swifts feeding low over the pool with a handful of Swallows also knocking about. All the Canada Geese vacated en masse and no sign of anything tagging along with them. The only things wading along the edge of the pool were a Pied Wag and big brown cow.

Only other thing of interest was a hoverfly I found roosting, which happily was identifiable on the basis of the yellow sides to the thorax and the wing versus abdomen length:

Male Sphaerophoria scripta

Many birders and naturalists of a certain age remember fondly the innumerable times in your youth when out in the local parks or countryside that you'd happen upon some illustrated reading material deposited by the Porn Fairy. Nowadays such finds are a thing of the past, and even worse if you do find some abandoned literature it's a fecking Argos catalogue.

Not left by the Porn Fairy, but actually left by some moronic twat who doesn't know what a bin is