Last week I was contacted on messenger to say that a nearby reader of this blog had found some caterpillars - would I like to see them? The next evening, a plastic tub with two noctuid larvae was delivered - many thanks to Debra Kitchen both for finding me via the blog and for bringing them around. They were found feeding on some organic Basil, which at least gave me a chance of rearing them as they were highly likely to be an unfussy polyphagous species. And in all honesty they were likely to be a common species, though at first glance I wasn't sure which. I was able to quickly get them feeding on dandelion, which wasn't lasting long, and last night I offered them a huge tomato leaf which has been demolished. They've already grown a fair bit in just five days, and although the general markings are the same they are different colours. I've now worked out that they are the two colour forms of Bright-line Brown-eye.
I'll keep them going for a while longer but these can go out to pupate before long.
Also growing well, remember that small first-instar Puss Moth I found at Croft Hill on 10th July? It's now looking a lot more like you'd expect a Puss Moth larva to look.
It still has a lot of growing to do though, only half way there.
Meanwhile, this week I have been listening to lots of Dreadzone ....
Sometimes I read through a blog post that I've spent time on, realise that I missed a glaring spelling or grammatical error and then wonder if people noticed or just think I'm naturally illiterate. I quite often end up going back in to change vowels and mis-keyed words; quite clearly I'm not as good at typing as I used to be think I am.
The moth trap was okay, nothing stunning but I've perhaps never been so pleased to see this pair so that I had something to point the camera at .......
Garden Carpet (just about dark enough for f. thules)
Bright-line Brown Eye
I also had time to point the camera at some by-catch ..
Other moths came during the day, with Esperia sulphurella, Incurvaria masculella and Caloptilia stigmatella all netted in sunshine.
After sorting out the moth trap nice and early, and before I settled into the office to log on for work, I had to make use of our facilities. Whilst sitting there contemplating life and whatnot, I managed to add a bird to the 'lockdown list' that has stalled for days - albeit a heard only that was clearly flying over but no idea which way. Anyway, it was the unmistakeably melodious yet slightly raspy call of a Grey Heron ..... 'KWAHK'.
I managed to spend time in the garden this afternoon, and I had the luck of a really lucky thing yet again. I decided to spend more time with net in hand, and if I netted something interesting looking I could point the camera at it. Turned out to be a good day for flying beetles. By far the best was yet another full-blown inconspicuous ladybird tick - yeah, I know!
Scymnus frontalis
I obviously wanted to get a better shot, but this was not playing ball. It either sat stock-still but with legs and head tucked in, or shot off scutting about and trying to fly off with incredible speed. I tried again later, though not much better.
As if that wasn't good enough, I netted another one of these ....
Nephus quadrimaculatus
Whilst these were superb, perhaps the last beetle-type I expected to be netting in flight was a carabid. It was at least easier to see that a beetle was heading my way!
Leistus spinibarbis
I faffed about with this one for a bit mulling over the ID, because in some shots the rim of the pronotum looked red and I got side-tracked.
I scored another new for garden beetle too, and it's a weevil to boot - back of the net!
Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus
I've also got a netted-in-flight Staph to have a go at and also a handful of bits sieved out of a make-shift 'compost + dead shrew' pot that I've been culturing. Not convinced I'll get anywere with these though, and the Staphs are tiny.
Maybe something around the Cholevidae .....
Aside from beetles, a large variety of unidentifiable tiny flies and the like were inadvertently netted, Seth would have been loving it. I've now got a few bits in pots to work through when the predicted lull in the weather comes next week. In the meantime I'm trying to squeeze new inverts out of what is actually a pretty small and unexceptional garden. Not sure the inverts appreciate that.
I've never seen the film Network. Maybe I should look it up!
I've had a busy couple of days which I'll need to try and post about another time: an excellent few hours of real solitude at Ketton Quarry, and an excellent couple of hours amongst thousands of others in that there London yesterday. In the meantime though, here's a few moths from the garden trap and a couple from Ketton Quarry.
Puss Moth - only the second for the garden (first 2011) and actually only the 6th I've trapped anywhere. I also bred one through from a larva I found a few years ago
Bright-line Brown Eye
Burnet Companion - loads on the wing at Ketton Quarry
Gold Spot - one of two in the same trap, the other looked worn and pale
Buff Ermine
Cauchas fibulella - found at least 20 at Ketton Quarry.
Despite the foodplants (speedwells generally, but especially Germander Speedwell) being everywhere, there are few current records of this from VC55. This almost feels as good as a full tick; I saw one, briefly but unmistakeably, at Ketton Quarry in May 2015 but it evaded the net and was lost.
I'm really having a very lucky year for new breeding macros in the garden. Here's another one that I just noticed resting on a wall as I went to plug in the lawn mower on Sunday. I've had it boxed up feeding well on common weeds (dock, dandelion etc) and I've finally got around to working out what it is. Undoubtedly not the first time it has bred in the garden but the first time I've noticed and identified it.
PP - "Stoat, Stoat you say. Shall one fetch one's gun?"
Barman - "No, no you thick Royal twat. It's Stout. It's a drink."
HRH - "Hmmm, yees. I hear it keeps one regular, though a little solid like black bricks. It's been a long while since I had anything stiff in that department .... not since my Annus horribilis"
A little quieter in the garden last night, not helped by the breeze, a little drizzle and a Robin that beat me to it.
Back home and out came the garden traps. Pretty good overall, with a garden tick being the highlight.
Total catch 140 of 34sp. (125W MV 81 of 27sp., 80W actinic 59 of 20sp.)
First for the garden: Bactra lancealana 1 First for the year: Paraswammerdamia nebulella 1 Timothy Tortrix (Aphelia paleana) 1 Celypha striana 1 Celypha lacunana 4 Bee Moth (Aphomia sociella) 1 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe ferrugata) 1 Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata) 1 Grey Pug (Eupithecia subfuscata) 2 Green Pug (Pasiphila rectangulata) 6 Large Nutmeg (Apamea anceps) 1 Marbled Minor agg. (Oligia strigilis agg.) 1 Highest counts: Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 28 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata) 14 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 13 Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata) 11 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) 10
I should point out that there are a few species groups which are not reliably separable from each other unless a genitalia determination is carried out. Sacrificing every individual for the sake of recording is a non-starter, so these are listed as aggregate species. The three main groups as far as my garden goes are Marbled/Tawny Marbled/Rufous Minors, Dark/Grey Dagger and Common/Lesser Common Rustic.
The garden total for May 2008 was 617 of 87sp. from 16 nights trapping.
