Network

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 ..

Limnephilus affinis

Tipula oleracea (13 antennal segments, RoySoc key)

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!

A Tick on My Neck

I crashed into a bit of an old-man sleep on the settee last night after dinner, and by the time I came round I couldn't be arsed with blogging. And it's not like there was nothing to blog about either!

Yesterday was another sunny day with slightly less breeze. Everytime I nipped out to the garden with the camera, just when it looked like there was something to point it at another blasted Eristalis pertinax would come in and disturb the quarry. I found my self openly berating the said hoverflies as complete fucking idiots. I then realised that vocally remonstrating with diptera was perhaps a sign that being confined to barracks really was driving me bonkers. [I should mention that my very recent confinement is more about dealing with some sort of excrutiatingly painful inflammation in my left big toe joints. Gout? Athritis? Rickets?]

Anyway, whilst stood there pointing at hoverflies and swearing at them, I felt a tickle on my neck. The kind of tickle that instinctively makes you grab at it and have a look. On my fingertip was a tiny black dot - too small to see any detail with the naked eye but big enough to immediately point the camera at and have a look. Bugger me!

An inconspicuous ladybird, Nephus quadrimaculatus no less. A full tick for me, and amazingly up until 27/03/2020 this had never been recorded in VC55. One was beaten from ivy, which in turn prompted a bit of action and another couple of records have been made along with other inconspicuous ladybirds (including the first VC55 Scymnus interruptus and the first VC55 Horseshoe Ladybird since 1872). So finding this in such a lucky manner was pretty amazing, the only bashing or beating involved was me shouting at hoverflies. Anyway, I immediately stuck it in a pot that I had in my pocket - and then realised the pot had previously housed both a Mompha subbistrigalis and an Epermenia chaerophyllella netted in the garden. The tiny beetle was now scuttling around with a liberal coating of scales. I brought it in, got the news out and cleaned it up for another shot - not that's it's much better.

Otherwise, the Eristalis managed to completely mess with my mind. I'd noticed what appeared to be a large pale and fluffy-looking fly buzzing around but not landing. Eventually it did settle, and I cautiously approached it expecting something interesting .... only to note that it was a completely shit-looking Eristalis pertinax. I wondered if it was just very worn, one suggestion on the UK Hoverflies group was that it was actually just covered in dust and dirt after emergence. Great - these are going to keep messing me about for weeks.

Wanker

I did manage to point the camera at another hoverfly though, and after scrutinising the picture I came to the conclusion that it was new for me - which was subsequently supported by no less than Roger Morris.

Melangyna lasiophthalma

I failed to net it, or any other diptera or hymenoptera for that matter, though this bug hit the threads ..

Slightly out of focus Deraeocoris lutescens

In order to try and attract more stuff onto the lilac bush leaves, I made up a sugar-solution and flicked a few splashes on. It didn't really work. Until this morning when I realised that the bush was now covered in small groups of ants benefitting from the residues. I'm assuming Small Black Ant, but I'm not going to start squinting at them under a microscope.

There did seem to be a few more flies around in the garden today, though apart from the regulars there were no new hoverflies. I was pleased to get the following shots though, considering the flies were sat on top of the 6ft garden fence panels and I am somewhat less than 6ft. I'm glad the camera has a swivel view-screen.

Face Fly - Musca autumnalis

Other diptera was not identifiable ....

I think this is a 'Flesh Fly' - Sarcophaga sp.

I'm guessing one of the Anthomyiidae, maybe Hylema sp.

The first Harlequin Beetle of the year in the garden blundered into my net, and I managed to grab a shot literally just before it blundered off.

Also knocking around today were two or three Red Mason Bees, none of which would settle anywhere for a shot. I've got a few bits from today in pots to work on: a couple of carabids (another Amara type and something small and Bembedion-ish), a Nomada sp. bee and this sawfly ..

Athalia sp.

Birds-wise it has been very quiet, nothing new. And the moth trap is out tonight for the first time for a few days.

Stay safe. And sane!