Maiden's Blush

Maiden's Blush - possibly an immigrant? It seemed lost down on the beach first thing this morning.

 

I chickened out of running the trap last night and now I regret it. It was on until about midnight but the intense lightening and torrential rain, which was keeping our dog on edge and me wide awake, got me worrying about the electrics, so I went out, got wet and switched it all off. Nick scored with an Archer's Dart but I had virtually nothing. I ended up checking the seafront but could only manage c20 Common Scoter, 27 Sandwich Tern and a couple Common Tern. Three Sanderling landed on the beach briefly and then took off. This evening there were c40+ Sandwich Tern off Mudbank, with 3 Common Tern. Mediterranean Gulls were dotted around all over the place.

It's been a mental week at work with 'activities week' in full swing. I've been with 150 year 7, 8 and 9s, running around Stoke Woods, shooting kids (and getting shot) with lasers. Great fun to be honest. Today I've been at Crealy which I'm not too keen on, but at least I could have a little search for dragonflies whilst checking that the kids were behaving themselves.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull

I'm guessing teneral (the wings look like they're still unfolding) Migrant Hawker?

 

 

Common Blue Damselfly?

Blue-tailed Damselfly

I think these might be Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars - I hope so because I've seen very few adult Small Tortoiseshells this year.

Tortrix sp - this one needs a bit of research. Online searches so far fruitless.

Pale Prominent - one of the few moths in a very wet trap this morning.

Three New Micros

Burnished Brass

 

Good mothing conditions last night with 48 macro species recorded - Buff Arches, Common Emerald, Small Fan-footed Wave, Single-dotted Wave, Riband Wave, Red twin-spot Carpet, Garden Carpet, Common Carpet, Barred Straw, Slender Pug, Double-striped Pug, Brimstone Moth, Early Thorn, Swallow-tailed Moth, Willow Beauty, Brussels Lace, Poplar Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Brown-tail, Rosy Footman, Dingy Footman, Common Footman, Buff Ermine, Heart and Dart, Heart and Club, Dark Sword Grass, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Flame Shoulder, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, True Lover's Knot, Double Square-spot, Square-spot Rustic, Bright-line Brown-eye, Clay, Smoky Wainscot, Knot Grass, Coronet, Dun-bar, Dark Arches, Slender Brindle, Minor Agg, Uncertain, Burnished Brass, Silver Y, Spectacle and Straw Dot.

Higher than usual numbers of micros this morning included at least 2, possibly 3 new micros -possible Orchard Ermine, Apple Leaf Skeletonizer and Bordered Carl.

Presumed Orchard Ermine - Yponomeuta padella - a distinctive silvery-grey wash to the wings .

Apple Leaf Skeletonizer - Choreutis pariana - an unusual 'head-down' resting posture and propensity to jump round ninety degrees, as if to try and avoid having its photo taken, made this a characterful little moth. The larvae eat Crab Apple leaves, leaving them with a skeletal appearance by eating the parenchyma from the upper surface of the leaf, according to UKMoths.

Slender Brindle - new for the garden and presumably a wanderer from more wooded surroundings.

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing - 4 or 5 last night. The first I've had this year.

Ringed China-mark

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Bordered Carl - Coptotriche marginea - a miniature (c5mm long) but fairly distinctive micro.

 

White Cloaked Shoot - Gypsonoma sociana

 

Southern Bell - Crocidosema plebejana

 

Ox-tongue Conch - Cochylis molliculana

Marbled Cosmet and Beautiful Snout

 

Marbled Cosmet - Mompha propinquella - a great little micro with tufts! Not seen this one before. According to UKMoths the larvae feed on various willowherbs.

 

Good to see Spencer this morning. He popped over help me do the moth trap. Decent numbers (54 macro species) included Buff Arches, Figure of Eighty, Common Emerald, Small Fan-footed Wave, Single-dotted Wave, Riband Wave, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Garden Carpet, Common Carpet, Yellow Shell, Cloaked Carpet, Slender Pug, Lime-speck Pug, V-Pug, Double-striped Pug, Clouded Border, Brimstone Moth, Early Thorn, Swallow-tailed Moth, Peppered Moth, Common White Wave, Elephant Hawkmoth, White Satin Moth, Rosy Footman, Dingy Footman, Common Footman, Four-spotted Footman, Buff Ermine, Kent Black Arches, Heart and Dart, Shuttle-shaped Dart, The Flame, Flame Shoulder, Large Yellow Underwing, True Lover's Knot, Double Square-spot, Square-spot Rustic, Bright-line Brown-eye, Clay, Striped Wainscot, Smoky Wainscot, Small Angle Shades, Dun-bar, Dark Arches, Light Arches, Common/Lesser Common Rustic, Uncertain, Rustic, Mottled Rustic, Nut-tree Tussock, Silver Y, Spectacle, Straw Dot and Snout.

Micros (at least 27 species) included a Swammerdamia sp, Ruddy Streak, Long-horned Flat-body, Gorse Crest, Marbled Cosmet, Dingy Dowd, Common Plume, Light Brown Apple Moth, Cnephasia sp, Yellow Oak Button, Hook-marked Straw Moth, Ox-tongue Conch, Bud Moth, Hoary Bell, Codling Moth, Gold Triangle, Rosy Tabby, Elder Pearl, Small Magpie, Rusty Dot Pearl, Mother of Pearl, Rush Veneer, Little Grey, Yellow Satin Veneer, Pearl Grass Veneer, Water Veneer and Ringed China-mark.

A quick look off the seafront this morning produced a Teal and 29 Common Scoter. Off Mudbank - 10 Whimbrel and at least 10 Mediterranean Gulls in with a big Black-headed Gull flock.

Late morning I met up with Martin and we searched a small stretch of Colaton Raleigh Common. On the bird front were 3 Dartford Warbler and on the moth front - Beautiful Yellow Underwing, Small Purple-barred, Horse Chestnut, Common Heath and Silver Y the highlights. A big thank you to Martin for trapping and potting up my very first Beautiful Snout.

Cloaked Carpet

Kent Black Arches

I think this is Common Burying Beetle (Nicrophorous vespillo). It wasn't burying much in the bottom of the moth trap.

Striped Wainscot - only the second one I've ever seen.

Micro sp - possibly Bud Moth?

I think this is possibly Small Dingy Tubic - Borkhausenia fuscescens?

Bud Moth - Spilonota ocellana

 

Micro sp - possibly Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner?

Dingy Dowd - Blastobasis adustella

Common White Wave

Slender Pug

Elephant Hawkmoth

White Satin

Beautiful Snout - a worn individual but a brand new species - thanks to Martin who trapped it in Saint Hill, near Kentisbeare, last night.

Grass-veneer - Crambus pascuella

Small Skipper

Banded Demoiselle and YLG

A football tournament in Uffculme didn't go so well but I managed a stroll along the river, between games, and was pleased to see several Banded Demoiselles and a new micro species - Holly Tortrix.

This afternoon we walked from Castle Lane in to Budleigh, to see a mural that Maisie had helped to paint. We sat on the beach eating ice cream with a smart juvenile Yellow-legged Gull for company.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

 

 

Holly Tortrix - Rhopobota naevana

Bordered Beauty

Bordered Beauty - a moth that will take some beating. Don't trap too many of these.

Ruby Tiger - 2 trapped last night - the first I've seen this year. Red Twin-spot Carpet was another first for the year last night.

Light Brown Apple Moth

 

 

female Four-spotted Footman

Least Yellow Underwing - a subtly distinctive species. This is a very fresh individual - only my third or fourth ever.

 

Broad-bodied Chaser - Bicton Common.

 

White Admiral

 

Silver-washed Fritillary

Red Piercer

Red Piercer - Lathronympha strigana

A slight increase in immigrant numbers last night with 3 Dark Sword Grass, 3 Silver Y, 2 Rush Veneer and 1 Rusty-dot Pearl. Other macros included Drinker, Buff Arches, Common Emerald, Small Emerald, Small Blood-vein, Small Fan-footed Wave, Single-dotted Wave, Riband Wave, Lime-speck Pug, V-Pug, Double-striped Pug, Brimstone Moth, Early Thorn, Swallow-tailed Moth, Willow Beauty, Common Wave, Poplar Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Rosy Footman, Dingy Footman, Common Footman, Buff Ermine, Heart and Club, Heart and Dart, The Flame, Flame Shoulder, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Double Square-spot, Cabbage Moth, Dot Moth, Bright-line Brown-eye, Clay, Smoky Wainscot, Coronet, Marbled Green, Small Angle Shades, Dun-bar, Dark Arches, Minor Agg, Common/Lesser Common Rustic, Uncertain, Rustic, Oak Nycteoline, Beautiful Hook-tip and Fan-foot.

Micros included Red Piercer, Garden Pebble, Small Magpie, Beautiful Knot-horn, Garden Rose Tortrix and Mother of Pearl.

Bird-wise there's very little to report but on the 11th there were 35 Turnstone, 19 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Grey Plover, 5 Whimbrel, 7 Mediterranean Gull and 13 Dunlin off Mudbank/Imperial.

 

 

Oegoconia sp - many thanks Kev

 

Archer's Dart, Little Gull, Beewolf and Pantaloon Bee

Archer's Dart - I was really chuffed to discover this beauty in the trap this morning. It's a localised species, mainly tied to sand dunes and heaths. Not really on my list of expected species to be honest, but easily the smartest 'dart' I've ever seen.

 

A big gathering of gulls in the estuary was grilled for some time early this morning. I was expecting more Mediterranean Gulls but could actually only pick out a couple, although there were at least 5 off the seafront when I looked a little later on. In with the gulls were 12 Sandwich Tern and, best of all, a first-summer Little Gull. The expected Yellow-legged Gull never materialised, despite good numbers of Herring Gull and a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

This afternoon I had a wander around the Maer and, thanks to a tip-off from Kev, enjoyed good views of a large colony of Pantaloon Bees Dasypoda hirtipes and several Beewolf Wasps Philanthus Triangulum.

Claoked Minor - I trap this species fairly regularly but rarely are they as well-marked and contrasty as this one.

Pantaloon Bee Dasypoda hirtipes

Pantaloon Bee - this one, with big pantaloons, was moving in and out of a tunnel, using its whopping legs like paddles to clear sand away from the entrance.

Beewolf - hadn't even heard of these until yesterday when Kev contacted me. They look harmless enough but evidently they're lethal little insects if you're a bee. I saw one carrying a bee into a hole. I tried to photograph it but ended up with a blur - see below:

 

 

I think this is the species that the Beewolf was predating. I'd be grateful to know what species it is. Edit - This is a Silvery Leafcutter Bee, Megachile leachella and it's not the prey of Beewolf. The Beewolf preys exclusively on Honey Bees apparently. Many thanks to Kev for the info.