The threatening weather precluded and serious effort at a proper
walk today but I did resist the urge to drive to the layby in Crutches Lane for
a return to the woodland edge Brambles I discovered on Tuesday in Crabbles
Bottom Orchard.
As is usual my route took me up and over Rede Common but it
was too windy, grey and cool for there to be much on the copious amounts of
ripe smelling Hogweed. Honey Bees and a
few Bumbles were struggling on by the only Hovers were Myathropa florea. Some of the Hogweed already had ripening seed.
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| Myathropa florea |
Rosebay Willowherb was now in full flower with carmine spike
pushing through the Nettles and Hogweed and I was pleasantly surprised to
discover some small patches of Corn Marigold, Corn Flower and Corn Cockle in the
grassland although I have a sneaky feeling that some well aimed seed bombs may
have been responsible given the clumping of all three in several spots but hey
ho – they should all be here in our native grasslands and were a joy to see.
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| Rosebay Willowherb |
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| Rosebay Willowherb |
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| Corn Marigold |
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| Corn Cockle |
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| Corn Flower |
I headed down to the exit corner where the Brambles in the
corner were a little more sheltered and there were a few flies and bees loafing
around trying to warm up. Hovers
included Episyrphus balteatus, Myathropa florea, Eupeodes corollae and a big
fat Volucella pellucens while a small bee on the Hawksbeard with very orange hairy
hind legs may well be Andrena fulvago which specialises in this plant.
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| Episyrphus balteatus |
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| Eupeodes corollae |
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| Volucella pellucens |
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| Andrena fulvago |
A small Megachile bee species was attending the Bramble
blossom but I am not sure which species yet and amongst the many Greenbottles
were several Nyctia halterata and a Muscid sp. I feel that I have to at the very least give it ago. I have a library of books and the internet so
no excuses not to try.
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| Megachile sp |
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| Megachile sp |
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Nyctia halterata |
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| Muscid sp |
Bombus vestalis and quite a few worker Bombus lapidarius
were doing their best in the cool conditions but others were listlessly laying
on leaves.
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| Bombus vestalis |
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| Bombus lapidarius
|
I headed along the main road and down Crutches Lane (don’t
forget how to say it...) and made my way into the woodland edge where I spent
the next couple of hours pacing up and down the Bramble and Privet clumps
getting up close with some fairly sluggish insects.
Once again I have done my best and I suspect that there will
be some alterations to come!
The hoverfly list for the visit was pretty good especially
after I got home and Roger Morris and Chris Sellen commented on my Xanthagramma
pics...
I recorded 23 species today with three others seen on
Tuesday.
Episyrphus
balteatus
|
Eristalis
arbustorum
|
Eristalis
intricaria
|
Eristalis
pertinax
|
Eristalis
tenax
|
Eupeodes
corollae
|
Eupeodes
luniger
|
Helophilus
hybridus
|
Helophilus
pendulus
|
Merodon
equestris
|
Myathropa
florea
|
Pipizella
sp
|
Platycheirus
albimanus
|
Sphaerophoria
scripta
|
Syrphus
ribesii
|
Syrphus
vitripennis
|
Volucella
bombylans
|
Volucella
inflata
|
Volucella
pellucens
|
Xanthogramma
pedissequum agg
|
Xanthogramma
stackelbergi
|
Xylota
segnis
|
Xylota
sylvarum
|
Of these the Xanthogramma stackelbergi is the most significant and I am just
over the moon that my images were considered good enough to identify this cryptic
species. Several other pedissequum agg were seen.
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| Xanthogramma stackelbergi |
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| Xanthogramma stackelbergi |
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Xanthogramma stackelbergi: This is whatthe guys had to say...
A few things point o the id, the restricted
wing shading, the number of yellow spots on the side of the thorax, the
shape of the markings on T2 and the slightly oblique markings on T3 and
T4. Ideally a shot of the membrane between the tergites and the
sternites is useful, it would be all yellow between T3/S3 and T4/S4. |
The single Volucella inflata that I
found on Tuesday became 13 today with singles and mating pairs dotted
around. There were several Volucella
pellucens around too and one had fallen prey to a Misumena vatia Crab Spider
and as I crouched down to get a photo a male V.inflata flew in and attempted to
vigorously roger the paralysed V.pellucens! That particular lady was having a
really rough day...
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| Misumena vatia with Volucella
pellucens |
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| and amorous Volucella inflata |
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| Volucella inflata |
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Volucella inflata getting it right this time
|
The Volucella bombylans was a beast and taking
on the guise of a Red-tailed Bumble and it was good to encounter both Xylota
species together.
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| Volucella bombylans |
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| Xylota segnis |
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| Xylota sylvarum |
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| Eristalis arbustorum |
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| Eristalis arbustorum |
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| Eristalis pertinax |
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| Eristalis pertinax |
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Helophilus
hybridus - white face and narrow black thorax stripes that barely reach edges
|
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Helophilus pendulus - thick abdominal bars
|
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| Myathropa florea |
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| Pipizella sp |
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| Platycheirus
albimanus |
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| Platycheirus
albimanus |
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Sphaerophoria sp - female - two male S.scripta seen
|
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| Sphaerophoria sp |
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| Xanthogramma
pedissequum |
There were many Green and Bluebottles
and some of the Sarcophaga Flesh Flies were huge. There were several more Nyctia halterata and Linnaemya sp and an orange fly that I think is a Phaonia.
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Sarcophaga sp
|
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| Nyctia halterata |
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| Linnaemya picta |
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| Linnaemya picta |
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| Tachinid sp |
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| Phaonia pallida |
Bombus vestalis were still the go to Bumblebee but there
were more B.lapidarius with several males as well as workers on the Brambles
with terrestris, pascuorum and sylvarum. Two Megachile species were present but I only
got photos of one and I think it is Megachile leachella.
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B.lapidarius male
|
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| B.lapidarius worker |
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| Megachile leachella ? |
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| Megachile leachella ? |
There were so many other tiny bees and wasps but I am even
more out of my depth with these than I am with my flies and the ids on the images
below are tentative and I welcome any input.
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| Nysson trimaculatus |
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| Nysson trimaculatus |
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| Halictus rubicundus - Orange-legged Furrow Bee - male |
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| Halictus rubicundus - Orange-legged Furrow Bee - male |
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| Cerceris rybyensis, Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp |
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| Cerceris rybyensis, Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp |
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| Cerceris rybyensis, Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp |
Holly Blues and Large Skippers were on the Privet and I saw Meadow Brown and Red Admiral and a single Cinnabar moth before deciding that the skies were darkening
further and the wind was getting up.
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| Holly Blue |
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| Large Skipper |
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| Dark Bush Cricket |
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| Speckled Bush Cricket |
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| Dock Leatherbug |
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| Dock Leatherbug |
I ambled back with a family of
Bullfinches for company and worked my way back home discovering my first Bee Orchid of the year, a nesting pair
of House Martins, and a solitary Pyramidal Orchid on the one
patch of verge in my road that the council had not razed to the ground this
week.
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| Bee Orchid |
PS Many thanks to Phil Collins for the fly and tim Strudwick and Jerry Hoare for bee and wasp corrections and suggestions.
Nice Insect haul Howard.
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