I had another farm to visit on Thursday and so with glorious
blue skies and an already warm sun I decided to have a preamble up the Mar Dyke
from the Aveley end. I did not get very
far but I am always impressed by this river valley ecosystem. It has proper escarpment sides and the river naturally
overflow creating a series of very wet field with pools and patches of Phragmites,
Loosestrife and Pendulous Sedge and I can understand why Ruth B spends so much
time down here. There were Moorhens
clucking and the odd Little Egret out there but it was the insects on the path
side that kept my attention with my first Willow Spreadwing of the year getting
me off to a good start.
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Western Willow Spreadwing to be precise
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Water Plantain
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Purple Loosestrife |
Episyrphus balteatus were abundant once again along with a
selection of other common species and were sharing the Hogweed and Composites
with default Red Soldiers, Rutpela maculata and Oedemera nobilis beetles. I was very pleased to find my first Essex Golden
Haired Robberfly Choerades marginatus.
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Golden
Haired Robberfly Choerades marginatus.
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Helophilus pendulus
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Eristalis pertinax
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Eristalis tenax |
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Rutpela maculata
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Oedemera nobilis |
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Red Soldiers and friends
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I did find a nice Graphomya maculata along with many
Greenbottles and Sarcs. The usual
Bumbles were present including Bombus hypnorum and Tony M helped me indentify
another wasp as Cerceris arenaria.
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Cerceris arenaria |
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Graphomya maculata |
Several Gasteruption jaculator (or similar) were noted along
with two smart Plant Bugs.
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Gasteruption jaculator |
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Gasteruption jaculator |
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Orange Spotted Plant Bug - Grypocoris stysi
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Red Spotted Plant Bug - Deraeocoris ruber |
There were Butterflies everywhere with Whites, Meadow Browns
and Commas all along the path. At one
particular point where there was a run off puddle from one side to the other
they were gathering to collect salts much in the manner that I have seen in
documentaries in sweltering hot tropical countries.
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Small White
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Comma |
It was quite captivating to watch mini cloudlets of Green
Veined and Small White drift in and out, tussle and clash over the best spots
before setting down for a short while to unfurl those clock spring
tongues. The Browns stayed away but Red
Admirals, Commas and the odd Small Skipper popped in for a lick while dozens of wing flicking dancing Poecilobothrus nobilitatus strutted their funky stuff in an effort to woo the ladies...
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Green
Veined and Small Whites |
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Red Admiral
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Small Skipper
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Comma |
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Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
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The rest of my morning was spent in the as ever entertaining
company of George Young at Home Farm in North Ockendon. In fact it butted right
up to the farmland that I went to see on Monday. It was a most productive tour with some great
ideas about re-hedging those field margins that had been grubbed out many moons
ago where only mid-aged lollipop Oaks now stood. It felt that they had all grown up within a
hedge as there were no lower branches at all and almost none were of a very
great age.
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Field margins and Winston
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We looked at some lovely ponds and others that could do with
some help and nosed into the now narrow Mar Dyke that flows along the margins. It felt a little clogged with Branched
Burr-Reed to be honest but it was alive with Dragonflies despite the fact that
the sun had gone in and the wind got up.
Banded Demoiselles flitted around and both Black-tailed
Skimmers and numerous Scarce Chasers zoomed up and down. To see so many of the
latter was great as they are still colonising south–Essex. Emperor, Darters and a few ‘blue’ Damsels
were also noted.
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Banded Demoiselle
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Scarce Chaser - rubbish but you get the idea
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Yellowhammers were singing from the odd good bit of hedge
and top of the Oaks and there were also Skylarks and a male Reed Bunting
too. I look forward to visiting again
and helping George to get pointed in the right direction to make his ideas
happen.
And so back to Rainham for the last two hot stinky days on
Reception. Visitor numbers remain very
low but it did give me the chance for my usual insectoidal forays within sight
of the desk!
I thought that I saw the dinky Osmia spinulosa vibrating
madly on the Ragwort last week but managed some nice shots of one on Friday
that I believe is correct. Love the spotty
eyes. A Small Copper and several
Skippers were also present while the Volucella zonaria were still patrolling
the fading Privet with many Whites and a couple of Red Admirals.
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Osmia spinulosa - I did not realise that, like O bicolor, it also nests in empty snail shells
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Red Admiral
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Small Copper
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Oak Bush Cricket nymph species
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Volucella zonaria
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Today was even hotter and we watched the Echinops visibly
wilt in the heat as the afternoon wore on.
There were more dragonflies today and four Hawker species were seen from
our table with two Blue Eyed (including a full male), the first male Migrant
and amber winged Brown and a gleaming blue and green Emperor.
Brimstone and Holly Blues were new additions to the week and
a single Gatekeeper was my first of the year and somehow I managed to get a
shot of a Coelioxys bee in flight that shows the sharp tail but I suspect does
not help narrow down the species.
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Brimstone |
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Small White
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A Sharp-tailed Bee - Coelioxys sp
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Bombus vestalis, terrestris, lapidarius and pratorum were on
the Lavender and the scent was coming off it in hot waves, which was quite
intoxicating and I almost caught a Wool Carder Bee actually carding in the Lambs Ears.
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Bombus vestalis |
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Bombus pratorum
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Wool Carder Bee - Anthidium manicatum
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Great Willowherb
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The delightful pink kiss at the heart of a Wild Carrot flower
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Wild Carrot |
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Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn - Agapanthia villosoviridescens |
At about 4pm I began to notice the Black Ants rising from
the grass and I counted five nests around the wildlife garden area all spewing
forth a frenzy of winged females about to set off on their treacherous journey
into the unknown. There were thousands
of them and within seconds the Black-headed Gulls were spiralling above and
snapping at tiny specks that only they could see. A juvenile Med Gull following one of its
parents pitifully whining but did not stop for ant dinner but about 40 Swifts appeared
from nowhere and dashed back and forth silently no doubt due to their mouths
being permanently open to hoover up plump morsels. Down lower the House Saprrows soon cottoned
on too and were shoving beak fulls into baby gullets.
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Black Ants |
Tomorrow is meant to be even hotter so perhaps there may be
more insect opportunities...
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