8 Aug 25

RSPB Radipole Lake

It was a visit to Radipole this afternoon with my "usual" return walk from where I parked the car in Goldcroft Avenue here to the North Hide here.

As good as the walk was, there was definitely a lack of birds with just a couple of Reed Warblers, and singles of Cetti's & Chiffchaff. The Reedbeds were completely void of birds, especially hirundines, which I had expected to see, skimming the reeds in search of insects.

Even dragonflies were sparse with just two hawkers and 3 Common Darters noted.

Birds Recorded:
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Robin
2 Reed Warbler
1 Cetti's Warbler
1 Chiffchaff
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
1 Reed Bunting

Fish Recorded:
4 Three-spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

En route to the hide you have to cross the River Wey at the bridge here. There is always something on or in the water. Today there were at least 4 Three-spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus. I'm pretty sure this is one of them.


En route to the hide you have to cross the River Wey at the bridge here. There is always something on or in the water. Today there were at least 4 Three-spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus. I'm pretty sure this is one of them.


Amphibians Recorded:
Common Toad Bufo bufo - seen briefly crawling into the undergrowth


Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
3 Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
2 Hawker sps.

A male Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum with a chunky sawfly sp. flying behind it.


Butterflies Recorded:
8 Large White Pieris brassicae
8 Small White Pieris rapae
10+ Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
2 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
2 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
2 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
2 Comma Polygonia c-album
1 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

A male Common Blue Polyommatus icarus


Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius


Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
50+ Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
10+ German Wasp Vespula germanica
Ichneumon Wasp sp.

Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

There aren't too many features to aid identification of this wasp. The yellow band along the thorax is partially covered so that doesn't help. The markings on the face are hidden so no help there either. However there is a third feature which will help with the ID and that is the yellow line behind the eyes. In this shot there is a full yellow line as opposed to a line disrupted by a black line running across it. So this is a German Wasp Vespula germanica.

Here is the aid again courtesy of Discover The Wild on Facebook here which I used for the German Wasp above. This site here has a good example as well.


Sawflies Recorded
:
Ringed Tigress Athalia circularis

A Ringed Tigress Athalia circularis


Hoverflies Recorded
:
5 Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea
1 Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
1 Pale-sided Epistrophe Epistrophe diaphana
1 Shiny-backed Halfband Melangyna umbellatarum
Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana
1 Humming Syrphus Syrphus ribesii

A Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea

A Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

And a Pale-sided Epistrophe Epistrophe diaphana

A Shiny-backed Halfband Melangyna umbellatarum

This is most likely to be a Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana. The only other similar Cheilosia is a Bolete Blacklet Cheilosia scutellata which frequents woodland and heathland edges.

Humming Syrphus Syrphus ribesii


Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded
:
Many unidentified flies
Greenbottle Lucilia sp.


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
7+ Common Pondskater Gerris lacustris
1 Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva
2 7-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata
1 bug sp.

A Common Pondskater Gerris lacustris with two whole legs and two halves for its back legs.

After weeks of not seeing a Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva, I found one on the reserve today, along with another bug below it.

A 7-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata


Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded
:
Many unidentified Grasshoppers


Caterpillars Recorded:
White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda

The caterpillar of a White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda


Plants
:
Alder Alnus glutinosa
Blackthorn Prunus spinosa Also known as Sloe
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Teasel Dipsacus fullonum
Hemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum
Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria
Branched Bur-reed Sparganium erectum

And this is..............

...............Branched Bur-reed Sparganium erectum

7 Aug 25

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadows

Cloudy, overcast, the occasional spell of drizzle, but nothing was going to spoil my afternoon as I came across my first-ever Wasp Spider. And what a beauty she was. More on this stunning spider below.

Other highlights were two Painted Ladies and a Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler calling from around the meadow.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
1 Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler - heard not seen
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
7+ Linnet
Goldfinch


Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
5 Large White Pieris brassicae
5 Small White Pieris rapae
1 Green-veined White Pieris napi
3 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
2 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
2 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
2 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
3 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
5 Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon

Green-veined White Pieris napi comes...........................

...............into land on this Bramble.

A very worn Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina

Just two Gatekeepers Pyronia tithonus seen today.

This Painted Lady Vanessa cardui landed................

.....................right at my feet.

A male Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

And a female Common Blue

A male Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon


Moths Recorded
:
1 Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella
1 Yellow-spot Tortrix Pseudargyrotoza conwagana
1 Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana

Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella

And a Yellow-spot Tortrix Pseudargyrotoza conwagana

Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana


Bees Recorded
:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius


Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Mossy Rose Gall Wasp Dipoloepis rosaea
Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

A Robin's Pincushion on a Dog Rose Rosa canina. It is a gall caused by the larvae of a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp Dipoloepis rosaea. More on this Here.

On this Wild Fennel Foeniculum vulgare is a Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris...........

....................munching a very small insect.


Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
Long Hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta
The Footballer Helophilus pendulus
Syrphus sp.
Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

On this Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris is a The Footballer Helophilus pendulus

Syrphus sp.

And another Syrphus sp.

And a Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea

Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus


Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded
:
Many unidentified flies
Greenbottle Lucilia sp.


Aphids, Psyllids and allies Recorded:
Aphid sp.

An Aphid sp. on my arm


Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
1 Common Nettle Flower Bug Plagiognathus arbustorum

Common Nettle Flower Bug Plagiognathus arbustorum


Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded
:
Common Field Grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus
Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera

Common Field Grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus

A male Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera


Lacewings and Scorpionflies Recorded:
Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea - larva

This the larva of............

..................a Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea on Common Ragwort. And those.........

..........jaws are capable of delivering a painful bite, which they use to inject a digestive enzyme into their prey. If the larva bit you or me it would cause a swelling. Fortunately it's not considered dangerous.


Spiders Recorded:
Wasp Spider Argiope bruennichi

Below are a few photos and a video of this impressive spider, plus her wide web and that odd-looking white zig-zag running down the middle. Apparently the zig-zag is called a stabilimentum, but why this spider has one is unclear. A few ideas have been made suggested such as:
1. To warn birds of the presence of webs in their flight path.
2. Attracting prey
3. Making the spider look larger to potential predators
More on this Spider here.





Her prey here looks very much like a Black Slip Wasp Pimpla rufipes here or something similar.





Plants:
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa
Buddleia Buddleja davidii
Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Teasel Dipsacus fullonum
Field Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis
Greater Burdock Arctium lappa
Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa
Hemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum
Lesser Burdock Arctium minus
Wild Clematis Clematis vitalba
Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
Wild Fennel Foeniculum vulgare


Ted:

And of course the obligatory photo of Ted, waiting for me again!!