A quick visit to the meadows opposite the cottage today and the main highlights were 3 Marbled Whites, 2 Common Blues, several Meadow Browns, a Mother Shipton Moth and several Grass Veneers
Biggest mystery though was a large wasp like insect which flew past me in the meadow and landed on a flower next to me. So that I could get at least one photograph of it, I turned and took a quick photo, with checking the settings on the camera. It was just as well I got a record shot, as next second it was gone, before I could make any adjustments to the camera settings. Shame really, as the resultant photo didn't really to identify it.
My first thought was that it was a Clearwing, possible a Hornet Moth, but I was informed that this wasn't one of those and was more likely to be a Wasp. So that leaves Hornet Wasp, but the face markings are all wrong. This is going to be one big mystery to solve.
The Old Quarry Lane at Wakeham
Along here was this lone Bee Orchid.
Through the gap in the remaining bushes there were a.......
............few Meadow Browns.
Next stop was the Horse Paddock and quite a few insects here including..........
............this Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami), close to where I found my first one last year in June.
Lots of hoverflies about including this Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Just the one Ichneumon wasp seen, but one to ID later.
In the centre of the frame is the smallest Damselfly I think I have ever come across. And do you know what I have absolutely no idea what it is. All I know is that it was really thin, slim, around 6 - 7 cm in length and extremely difficult to locate let alone photograph.
This side of the fence is the meadow and where I came across my first........
.............Marbled Whites here. In fact there were 3 here along with at least 5 Meadow Browns.
Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
And another Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella). In fact there were several in the long grass.
My first Volucella plumata of the year, I just need to find the orange-red tail form Volucella bombylans. More on this hoverfly here.
With more Knapweed out in flower, there were certainly more bumblebees especially Red-tailed Bumblebees like this one.
Well camouflaged in the grass was this Great Green Bush Cricket, Tettigonia viridissima
And my mystery insect and.........
.......yet another "beastie" whose identity will probably remain unsolved. A Dragonfly maybe!!!
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Damselfly sp.
Butterflies Recorded: Large Skipper, Large White, Meadow Brown, Marbled White and Common Blue
Moths Recorded: Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella) and a Mother Shipton (Callistege mi)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Wasps Recorded: Wasp sp.
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded: Ichneumon sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) and Mimic Bee Hoverfly (Volucella plumata)
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded: Great Green Bush Cricket nymph (Tettigonia viridissima)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and a Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami)