Port and Wey: 25 Jun 20

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow

Back to the Meadow again as the temperature just keeps on rising. Long walks in the blazing sun, is no fun for a dog, though the way Ted was running around you would have thought differently. And then the heat hit him and it was a case of where is the shade and time for a drink.

There was a bit more breeze today and a lot fewer butterflies than yesterday, especially with the Marbled Whites with only 3 seen. Mind you was that was down to the wind or the fact that an Emperor Dragonfly was on the prowl, I'm not sure.

Three highlights today with 3 new moths for my Portland List, with one unusual looking moth I have been looking forward to finding. See below.

Here are a few images from this morning:

An insects view of the meadow with quite a few Knapweed in flower.

Only 3 Marbled Whites here this morning.

Still plenty of Garden Grass-veneers in the meadow, plus this Sulphur Pearl (Sitochroa palealis), which was in the grass but flew up into this bush. And a new moth for my Portland Moth List.

And the umbellifers were certainly attracting many flies, beetles, parasitic wasps and this micro moth......

...........which is another first for me Portland and is Purple-shaded Piercer (Pammene gallicana)

This Thistle Ermine is still in the meadow. I cant believe this is the only one here, but it has to be the same individual as yesterday's. as it was in the same spot.

Now if this what I think it is then I am chuffed to bits. And with the help of @MothIDUK I have now found my first-ever clearwing moth. This individual is a Six-belted Clearwing (Bembecia ichneumoniformis)

This time I remembered that the Six-spot Burnet moth caterpillar was under this umbellifer

Common Centaury, Centaurium erythraea

As we arrived and then..........

.............20 minutes Ted's in the shade.

Birds Recorded: Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Chaffinch

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Emperor Dragonfly

Butterflies Recorded: Large Skipper, Large White, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White,

Moths Recorded: Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella), 1 Thistle Ermine (Myelois circumvoluta), 1 Sulphur Pearl (Sitochroa palealis), a Six-belted Clearwing (Bembecia ichneumoniformis) and a Purple-shaded Piercer (Pammene gallicana)

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Large Meadow Mining Bee (Andrena labialis)

Parasitic Wasps Recorded: Gasteruption jaculator

Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Flies sp.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded: Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus)

Wakeham

In the back garden this afternoon were 3 male Azure Damselflies, 2 Blue-tailed Damselflies, a Emperor Dragonfly, 2 7-spot Ladybirds, dozens of Semaphore Flies on the pond, 1 The Footballer Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) and a Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris - form bulborum). Whilst lurking behind the pond was Frog.