Well if I thought yesterday was windy, well today was even windier with wind gusts up to 30mph. At least it was sunny, though seeking out flying insects proved pretty difficult. I did find some eventually, with many hunkered down in the meadow and butterfly reserve.
Two highlights today was finding a Long-legged Tabby (Synaphe punctalis) and a Red Bug (Deraeocoris ruber). The latter a member of the Miridae family and what I thought was my first for me on Portland. In fact it is my second, as my good friend Ed Wilson, has just informed me that the bug I had in the garden 26 Jun was also a Red Bug.
Here are a few images and videos from today:
Wakeham Meadow, where there were several Marbled Whites and this........
............very worn presumed Common Blue!! Still no sign of any Six-spot Burnet moths, but still quite a few Garden Grass-veneers hiding in the grass.
Next stop was Perryfields Butterfly Reserve, where the south westerly wind was keeping everything
down including this..........
..............Marbled White sat on a Knapweed. It is a Marbled White, but I dont recall ever seeing that thin brown line on the leading wing edge. So as you do, I googled Marbled White and came across one with a similar dark line. The funny thing was it was on the Butterfly Conservation Dorset Branch page Here. Perhaps the marking is a Dorset thing!!
And the Knapweed was also popular with Red-tailed Bumblebees like this male
From the Reserve it was across the road to a sheltered Penns Wood.
On the nettles in the wood was this Red Bug (Deraeocoris ruber) and a black variant. It is a member of the Miridae family and found on nettles. Flanking it are 3 Aphids. More on this Bug Here.
Next stop was St Andrew's Church and probably one of the most sheltered spot on the island today.
On the umbellifer another Common Red Soldier Beetle. I say another, as this is only the second one I have seen in the past 3 days. My first one was between Wakeham Meadow and the butterfly reserve on Friday. There will be many more I'm sure.
A black and yellow wasp with 12 legs, 2 pairs of antennae and two heads. Not some weird Portland insect, but a pair of Potter Wasps mating. Both have black and yellow bands, which are different between the male and female.
A flash of red and then it was gone. I just managed to fire off one shot of the camera, to capture this Scarlet Tiger moth flying along the wall of the church ruins. Next second it disappeared into the undergrowth.
A very bright but breezy Church Ope Cove. As you......
.........can tell from this short video.
On the way down the steps to beach I came across this Sawfly and also a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly.
And then on the beach I came across a Wall Lizard basking in the sun. Well it was until a gust of wind sent into hiding.
Biting Stonecrop, Sedum acre on Penn's Weare, with Rufus Castle as a backdrop.
From the weare it was off to The Cuttings Quarry and.......
...........my second Wall Lizard on my walk. This one is a juvenile.
Apart from a pair of Lulworth Skippers I also came across this Long-legged Tabby (Synaphe punctalis) and a new one for my Portland Moth List.
Also here were a few Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) in flower.
And the final leg of my walk, was along the Mermaid Track
Along here I came across a Large Skipper, this........
............Variable Wasp Hoverfly (Chrysotoxum elegans) and another........
.........hoverfly. This one is The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
Do you get the sense Ted is waiting for me. Maybe not in this photo.
How about this one. Yep that's him the white dot half way up the steps to the Castle.
Despite the wind it was quite warm, and when you've been running around as much as Ted has, then a nice shady spot is what you need.
Birds Recorded: Buzzard, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Common Whitethroat, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch
Reptiles Recorded: Wall Lizard
Butterflies Recorded: Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White and a Common Blue
Moths Recorded: Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella), Scarlet Tiger moths (Callimorpha dominula) and a Long-legged Tabby (Synaphe punctalis)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and an Andrena sp.
Wasps Recorded: Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta), Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax), Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris) and The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Muscid Flies sp.
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded: Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis), Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) and a Red Bug (Deraeocoris ruber)