Port and Wey: 8 Aug 20

Easton Railway Cuttings, Wakeham Meadow and Old Quarry Lane

This afternoon Ted and I walked to the local shops and on the way back we took a detour through the Cuttings and Meadow. Unsurprisingly there wasn't too much about as the intense heat was keeping the butterflies and other invertebrates in the shade. It was hot!!

Highlights were a Willow Warbler, a few Chalk Hill Blues in the Cuttings and a Chalk Carpet moth along the Old Quarry Lane.

I also came across a Parasitic Fly, Eriothrix rufomaculata and a first for me on Portland.

Here are a few images and videos from today:

Easton Railway Cuttings and on the left behind the metal fencing, what used to be Bottom Combe Quarry and now another building site for 50 odd homes. Its never ending!!

The Cuttings and Ted photo-bombing my photo.

A Chalk Carpet, Scotopteryx bipunctaria

I came across a Buddleia that was absolutely alive with Honey Bees.

A Common Carder Bumblebee on a Field Scabious

An interesting looking fly, with a red, black and white striped abdomen.

Here is the side profile of this Parasitic Fly, Eriothrix rufomaculata and one that is a lepidopterists worse nightmare, in that the Larvae of this fly develop inside the larvae of moths.

And Ted having a good nose around.

Birds Recorded: Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Willow Warbler, Great Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch

Butterflies Recorded: Large White, Small White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral and Chalk Hill Blue

Moths Recorded: Chalk Carpet (Scotopteryx bipunctaria)

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)

Flies Recorded: Parasitic fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

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Wakeham

The moth trap went out last night at 8:30pm and I switched it off just after midnight. One of the problems is mice and rats scoffing any moth that lands by the side of the trap. So just a short trapping session.

When it was out there were plenty of moths about, including a very large "orange-coloured" Hawk-moth, which flew around the garden at speed. There was also a pipistrelle-type bat as well having a good feed, so even more reason to switch the trap of early.

However when I finally got around to checking the trap today, I realised that when I put it away, I hadn't put the cover over it properly and I probably lost a good 75% of the moths through a gap. Ahhhh.

At least there were still a few left including an Oak Eggar, and 2 new moths for my Portland List, a Buff Footman and Rosy Conch.

So last nights trappings were 15 moths of 11 species. It does make me wonder how many escaped!!

Here are the ones that didn't escape:

Moth A - Oak Eggar, Lasiocampa quercus (1)

Moth B - Silver Y, Autographa gamma (1)

Moth C - Buff Footman, Eilema depressa (1)

Moth D - Twenty-plume Moth, Alucita hexadactyla (1)

Moth E - Single-dotted Wave, Idaea dimidiata (1)

Moth F - Double-striped Pug, Gymnoscelis rufifasciata (1)

Moth G - Light Brown Apple Moth, Epiphyas postvittana (3)

Moth H - Privet Tortrix, Clepsis consimilana (2)

Moth I - Ox-tongue Conch, Cochylis molliculana (2)

Moth J - Brown House-moth, Hofmannophila pseudospretella (1)