More unsettling news, apparently the meadow, which had the reptiles mats placed in it, has been sold. Who to, nobody seems to know, but it's odds on that it's for more housing development. Even the area scrubbed out back in November 2019, still lays dormant and there's a rumour going around that the landowner might have to build two homes, instead of one. Who comes up with these ideas!!
Well, while this is all going on, I'll have to have a go at being an ecologist and collect some data for what its worth.
So what did I find along the lane and both meadows, well for starters there was just one butterfly, a Speckled Wood and that was it. Where are all the Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Common Blues and Marbled Whites. I did find a moth as well, but unfortunately it flew off before I could photograph it. At least I recognised it as a Yellow Shell
The male Common Whitethroat is still singing away from the bushes and trees in the meadow, and the Robin I saw here 3 days ago, is still collecting food for youngsters.
Overhead I could hear Swifts calling, but didn't see how many.
Here are a few images from today:
This male Common Whitethroat is still singing away from the meadows.
And the "resident" Robin is still feeding youngsters close-by.
A Speckled Wood. The only butterfly I came across today.
A Red-tailed Bumblebee
Here are a few more bees........
.........which I still need to ID, including this.......
...........nomad bee.
The same nomad bee as above, but there is also another bee species bottom left!!
An Ichneumon sp.
Not a bee, but a hoverfly mimicking a bee. This is a Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)
I might be wrong but I think this is one of the Cheilosia hoverflies.
An easy one this time and there were several...........
............Long Hoverflies in the meadows.
And another. All three above are males.
This is a male Swollen-thighed Beetle.
And this is a female, with an unidentified insect in front of her.
Another female Swollen-thighed Beetle.
And another female, but a different colouration.
This brightly coloured fly is I believe a Neomyia viridescens..........
................ a member of the Dung Fly Family (Scathophagidae)
Here is another Dung Fly, a female Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
A fly sp. and quite bristly
A Dark Bush-cricket nymph
And another nymph this time a Great Green Bush Cricket
And of course Ted..........
...........who likes nothing better than playing in the long grass.
And an extra photo. The new "black bath" pond in the back garden.
Butterflies Recorded: 1 Speckled Wood
Moths Recorded: Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and a Nomad sp.
Ichneumon Wasps Recorded: 3 Ichneumon sp.
Hoverflies Recorded: Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea), Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) and a Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)
Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded: Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria), Dung Fly (Neomyia viridescens) and a fly sp.
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) and Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)
Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded: Great Green Bush Cricket nymph (Tettigonia viridissima) and a Dark Bush-cricket nymph (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)