Port and Wey: 17 May 22

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows, Lower Horse Paddock and Broadcroft Butterfly Reserve

Well the day started off very sunny and warm, but by mid afternoon the clouds rolled in and the rain followed. Fortunately I timed it just as it started to cloud over, but not enough to send the invertebrates scurrying for cover. In fact overall, it was a pretty good day for insects.

Not on the island but at Lodmoor this morning, a Squacco Heron turned up. If it stays for any length of time and I happen to be in Weymouth, I might just have a look.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
4 House Martin
6 Swallow
Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
3 Common Whitethroat
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Blackcap
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch

A Pied Wagtail collecting food in the Lower Horse paddock.

Same Pied Wagtail as above.

And this Robin has a right beakful.

And is about to take off and feeds its youngsters close-by

It was pretty breezy today as you can tell with this Common Whitethroat.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 dragonfly sp.

Butterflies Recorded:
6 Large White
2 Small White
2 Green-veined White
1 Speckled Wood
1 Red Admiral
4 Small Blue
1 Holly Blue
6 Common Blue

A Small Blue

A short video of the Small Blue

And another Small Blue

This is a Common Blue

As above with a good view of its underwings.

And another Common Blue.

Moths Recorded:
Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

Triple-stripe Piercer (Grapholita compositella)

Vetch Piercer (Grapholita jungiella)

Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella)

A Common Nettle-tap on a nettle. Where else would it be!!

Having found my first ever Triple-stripe Piercer a few days ago, I found another one today.

And this is a Vetch Piercer (Grapholita jungiella)

I was actually photographing this "white/yellow" Meadow Buttercup, completely unaware that I had photographed a Cocksfoot Moth as well.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)
Fuscous Nomad Bee (Nomada fusca) - Possible

In Wakeham Meadow, I noticed this nomad bee flying around in the undergrowth. As it didn't stop I decided to set the camera to High Speed Continuous.

After several failed attempts, I managed these two shots of it. Not brilliant I know, but the visible markings on the abdomen do resemble those of the Fuscous Nomad Bee. I appreciate it would be a big call, so I will be going back with a net next time. In the meantime here is a Fuscous Nomad Bee (Nomada fusca) on Steven Falk's excellent Flickr collection Here.

Ichneumon and Parasitic Wasps Recorded:
#1 Ichneumon sp

#2 Ichneumon sp

#1 Ichneumon sp

#1 Ichneumon sp

A wash and brush up

#2 Ichneumon sp

#3 Ichneumon sp

Hoverflies Recorded:

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Spring Epistrophe (Epistrophe eligans)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Stripe-backed Dasysyrphus (Dasysyrphus albostriatus)

Barred Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma citrofasciatum)

#1 hoverfly sp

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Spring Epistrophe (Epistrophe eligans)

Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Same on as above

A Stripe-backed Dasysyrphus

And another Stripe-backed Dasysyrphus

It appears I have found a new hoverfly for my Portland list. This is a Barred Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma citrofasciatum) and was in butterfly reserve.

#1 hoverfly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
2 Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
Common Nettle Bug (Liocoris tripustulatus)