18 Aug 22

Wakeham

Late afternoon and Hummingbird Hawk-moth landed next to the pond, whilst a Holly Blue was sat in the Buddleia above it.

It's amazing to think that such a drab looking moth when rested, is pretty impressive when in flight.

Not taken today, but here is a another Hummingbird Hawk-moth I videoed in the garden in 2019

And my anniversary gift to Dawn, after I met her 15 years ago today here on Portland. We are slowly but surely building up a lovely collection of roses. I'll try and remember to photograph them all next year when they are in flower.

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow

A much cooler day, with quite a breeze from the south-west. main highlights were two unidentified hawkers and an Emperor Dragonfly along Old Quarry Lane.

Birds Recorded:
2 Buzzard
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
Goldfinch


Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
Emperor Dragonfly
hawker sp.


Butterflies Recorded:
5 Large White
3 Small White
1 Wall Brown
2 Speckled Wood
3 Common Blue
4 Chalk Hill Blue

I'm not sure how I managed to track this Wall Brown as it flew into the undergrowth, but somehow I did.

A little bit more co-operative was this Speckled Wood.

The outer wings of a female Common Blue.

And her inner wings.

Moths Recorded:
5 Yellow-spot Tortrix (Pseudargyrotoza conwagana)
2 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)

Well I'm assuming these are both Rush Veneers, though this.........

.............individual is a lot lighter!!

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum)

A very "pale" looking Common Carder.

Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)


Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Best I get this right. This is a Common Dronefly and.........

.................this is its cousin the Tapered Dronefly.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata)

A Rose Chafer on Ragwort

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)
Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)


Lacewings and Scorpionflies Recorded:
lacewing sp.


Plants:

Sycamore

Bramble

A Sycamore Tree and its Blackberries.

Ok perhaps not black berries but its "helicopter" seeds.

Ted:

Well I started off with one Ted and......

.........ended up with six.