10 Jun 23

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadow

The wall to wall blue skies, which we have had for several days now, ended today. And in its place we have a blanket of cloud, with really muggy conditions.

Just two warbler species heard, a Common Whitethroat and a Blackcap. Also noted was a Robin collecting food for youngsters which I could hear, coming from a Sycamore along Old Quarry Lane.

There are still very few butterflies about and apart from a pair of Common Blues, I did at least see my first Meadow Browns this year.

In place of the butterflies there were dozens of moths in the meadows, plus some interesting flies, 3 species of cricket and 100's of Swollen-thighed Beetles.


Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
1 Common Whitethroat
1 Blackcap
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

A Collared Dove

And a Robin collecting food for youngsters close-by.

Butterflies Recorded:
3 Meadow Brown
2 Common Blue

My first Meadow Brown this year, with 3 recorded around the meadows.

And there are still a few Common Blues about.

Moths Recorded:

#1 - moth sp.

#2 - moth sp.

#3 - moth sp.

#4 - moth sp.

#5 - moth sp.

#6 - moth sp.

#7 - moth sp.

#1 - moth sp.

#2 - moth sp.

#3 - moth sp.

#4 - moth sp.

#5 - moth sp.

#6 - moth sp.

#7 - moth sp.

Bees Recorded:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)


Hoverflies Recorded:

#1 - hoverfly sp.

#1 - hoverfly sp.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
Broad Centurian (Chloromyia formosa)
Four-barred Knapweed Gall Fly (Urophora quadrifasciata)

A Yellow Dung Fly

I did wonder whether these two Broad Centurians were.......

.................male and female. But apparently not they are both males.

A male Four-barred Knapweed Gall Fly.

I recorded my first one of these last year HERE.

Here's a short video of it climbing up this plant stem. (Note: there is no sound for this video)

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
100+ Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

2 Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)

1 Common Grammoptera (Grammoptera ruficornis).

I don't think I've ever seen so many Swollen-thighed Beetles before. All the ones below are males sat in Dog Rose flowers, plus in a mallow sp. and 2 in a Poppy.

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle in a mallow sp.

Two male Swollen-thighed Beetle in a Poppy

And of all the 16 Swollen-thighed Beetles I photographed, this was the only female I found.

And here are the Swollen-thighed Beetles smaller cousins, Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetles on Common Knapweed

This is a Common Grammoptera (Grammoptera ruficornis)..........

............it is one of our smallest longhorn beetles in the UK. More on this beetle Here.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)
Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)

A Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)

Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii)

Plants:
Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

With all the rain we had and then two weeks of sun, the Wild Fennel has really taken off. Mind you so has every other plant.

Ted:

Ted, I'm behind you!!!!