Port and Wey: 27 Jul 23

Penns Wood, St Andrew's Church. Penn's Weare, Penn's Copse, Rufus Castle and Mermaid Track

It was a miserable day, with sea fog pushing through on strong south westerlies.There were a few breaks, so I took a chance and headed off to see what was about. The one thing that was very noticeable was the humidity. It was pretty sticky.

Despite the unseasonable weather there were was still quite a bit about, other than the Wall Lizards.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
20+ Sand Martin & House Martin
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

This juvenile Carrion Crow has.........

............got its eyes on something. I'm not sure what its seen, but they are really inquisitive birds.

Butterflies Recorded:
2 Large White
5 Meadow Brown
8 Gatekeeper
3 Red Admiral
1 Small Blue
4 Common Blue
2 Chalk Hill Blue

With wings closed, this Meadow Brown is pretty non-descript, with.........

............a little bit more colour when its wings are open.

On the other hand this Gatekeeper is very orange.

There are still few Red Admirals about. Most were.......

............on the Buddleia.

The wind was pretty breezy and the..........

................Chalk Hill Blues were desperately trying to hang onto the grass stems.

Moths Recorded:
4 Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)
1 Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana)

A Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

A Carnation Tortrix (Cacoecimorpha pronubana)

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

Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
1 German Wasp (Vespula germanica)
1 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
5 Golden-moustached Fly Fox's (Ectemnius cavifrons)

Ichneumon Wasps Recorded:
Carrot Wasp (Gasteruption jaculator)

A female Carrot Wasp (Gasteruption jaculator)

Hoverflies Recorded:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria)

hoverfly sp.

My first Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) of the year

A Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

A Hornet Plumehorn (Volucella zonaria) on Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus)

And a head on view of another Hornet Plumehorn on Budleia

A hoverfly sp.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Yellow Bellied Fly (Sciara hemerobioides)

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

My first Yellow Bellied Fly (Sciara hemerobioides) of the year

#1 - fly sp.

#2 - fly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata)

Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

bug sp

A Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) in a Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)

Two Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) and a mystery bug at the top

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)
Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii) !!!
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)
grasshopper sp