Port and Wey: 24 Jul 24

Old Quarry Lane, Wakeham Meadows and Wakeham Wildlife Site

It was a pretty humid day and unsurprisingly it actually rained later in the day, despite the forecast for dry weather until tomorrow morning.

Highlights today were a few Swifts and House Martins heading south, plus a Blackcap singing close to the wildlife site.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
4 Swift
6 House Martin
Dunnock
Song Thrush
1 Blackcap
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch

A Goldfinch sat on a Budleia and........

.......this odd looking photo is it taking off.

Inverted it looks more like an owl.

Butterflies Recorded:
3 Small Skipper
10+ Large White
5 Small White
2 Green-veined White
1 Ringlet
10+ Meadow Brown
20+ Gatekeeper
2 Marbled White
2 Red Admiral
1 Common Blue

A Small Skipper

And a Gatekeeper

And this is a Marbled White

Moths Recorded:

Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae)

Burdock Conch (Aethes rubigana)

Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)

Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis)

Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

A Burdock Conch (Aethes rubigana)

A Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)

A Rusty Dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis)

And a Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

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

bee sp.

Spined Mason Bee (Osmia spinulosa)

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

And a Common Carder bee (Bombus pascuorum)

This Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) is a worker and..........

...................this Red-tailed Bumblebee is a male

And my...........

...........mystery bee today........

.............is a !!!

Below are a few photos and a video of a Spined Mason Bee (Osmia spinulosa).

And on the right a Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Slow motion

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
#1 - Ichneumon Wasp sp.

#2 - Ichneumon Wasp sp.

#3 - Ichneumon Wasp sp.

A Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

#1 - Ichneumon Wasp sp.

#2 - Ichneumon Wasp sp.

#3 - Ichneumon Wasp sp.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Wasp Plumehorn (Volucella inanis)

Yellow-clubbed Glasswing (Scaeva selenitica)

Cheilosia sp.

A Dead Head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus) taking off.

A Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

A Wasp Plumehorn (Volucella inanis)

And a Yellow-clubbed Glasswing (Scaeva selenitica)

And a Cheilosia sp.

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Greenbottle (Lucilia sp.)
House Fly (Neomyia sp.)
Yellow Bellied Fly (Sciara hemerobioides)

Red Spotted Parasite Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

fly sp.

House Fly (Neomyia sp.)

These are..........

.............Yellow Bellied Flies (Sciara hemerobioides)

And a Red Spotted Parasite Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculata)

fly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:

Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata)

Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum)

A Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

Here we have a male and.....

..............female Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

A Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) with an ant on the left.

On the right of this Meadow Grasshopper is the nymph of a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

This is a Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum).

Here are two more Common Flower Bugs (Anthocoris nemorum) with a Yellow Bellied Fly (Sciara hemerobioides) at the bottom.

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

A Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

Slugs and Snails Recorded:
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)
White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Caterpillars Recorded:
Cinnabar moth

Below are are few photos and a video Cinnabar moth caterpillars.

Having seen just one caterpillar of the Cinnabar moth a few days ago. Today there were at least eight in Wakeham Meadow.

Ants Recorded:
Small Black Ant (Lasius niger)

Ahh. I did wonder what the tickling sensation was around my feet when I was photographing the Marbled White. Fortunately these are Small Black Ants (Lasius niger) and not the stinging Red Ant (Myrmica rubra). More on red ants here.

Plants:

Pale Flax (Linum bienne)
Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)

Common Orange Lichen (Xanthoria parietina)