24 Jul 25

Wakeham

It was another chilled day in the back garden.

Birds Recorded in and around the garden:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Dunnock
Robin
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch

One of the two juvenile Herring Gulls raised in between the neighbours chimney pots. This one is having a good look through our bathroom window.


Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
Large White Pieris brassicae
Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta


Moths Recorded:
1 Cherry Fruit Moth Argyresthia pruniella

Cherry Fruit Moth Argyresthia pruniella sat on the branch of the Cherry Tree


Bees Recorded
:
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Patchwork Leafcutter Bee Megachile centuncularis
Sweat Bee Lasioglossum sp

Honey Bee Apis mellifera

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius

Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum on a Perennial Sweet Pea Lathyrus latifolius

Patchwork Leafcutter Bee Megachile centuncularis

On this Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris is a Sweat Bee Lasioglossum sp.


Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded
:
Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Tree Wasp Dolichovespula sylvestris
Common Hover Fly Parasitoid Wasp Diplazon laetatorius
Wasp Scelionidae sp.

Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Possibly a Tree Wasp Dolichovespula sylvestris

And this tiny wasp is...............

...........a Common Hover Fly Parasitoid Wasp Diplazon laetatorius

And this very tiny insect is apparently one of the wasp family of Scelionidaes


Hoverflies Recorded
:
8 Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Glass-winged Syrphus Syrphus vitripennis
Migrant Hoverfly Meliscaeva auricollis 

Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

On this Common Ragwort is a Glass-winged Syrphus Syrphus vitripennis. AKA Lesser Banded Hoverfly and Black-thighed Flower Fly

And this is a Migrant Hoverfly Meliscaeva auricollis  AKA Spotted Thintail


Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded
:
Many unidentified flies
Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp.
Greenbottle Lucilia sp.

Love them or hate them.........

...........some of our flies like this Greenbottle Lucilia sp. are really stunning looking


Caterpillars Recorded
:
Large White Pieris brassicae

This Large White Pieris brassicae caterpillar will be looking for another Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus leaf very soon.

23 Jul 25

Wakeham

No walk today, so below are a few highlights from this day going back to 2017.

Wakeham
A Small Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila porcellus caught in the moth trap.

Wakeham
A Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum

2019
Wakeham Meadow
Six-Spot Burnet moth Zygaena filipendulae

Wakeham
Slow-worm in the back garden.

Nothing today

Wakeham
An Apple Leaf Miner moth Lyonetia clerkella

Wakeham Meadows
A Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon

Wakeham Meadows
Sulphur Pearl Sitochroa palealis

22 Jul 25

Wakeham

It was a day spent in the garden, doing a bit of pruning and general tidying up. And as the day progressed, so it got warmer and warmer, despite the south-westerly breeze trying to take the edge off it.

Below are a few of my sighting in and around the garden.


Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
2 Linnet
Goldfinch


Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon


Butterflies Recorded:
6 Large White Pieris brassicae
8 Small White Pieris rapae
1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta


Bees Recorded:
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Patchwork Leafcutter Bee Megachile centuncularis 
bee sp.

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum and............

..............another one on Lavender Lavandula sp.

Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

And the Patchwork Leafcutter Bee Megachile centuncularis back in the Everlasting Sweet Peas Lathyrus latifolius again.

A bee sp.


Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded
:
1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Ichneumon Wasp sp.

Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris having a drink from the "Bath" Pond.

A very tiny.......

..............Ichneumon Wasp sat on a Lily pad.


Sawflies Recorded
:
Rose Sawfly Arge ochropus
sawfly sp.

A Rose Sawfly Arge ochropus sat on a Lily Pad

And another sawfly which is possibly a Yellowbellied Sloe-borer Hoplocampa chrysorrhoea, a Hawthorn Sawfly Pristiphora armata or a Common Fern-sawfly Aneugmenus padi.

Now elimination time:

Common Fern-sawfly Aneugmenus padi - And as the name suggests this sawfly frequents areas of Bracken and Ferns. So I think we can safely eliminate this one.

Hawthorn Sawfly Pristiphora armata  - Now I do have a few Hawthorns growing in the garden, but I shall have to eliminate this one, as this species of sawfly has black thighs. These legs are yellow all the way to the top.

Yellowbellied Sloe-borer Hoplocampa chrysorrhoea - So by a process of elimination this sawfly has to be the one.  It is mainly found on Blackthorn, Wild Plums and Hawthorn Fruit. The only problem is, this sawflies flight period is April to May. So its back to the drawing board.

There is a really good Sawfly Website here, which I'm hoping might help. So watch this space!!

I don't think this video helps ID it either.


Hoverflies Recorded:
1 Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea
1 Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
1 Thick-legged hoverfly Syritta pipiens

A Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea

This is a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Thick-legged hoverfly Syritta pipiens


Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded
:
Many unidentified flies
Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
Yellow Swarming Fly Thaumatomyia notata
Big-spot Anthomyia Anthomyia procellaris
Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp.

This very tiny Grass Fly is..............

..........a Yellow Swarming Fly Thaumatomyia notata

The Yellow Swarming Fly Thaumatomyia notata and Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Big-spot Anthomyia Anthomyia procellaris

A Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp. and............

.............another one.


Bugs and Beetles Recorded
:
Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina
Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis

A Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina - Late instar nymph

A female Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis in a California Poppy Eschscholzia californica


Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Speckled Bush-cricket Leptophyes punctatissima

A female Speckled Bush-cricket Leptophyes punctatissima


Caterpillars Recorded:
Large White Pieris brassicae

The caterpillars of the Large White Pieris brassicae have................

.................. just about finished this patch of Nasturtiums Tropaeolum majus


Harvestmen Recorded
:
Canestrini's Harvestman Opilio canestrinii

This harvestman is................

................a Canestrini's Harvestman Opilio canestrinii making..............

...............its way up this Buddleia Buddleja davidii


Plants in flower
:
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa
Buddleia Buddleja davidii
California Poppy Eschscholzia californica
Guelder Rose Viburnum opulus
Lavender Lavandula sp.
Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus
Pellitory-of-the-wall Parietaria judaicais
Everlasting Sweet Pea Lathyrus latifolius
Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria