Port and Wey: 7 Aug 25

Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadows

Cloudy, overcast, the occasional spell of drizzle, but nothing was going to spoil my afternoon as I came across my first-ever Wasp Spider. And what a beauty she was. More on this stunning spider below.

Other highlights were two Painted Ladies and a Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler calling from around the meadow.

Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
1 Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler - heard not seen
Magpie
Carrion Crow
House Sparrow
7+ Linnet
Goldfinch

Escapees, Ferals, Possibles Etc.
Feral pigeon

Butterflies Recorded:
5 Large White Pieris brassicae
5 Small White Pieris rapae
1 Green-veined White Pieris napi
3 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
2 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
2 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
2 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
3 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
5 Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon

A Green-veined White Pieris napi comes...........................

...............into land on this Bramble.

A very worn Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina

Just two Gatekeepers Pyronia tithonus seen today.

This Painted Lady Vanessa cardui landed................

.....................right at my feet.

A male Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

And a female Common Blue

A male Chalk Hill Blue Polyommatus coridon

Moths Recorded:
1 Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella
1 Yellow-spot Tortrix Pseudargyrotoza conwagana
1 Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana

A Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella

And a Yellow-spot Tortrix Pseudargyrotoza conwagana

A Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana

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

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
Mossy Rose Gall Wasp Dipoloepis rosaea
Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

A Robin's Pincushion on a Dog Rose Rosa canina. It is a gall caused by the larvae of a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp Dipoloepis rosaea. More on this Here.

On this Wild Fennel Foeniculum vulgare is a Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris...........

....................munching a very small insect.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
Long Hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta
The Footballer Helophilus pendulus
Syrphus sp.

Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea

Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

On this Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris is a The Footballer Helophilus pendulus

A Syrphus sp.

And another Syrphus sp.

And a Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea

Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

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

Aphids, Psyllids and allies Recorded:

Aphid sp.

An Aphid sp. on my arm

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
1 Common Nettle Flower Bug Plagiognathus arbustorum

1 Common Nettle Flower Bug Plagiognathus arbustorum

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:
Common Field Grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus
Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera

A Common Field Grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus

A male Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera

Lacewings and Scorpionflies Recorded:

Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea - larva

This the larva of............

..................a Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea on Common Ragwort. And those.........

..........jaws are capable of delivering a painful bite, which they use to inject a digestive enzyme into their prey. If the larva bit you or me it would cause a swelling. Fortunately it's not considered dangerous.

Spiders Recorded:
Wasp Spider Argiope bruennichi

Below are a few photos and a video of this impressive spider, plus her wide web and that odd-looking white zig-zag running down the middle. Apparently the zig-zag is called a stabilimentum, but why this spider has one is unclear. A few ideas have been made suggested such as:

1. To warn birds of the presence of webs in their flight path.

2. Attracting prey

3. Making the spider look larger to potential predators

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7 Aug 25