spider silk
The fields are full of spiders’ webs.
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Five number facts about ants
There are 63 species of ant in Britain, 17 of which are introduced.
Continue readingSmall scissor bee
This is the cutest thing we have read on the internet for some time.
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and there’s more….
Another wasp spider!
Jason Pickard photographed this specimen on Wednesday in The Race, in the south facing hedge among the tall grass there. Perhaps we have the makings of a colony.
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Wasp spider
A large colourful female wasp spider found yesterday by Ian Bushell in the set-aside at the top of Kestrel Field.
Continue readingBUZZ!
Bees buzz in two different ways.
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Rabbits
There is a well established rabbit warren in the hedge between Cornfield and Sleepers Field. But, despite their long-term place in our landscapes and myths, rabbits are not British natives; they are an introduced alien species.
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Moth traps
On the evening of July 16th, Ian Bushell and lepidopterist, Hugo Brooke set up moth traps at the top of Village Green. You may have seen them and wondered what they were doing.
Continue readingButterfly transect
Southwick Country Park
Recorder Ian Bushell
Date 21 July 2020
Start time 1420hrs Finish time 1615hrs
Temperature 23C; Cloud 70% Sunshine
Wind direction – westerly, light, odd gusts.
All fields now mown.
What lives in here?
There are funnel shaped webs low down in the dense vegetation of the park’s hedges and edges; what lives in them?
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Thick legged flower beetle
A female Oedemera nobilis, known as the thick legged flower beetle or swollen thighed beetle, photographed in the park last week.
The male has the strangely shaped legs for which the species is named
Flying ants
Yesterday, the Met Office’s radar recorded such a large and dense cloud of flying ants off the southern coast of Britain that it registered as a rain storm.
Continue reading “Flying ants”The Big Butterfly Count
The Big Butterfly Count began yesterday and will run until Sunday August 9th. Join in and help Butterfly Conservation monitor the health of Britain’s Lepidoptera. Spend just 15 minutes in the park, your garden, a field or wood, counting the common butterflies you see.
Continue reading “The Big Butterfly Count”Brown Hawker
A brown hawker female, Aeshna grandis, spotted in the park by Ian Bushell on Tuesday afternoon.
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Peacock
Remember all those peacock caterpillar netsts? They have metamorphosed into a shiny new generation of adult peacock butterflies.
A marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) feeding on the nectar of a bramble flower. This is a new species for our lists, despite its ubiquity.
The marmalade fly gets its name from its colour, and its thin cut/thick cut dark stripes, just like marmalade.
A marbled white (Melanargia galathea) on creeping thistle flowers, photographed in the park yesterday by Julie Newblé. If you look carefully, there are at least three common red soldier beetles hidden in the picture.
Thanks Julie.
A fascinating fact about pigeons
Pigeons feed their babies on milk.
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The honeysuckle is in flower.
Continue readingRoesel’s bush cricket
Simon Knight has sent us video taken in the park, of a Roesel’s bush cricket.
Continue reading “Roesel’s bush cricket”Another win!
Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) reported in last week’s butterfly transect has turned out to be a winner.
Continue reading “Another win!”
