It’s crane fly time!
Read on:Crane Flies
Butterfly transect
by Ian Bushell
Transect for August
Numbers and variety are a bit disappointing; a cold late-summer day.
The old filled-in pond at the end of Lambrok Meadow is where I saw the Common Blue among the Ragwort, Willow-herb, Spindle, Thistle, Rose, Bramble, Red and White clover .
Q&A
Question from Tom Martin:
Found this on the pavement near my house. Do you know what it is?
Cantharidae
There are forty one species of Cantharidae in Britain and almost all go by the common names of soldier or sailor beetle.
Read on:Honey bees
Unlike common wasps, honey bees (Apis mellifera) don’t die at the end of the summer. The hive stores enough food for the queen and the workers to survive through the winter.
Continue reading “Honey bees”Identification
Message to Ian:
Another unidentified insect inadvertently included in a botanical picture. Any idea what it is?
How to tell a grasshopper from a cricket
- The most visible difference between a grasshopper and a cricket is that crickets tend to have very long antennae while grasshoppers’ antennae are short.
Pictures taken in the park by Simon Knight.
Five number facts about ants
There are 63 species of ant in Britain, 17 of which are introduced.
Continue readingBUZZ!
Bees buzz in two different ways.
Continue reading “BUZZ!”
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”Brown Hawker
A brown hawker female, Aeshna grandis, spotted in the park by Ian Bushell on Tuesday afternoon.
Continue reading “Brown Hawker”
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.
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!”National Insect Week – Day 7
Broad bodied chasers
Several broad bodied chaser males (Libellula depressa) have established territories over the big pond.
Continue reading “National Insect Week – Day 7”
Ian Bushell has sent in a picture of a pair of large red damselflies photographed in the park today, the penultimate day of National Insect Week.
Day 6 of National Insect Week
This is a fig gall, found on an elm leaf in the hedge between Sleepers and Cornfield. It is caused by Tetraneura ulmi, an elm-grass root aphid with a very complicated life cycle.
Continue readingNational Insect Week – Day 4
Butterfly Transect
Mon 22/06/2020 13:05
Mail to Mike Fuller, County Butterfly Recorder, from Ian Bushell
Mike,
Attached is the latest transect at Southwick Country Park – the Meadow Brown numbers are if anything an underestimate. The warm May, lower footfall in the park, plus the fact that the hay/silage crop had not been taken could well have contributed to the general increased numbers.
Cheers
Ian
National Insect Week – Day 3
Scorpion fly
by Ian Bushell
This is a Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.), a strange-looking insect found all over the park particularly along the field and woodland margins among the Stinging Nettles and Brambles. This photo of a male shows the long beak-like projection from its head that it uses to feed, mostly scavenging dead insects and small invertebrates.
Continue reading “National Insect Week – Day 3”National Insect Week – Day 3
Five Fascinating Facts
ONE
Butterflies taste with their feet. They have receptors on their legs and feet very similar to the taste buds we have in our mouths; these receptors are used to taste whether the plant they are standing on will be alright for their caterpillars to eat.
It’s National Insect Week
Let’s begin with a definition.
Continue reading “It’s National Insect Week”
