Q&A
Question from Tom Martin:
Found this on the pavement near my house. Do you know what it is?
Pictures taken in the park by Simon Knight.
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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Whirligig beetles
National Insect Week – Day 5
Whirligig beetles are actually a whole family (Gyrinidae) of water beetles: almost 700 different species globally, most of them very much alike and extremely difficult to tell apart. We have no idea what particular species live in the pond above the wooden bridge but all the Gyridinae share some fascinating features.
Read on for details and a short videoWho lives here?
A message and pictures from Julie, regular park-user:
Saw these little mini molehill type structures on the path next to the pond. Under the ones already disturbed there is a little hole. It’s possibly ants or something but thought I’d send them in anyway. Do you know what made them?
Read on to solve the mystery
Another new species
On Sunday, Julie Newblé sent us pictures of caterpillars in a tent-web she found strung between blackthorn twigs in the hedge at the top of the Arboretum.
Continue readingMeadow brown
This week has brought a report of the first of the summer’s meadow browns.
Continue reading “Meadow brown”
Invertebrate safari
with Ian Bushell
Ian, our expert on invertebrates, has sent us pictures from the park…
Continue readingFroghopper
Red-and-black froghopper
This is a red-and-black froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata) photographed in the park yesterday by Ian Bushell. There are ten different species of froghopper in the UK and while the red-and-black froghopper is not the most common, it is widespread.
Continue reading “Froghopper”Cockchafer
Cockchafers, more familiarly known as May bugs, are one of those things that go bang in the night.
Continue reading “Cockchafer”A new species
This is a 16 spot ladybird, identified in the park for the first time this week and added to our species lists.
Continue reading “A new species”Common pollen beetle
A dandelion crammed with tiny bronze-black beetles. Our favourite entomologist emailed us:
They’re pollen beetles. Getting a positive ID is going to be impossible without sending me a specimen (and they’re too small!) but this time of year the most common species is the Common Pollen Beetle Meligethes aeneus.
Continue reading “Common pollen beetle”Splatometer
Most of the Friends of Southwick Country Park are retirees, all of us inclined to begin sentences with: When I was a child….
Continue reading “Splatometer”White letter hairstreak
While exploring in our species lists, we found a report of a white letter hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium w-album), reported in 2017 by an expert observer. This is a real rarity, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species.
Continue reading “White letter hairstreak”2019 review – part 4
Odonata
We have added three species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) to our species lists this year. They have raised our total to a round dozen.
Continue reading “2019 review – part 4”Stop the decline of insects
Hibernation
The temperature is dropping and we have already seen the first frosts. The park’s invertebrates are preparing for hibernation.
Continue readingWet Wednesday cont.
Task number 2.
Ian Bushell reports on cutting back the set-aside on the northern edge of Village Green with brush cutters.
Continue reading “Wet Wednesday cont.”
Peacock
Pictures of a peacock butterfly taken by DKG during the summer.
This is a drone fly (Eristalis tenax), named for its mimicry of a male honeybee.
Continue readingSpeckled wood
A speckled wood (Pararge aegeriais) on hawthorn berries photographed last weekend by DKG.
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More about oak galls
Yesterday’s picture of an artichoke gall among oak tree leaves produced questions and enquiries from our readers via Messenger, Facebook and our website’s below-the-line comments column. Here is more information about oak gall wasps.
Continue readingOrthoptera
By Ian Bushell
One of the quintessential sounds of summer is the chirping of grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera). They are found all over the park, but probably the best places to see them are those areas of longer grass or bramble beside the many paths.
Continue reading “Orthoptera”Wasp time
There are six species of social wasp that are native to Britain and this is a good time of year to identify them.
Continue reading “Wasp time”
