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| Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae |
The Big Butterfly Count 2020
Between Friday 17 July and Sunday 9 August choose a place to spot butterflies and moths. Watch for 15 minutes. Then record which species.
So a trip to the park was needed, I managed to record 9 species but they do not include Large and Small Skippers in the count. Large Whit and Small are a bit tricky to tell apart, there was good numbers of "White butterflies" shall we say. Green-veined White tend to land for longer and as long as you can see the wing from the side they are quite easy to identify .
I had a good look for other insects while I was there and found a few new ones, got excited over a black hoverfly never seen before, and the bee grabber was still in the same place.
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| Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) nymph |
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| Miridae Deraeocoris ruber (New Find) |
More common in southern Britain and very rare in Ireland, this bug feeds on small insects and can be found on a range of plants, especially nettles.
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| Thick-legged Hoverfly - Syritta pipiens |
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| Sepsis sp (NEW) |
The Sepsidae are a family of flies, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. Over 300 species are described worldwide. They are usually found around dung or decaying plant and animal material. Many species resemble ants, having a "waist" and glossy black body. Many Sepsidae have a curious wing-waving habit made more apparent by dark patches at the wing end.
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| Green-veined White Pieris napi |
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| Honey bee Apis mellifera |
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| Hoverfly |
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| Peacock butterfly Inachis io |
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| Marmalade Hoverfly - Episyrphus balteatus |
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| 7-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) |
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Orange tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
and a Wasp |
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| Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris |
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| White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) I think |
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| Comma Butterfly Polygonia c-album |
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| Cuckoo bee |
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| Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta |
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| male Pipiza sp. (NEW) |
Pipiza is a genus Hoverflies, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera. Most are dark hoverflies.
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| Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus |
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| Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris |
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| Conops flavipes 'Yellow-legged beegrabber' |
On of the adult Swans was having a was in the pond.
Some great photos, doesn't the wasp look ominous behind the bee!! It always amazes me the amount of different bugs on plants and all in one place, I mean I know they're there but when you separate and id them like this it's fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThanks Pam for the lovely comment, I still am surprised how many I am finding at the park, just shows what a diverse place it is for wildlife.
DeleteSuper photos Amanda - the first one is particularly lovely. You do manage to see a lot in your park - your observation skills are brilliant :) I struggle with the whites too when they are flitting around. Once tried to do a butterfly count at Packwood House gardens and there were dozens of whites and I gave up in the end because they were too lively to be able to distinguish between Large and Small!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline for the lovely comment, have to say I am really pleased I have learned so much this year. A lot of it down to the help on Facebook, I have tried many times before but this year I have pushed through that first rush of new species.
DeleteFor the whites I have just divided how many I have seen and took an average.Most of them if they do land are usually Green-vain.