On this day 9 July 2021

 

Sawfly (Rhogogaster sp

Just a quick walk round the top field on the park after 6, the sun hits this area as its on its way down.

I did see quite a few Plant bugs but did not manage to get any good photos, did find a new insect on the Pine and Larch trees in the middle of the field, I think it is a parasitic wasp, very tiny only about 2mm. 

Checked out the eggs on the Alder tree , and they are starting to hatch , it is looking like they are going to be   Alder leaf beetle larvae (Agelastica alni) but will keep an eye on them .

The alder leaf beetle is a relatively small beetle, around 6–7 mm, black or metallic blue in colour. The winged adults overwinter and emerge in the spring. There is one generation each year. The larvae are normally black. Although the damage to alder trees can be unsightly, the trees will usually tolerate the damage

The Cucumber Green Orb Spider  (Araniella) sp spider that lives in the Larch tree is getting much bigger, it has stayed in this tree since I first spotted it back in  April when it was very tiny.

The species was first described by the Swedish entomologist and arachnologist Carl Alexander Clerck (1709-1765) in 1757 as Araneus cucurbitinus  and was revised in 1942 by Chamberlin & Ivie with the name Araniella cucurbitina.

Cucumber Green Orb Spider  (Araniella) sp

Cucumber Green Orb Spider  (Araniella) sp

Lots of these teeny tiny flies around the tree, with quite big eyes , not sure yet what they are.

Most likely

 Thaumatomyia notata (fruit/ grass fly)

Pine tree

You can see how small this wasp is as it is on one of the pine cones, the trees are covered in Woolly Aphids so I am thinking the two are connected. 

(Hopefully will get the name of the wasp)

It has been a good year for the Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes) at the park, have seen the adults in most areas. 

Forest bugs are polyphagous. Their main food source is any of several species of oaks, but they can also be found on alder, hazel, and other deciduous trees, including apple and cherry.

Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

There has been so many Ladybird and Harlequin larvae on all the plants across the park, on some nettles a new batch of  2-spot ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) have reached adulthood. 

2-spot ladybird (Adalia bipunctata)

The two-spot ladybird also carries a sexually transmitted infection in Central and Eastern Europe. The infection is an ectoparasitic mite Coccipolipus hippodamiae that transfers between male and female (and female and male) during copulation.The infection sterilizes female two-spot ladybirds, and at some points of the year, up to 90% of adult two spots become infected.