Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi L.) a new garden record

July the 18th 2022 was an auspicious day for garden listing. A single record of Phasia obesa brought the garden list to a nice round 500 species, and the day flying Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae stephensi), pushed it on to 501.

Phasia obesa

A re-appraisal of a photo from March 21st 2021 - also identified Nomada fucata. A record that at the time I had submitted to the UK BWARS Facebook page for verification. Then had promptly forgotten about it. The list now stood at 502.

Overnight, the 20W Actinic Skinner Trap proceeded to furnish me with 13 new moths, from amongst the 143 of 66 species. When the moth trap intruders (4 of 3 species) were collated, Wasp Spider was added, bringing the day's total to 17 new invertebrates for the garden. A day's haul worthy of the first few weeks of moth-trapping, whereby nearly every other moth was by virtue of novelty, new for the garden.

male Wasp Spider

Of all the new records that day, it was the male Wasp Spider that really caught my imagination. I have only seen this species twice previously - once in Madeira and again a single specimen on Portsdown Hill - both females.

Spiders in general being one of the many weak points in my identification skill set - I ran the spider past the UK Spiders Facebook Group for verification. With the identification confirmed - the following weeks and months found me scouting for girls and their unmistakable webs throughout the wildflower lawn. To no avail.

Last Sunday, I cut back the wildflower lawn. The strimmer not being up to the task I selectively used the hedge-cutter. Although back-breaking this was less intrusive in its cutting affect and enabled me to keep my eye-in to avoid shredding anything of note. As always, I left patches of the lawn uncut, as refuges. I made a mental note to invest in a scythe for next autumn.

This afternoon, taking a stroll around the denuded lawn I noticed an orb about the size of a human eyeball hanging on to the top of a grass stem. Then a second, and a third. Not entirely sure what I was looking at - I picked one up. A seed head perhaps? However, knowing the local wildflowers, this did not make sense?

Wasp Spider egg-sacs

I carefully pulled open the papery exterior, revealing a brown fibrous inner - with a core comprising a dense white structure. It finally dawned on me that this was a spider's egg-sac and given its size - I reckoned Wasp Spider was a good candidate. A Google search, confirmed the ID.

Wasp Spider egg-sac - opened

The opened egg sac has gone into the spare fish tank, in the hope that I can successfully hatch the young - as it would be a shame to lose them to curiosity.

August Bank Holiday .. back garden encounters

fem. Common Darter
Sympetrum striolatum

Hummingbird Hawk-moth
Macroglossum stellatarum

Willow Emerald (Chalcolestes viridis L.), Buchan Country Park

Willow Emerald was first recorded in the Park in 2019, when a volunteer found the species, at Boundary Pond. Sightings have been sporadic since then.

However, in the last 5 days, this species has been seen twice. The first time by S at Boundary Pond. This afternoon, I was really chuffed to find an individual, on the Target Hill "triangle" path.

Of dragons and Damsels ..

Common Darter 27th Aug 2022

A Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) is photographed in the garden, resting on the side of the water-butt pond. It will stay most of the morning. Later, I set about clearing the filamentous green alga from both ponds.

I remove the alga in small clumps. Wash it gently in a small tub of clear pond water, remove as many of the aquatic invertebrates as is possible, from the sticky algal grasp. Once washed the alga is left to drain on the side of the pond(s), prior to disposal.

It is encouraging to see how much motile life, exists within these ponds - aquatic worms; ramshorn and other pond snails; daphnia; chironomids; mayfly nymphs. Along with those critters that remain a complete mystery to me?

In one of the small wash cycles, I observe a couple of nymphs who are both touting three tails, they do not not look right for mayfly nymph?

Transferring them to the shallow top of a specimen bottle, we view them under the dissecting microscope, and confirm that they are damselfly nymphs.

To date we have only recorded two species of damselfly in the garden: Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella), and Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) - so it is likely that these nymphs belong to one (or both?) of these species.

damselfly nymphs 27th Aug 2022

Add to this the recent discovery of the dragonfly nymph (Sympetrum cf striolatum), and it bodes well for the water-butt pond as a wildlife habitat, if it is able to attract and support these predators.

see Blog entry:

Next year, I will be looking out for exuviae, in the hope that the ponds remain suitable to bring these species to maturity.

Bragging to R on Whatsapp about the damsel nymphs, the retort is a photo of Willow Emerald (Chalcolestes viridis), a LIFER that R has just seen, at a site in Hertfordshire. By coincidence this is the second time this week, that Willow Emerald had been drawn to my attention.

S had photographed a specimen at Buchan Country Park on Thursday. So I have decided to take a good long look for it, when next in the Park.

A new garden butterfly ..

Following the introduction of scraps of wildflower turf into the back garden, we have enjoyed successive years with "home-grown" Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) gracing the lawn. They are often seen - brand spanking new - on the day that they emerge. Our max. daily count to date has been 3 individuals.

I always check them carefully, never assuming that they are all Essex - but for the past five summers that has always been the case.

However, today, I noted a single skipper arrive and it went straight to nectar on the Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber).

I gave the butterfly a quick scan, and there was just something different about it's jizz? It definitely needed a closer look!

Grabbing my camera from the house, I knew I was risking the butterfly moving to another part of the garden, or worse still leaving the garden altogether - and being unable to relocate it. Not trusting my poor eyes alone, I needed a photo to clinch it.

My risk paid off, the skipper was still imbibing from the same plant, and I was able to get a decent close-up, and confirm that my gut instinct was right, and that it was indeed a Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).

This new arrival, brings my garden butterfly list up to 20 species.

Enter the Dragon .. (Reprise)

It has been a quiet year to date for Odanata in the garden. On the 8th of July a male Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) was noted resting on the Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) at the water-butt pond. It was only seen that once.

On the 1st of August, a Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) was holding territory using the back of the garden chair as a lookout post. This encounter transpired to be an all but brief affair too, with only a single day's activity observed, before it disappeared from the garden.

Throughout this heat-wave, both small ponds have required continous top-up  and much attention has been given to removal by hand, of the filamentous green alga which threatens to completely cover the surface of the ponds.

During the course of one such clearing, I was delighted to find a dragonfly nymph (Sympetrum cf striolatum), in the water-butt pond.

water-butt pond

Azure damselfy

Common Darter

Sympetrum cf striolatum nymph
5th Aug 2022

.. "this flight tonight" ..

A new bee-fly species for the garden ..

 

Downland Villa
(Villa cingulata)

NBN Atlas - Downland Villa

Mouse Moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis L.)

 

A childhood book returned ..

I have very clear memories of birdwatching as a youngster. Heading off to "the dell" with my dad's pair of field glasses, and "The Ladybird Book of Garden Birds". The pair of Bullfinch pictured on the book cover are iconic. Whether or not I actually managed to see this species at the time, is beyond my aged recall?

Ladybird Books were always an important part of our childhood libraries. There is no doubt that some of the titles were hand-me-downs from my older brothers; with a few being purchased later, from my own pocket money or book allowance.

The slender tomes informed my understanding of the natural world. Along with the thoughtful family gifts of a field microscope, an encyclopedia of natural history, and a chemistry set, they fired an appetite for scientific enquiry, which I held onto, into my senior years of school.

However, as my teenage years progressed, my interest in natural history, was put on hiatus. I began to pursue a plethora of other intellectual and sensory distractions. When I started my "A" Levels, and left home, I did not pack up the library and scientific tools, they were left behind. I simply forgot.

Fast forward - in the course of a recent telephone conversation, with my older brother - he told me that during a rummage through a second-hand book-stall - he had found a copy of "The Ladybird Book of Sea and Estuary Birds". To both his and my delight - written on the inside of the book cover was the legend "Peter Hogans" sic. in my neat but juvenile handwriting.

A second legend written in pencil, in FULL CAPITALS reads LFC WILL ALWAYS RULE - a homage to the football team, comprising of my schoolboy heroes: Ray Clemence, Emlyn Hughes and Kenny Dalglish.

When I visited, I discovered that my brother was also the keeper of our late father's field glasses. The visit became an emotional reunion with both my childhood self, and the tactile and tangible memory of our dad.

Later we sat on the beach, under a Simpsons sky. Ate fish and chips, battered sausage and chips from the Fairground chippy. Inevitably, Herring Gull and Black-headed Gull gathered, each in their turn eyeing up our lunch,

I waxed lyrical about the Mediterranean Gull. What a smart looking bird it is, and as a more recent colonist, a gull that was not included in the Ladybird Book with which I had just been so happily re-acquainted.

Almost immediately, we heard a cat's call overhead - and a smart summer plumaged Med Gull landed within meters of us. Perfect timing, perfect gull, perfect day.

Wildflowers, Garden

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Common Broomrape
(Orobanche minor)

Despite a promising start to the Orchid season, with up to seven Bee Orchid rosettes noted in the lawn, only two came into flower.

More productively - last years pair of Common Broomrape, turned into five flowering spikes this year, although they came and went within the blink of an eye!

Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum L.), first garden record of the year

Inner Farne, Farne Islands, Northumbria

All Aboard

 

Boat Trip to Inner Farne via:

Billy Shiel's Boat Trips

Landing on Inner Farne via:

National Trust - Farne islands

A pilgrimage for mind, body and soul # 1 ..