Bee-utiful Montpelier!

 There were lots of bees and hoverflies to enjoy this morning - it was a pollinator paradise! In Fairlawn Road I was delighted to spot my first Hairy-footed Flower Bee and Common Carder Bee of the year. Nearby at the top of St Andrews Road there were two mining bee - Gwynne's Mining Bee and Grey-patched Mining Bee. There were two different hoverflies - Syrphus and Eristalis pertinax. A Harlequin Ladybird was hiding under a leaf. It was good to see Herb Robert and Ivy-leaved Toadflax in flower.

Herb Robert

Hairy-footed Flower Bee

Grey-patched Mining Bee

Gwynne's Mining Bee

Common Carder Bee

Ivy-leaved Toadflax

At the station there was a singing Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff - these will have only just arrived from Africa. Also a singing Blackcap and a Long-tailed Tit.

Chiffchaff

Wasps 1, Moths 0

 Well I'm afraid the wasps from the nest are now a serious threat to future trapping outside my widow, as they are now somehow getting into the flat, attracted by the UV light. As a result this morning I waited too long before checking the trap in an attempt to allow any wasps to escape, but many moths also escaped by then. I might be able to trap in the front garden but this presents a logistical problem. Anyhow the list is as follows:

Jersey Tiger 5

Shuttle-shaped Dart 2

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 1

Large Yellow Underwing 3

Willow Beauty 1

Marbled Green 2

Marbled Beauty 1

Common Carpet 2

Straw Dot 1

Grey/Dark Dagger 1

Flame Shoulder 1 

Ash Bud Moth (?) 1

Tachystola acroxantha 1

Ermine sp. 1

Apple Leaf Miner 1

Also a few Harlequin Ladybirds and Birch Shieldbugs in the trap.

Lesser Earwig (and some moths)!

Some super moths in the trap this morning, but they were upstaged by my first ever Lesser Earwig! The full list as follows:

Jersey Tiger 8

Flame Shoulder 1

Shuttle-shaped Dart 4

Brimstone 1

Ruby Tiger 1

Uncertain/Rustic 1

Copper Underwing sp. 1

Marbled Green 5

Buff Ermine 1

Mint Moth 3

Ermine sp. 1

Cloaked Minor 1

Knot Grass 1

Common Rustic 1

Large Yellow Underwing 1

Light Brown Apple Moth 1

Blastobasis adustella 1

Acrobasis advenella 1

Chrysoteuchia culmella 1

Apart from the guest appearance from the Lesser Earwig, there was a Honey Bee, a tiny crab spider, several Common Wasps, a tiny beetle (probably a Bradycellus sp.) and a Birch Shieldbug in the trap together with the usual hoards of Caddisflies and Harlequin Ladybirds.

Montpelier Station!

I had a wander to the station between the showers this morning. There were several Small White butterflies on the other side of the tracks and some Enchanter's Nightshade was in flower nearby. A Rose Chafer was feeding on Buddleia. Towards the TV mast I was amazed to see lots of Broomrape plants - presumably Ivy-leaved Broomrape as the host plant was present. This seems to have been gradually colonising the railway land around Montpelier in recent years. I couldn't get better photos as it was behind a fence. A Marmalade Hoverfly was sat on a Hazel leaf. Halfway down Station Road a Harlequin Ladybird was trundling around. An Impressive Great Mullein plant was flowering near the Cheltenham Road arches.

Small White

Rose Chafer

Marmalade Hoverfly

Enchanter's Nightshade

Ivy Broomrape

Harlequin Ladybird

Great Mullein

In the garden a Dunnock was singing.

Dunnock

The last couple of nights I've detected Noctule bats hunting when sticking my bat detector out of the window.

St Andrews Park!

Highlights in the park this morning included several Azure Damselflies, a Cinnabar Moth, a couple of Leaf-cutter Bees, a Harlequin Ladybird larva, a 7-Spot Ladybird, masses of Black Bean Aphids, a couple of Ichneumon Wasps and the hoverflies Eristalis pertinax and Helophilus pendulus.

Azure Damselfly

Leafcutter Bee

Harlequin Ladybird Larva

Cinnabar Moth

Black Bean Aphids

Back in Montpelier, butterflies were represented by a Large Skipper in Fairlawn Road and a Comma on the station.

Large Skipper

Comma

A single Perforate St John's-wort plant was in flower at the station.

Perforate St John's-wort

Birds today included a singing Coal Tit at St Andrews Park, a male Blackcap which perched briefly out in the open at the station but was too quick for my camera, a Robin and Collared Dove also at the station and Blue Tits and House Sparrows in the garden.

Montpelier and St Andrews Park!

The verge along Fairlawn Road this afternoon produced a Tree Bumblebee, a couple of Harlequin Ladybirds, a Large Red Damselfly and the hoverflies Myathropa florea and Syritta pipiens.

Myathropa florea

Large Red Damselfly

At St Andrews Park meadow area there was a Solitary Wasp apparently in the Pemphredon family, a presumed Nomad Bee and lots of Swollen-thighed Flower Beetles.

Solitary Wasp

Greater Montpelier!

Today I had an extended walk around Montpelier taking in the much-neglected area around St Barnabas school and Rosa Parks Lane. The latter location produced the rare Southern Green Shieldbug - I have only seen this species once before. It hails from Africa, is widespread in southern Europe and is now colonising southern England. Nearby was a Harlequin Ladybird. A large Black Mustard plant was in full flower - this is the plant from which the familiar culinary seeds are obtained.

Black Mustard

Harlequin Ladybird

Southern Green Shieldbug

In Fairlawn Road there was my first Swollen-thighed Flower Beetle and Dark Bush-cricket of the spring and some flowers of Wood Avens and Nipplewort. A magnificent Hawthorn was in blossom nearby.

Swollen-thighed Flower Beetle

Hawthorn blossom

Wood Avens

Nipplewort

Narroways!

A visit to some of the less muddy areas of Narroways Nature Reserve today produced just Robins, Wrens, singing Great Tits and fly-over Ravens. There was a nice group of House Sparrows at Boiling Wells and a Buff-tailed Bumblebee queen in the front garden of the cottage in Ashley Vale allotments.

House Sparrow (female)

Buff-tailed Bumblebee

 In nearby Fairlawn Road there was a Jay, a few Green Shieldbugs and a Peacock butterfly. A single Honey Bee was nectaring on Dandelions.

Green Shieldbug

Honey Bee

Peacock

At the top of St Andrews Road the Alexanders are starting to flower and one of them attracted a Harlequin Ladybird.

Harlequin Ladybird