St Andrews Park!

The meadow area of the park has become impressively biodiverse since it was planted about 6 or 7 years ago. Today there was a Speckled Wood butterfly, an Ichneumon Wasp, a Scarlet Tiger moth caterpillar, a probable Phyllobius weevil, several probable Raspberry Beetles or close relative, a few Anthomyia flies, a Speckled Bush-cricket nymph plus Buff-tailed Bumblebees and Common Carder Bees. Hoverflies were well represented with a Marmalade Fly, a Platycheirus, a Melanostoma, an Eupeodes, Melanogaster (my first for the patch if I remember rightly) and a Syritta pipiens. It was lovely to see the first Yellow Rattle flowers of the year.

Scarlet Tiger larva

Anthomyia

Marmalade Hoverfly

Ichneumon

Melanogaster

Raspberry Beetle

Yellow Rattle

Speckled Wood

In the bath this morning I was greeted by a small Centipede which an expert on Facebook thinks is a possible Lithobius melanopa.

Narroways!

A couple of hours on the reserve produced the usual Raven activity and 3 singing Chiffchaffs.

Insects included a very brief Broad-bodied Chaser on the pond at Boiling Wells plus a Large Red Damselfly. Also a Dark Bush-cricket nymph there. Small White, Speckled Wood and Orange-tip butterflies.

Dark Bush-cricket

Small White

Mouse-eared Hawkweed, Black Medick in flower on the cutting and the Tuberous Comfrey near the railway line (as identified by other visitors to Narroways in the last week or so).

Black Medick

Tuberous Comfrey

Mouse-eared Hawkweed

I was intrigued by someone' lawn in St Andrews Road this morning - there was quite a lot of Birds-foot Trefoil growing there - a plant I normally associate with flower rich meadows!

Bird's-foot Trefoil

Sparrows and Snails!

There were loads of House Sparrows in Station Road this morning, several collecting nesting material, others sat on the roofs. I estimate at least 20 birds were there - always good to see so many. Nearby at the station there were 3 or 4 Orange-tip butterflies and a Speckled Wood. A snail on the wall looked like a Strawberry Snail but I had no intention of eating it. A Common Earwig was on a dandelion flower. Nearby at Fairlawn Road there were several Honeybees and another Nomad Bee.

House Sparrow

Strawberry Snail

I had a pathetic night as far as the moth trap was concerned, just two moths - a Pale Mottled Willow and a micro-moth which I tentatively identified as an Ephestia species and which, to my relief, the experts on Facebook confirmed.

Pale Mottled Willow

Ephestia

St Andrews Park!

A very enjoyable half an hour in the meadow this morning paid dividends with lots of great insects on show. These included a Red Mason Bee, a Hairy-footed Flower-bee, a Large Red Damselfly, a Nomada bee, Large White, Orange-tip and Speckled Wood butterflies, and the hoverflies Syrphus, Epistrophe eligans and Melanostoma. A pair of Coal Tits were feeding in the pine tree overhead.

Orange-tip

Large Red Damselfly

Syrphus

Epistrophe eligans

Hairy-footed Flower-bee

Red Mason Bee

Large White

Speckled Wood

Narroways!

A fabulous couple of hours on the reserve this morning. It was great to see my first Large Red Damselfly of the year near the cutting, along with a female Orange-tip butterfly and a Speckled Wood. Hoverflies included my first ever Neoascia (very small with a wasp-like 'waist'), a Cheilosia pagana, Eristalis pertinax and my first Rhingia rostrata of the year. Amazingly, two different Nomad Bees occupied the same spot along the stony path, a Gooden's Nomad Bee and a more tricky species best left as Nomada sp.

Large Red Damselfly

Cheilosia pagana

Neoascia

Gooden's Nomad Bee

Nomada sp.

Eristalis pertinax

Female Orange-tip

Birds included singing Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff plus a very bold Jay. The Raven pair were very active overhead.

Jay

Back in Montpelier I was delighted to see a Crab Spider Xysticus cristata, a Holly Blue butterfly and, best of all, my very first ever Velvet Mite!

Xysticus cristata Crab Spider

Velvet Mite

I was greeted in the bathroom by a Carabid beetle of the family Amara. It was trying to get out of a window so I released it after a short photo session.

Amara beetle

Of Moths and Magpies

I repeated my customary circuit around Montpelier this morning, starting at Fairlawn Road where there were several Orange-tip butterflies and a single Common Earwig. I wandered down to the Station and saw more Orange-tips and en route there was a Speckled Wood at Station Road. Magpies, House Sparrows and a singing Blackcap were the ornithological highlights at the station.

Magpie

Common Earwig

A nice surprise in the flat this morning was a Least Black Arches moth which is a 'first' for me. It and a Twenty-plume Moth were obviously in the moth trap yesterday but had been hiding!

Least Black Arches

Twenty-plume Moth

Lockdown Lepidoptera!

I am beginning to add more butterflies to my 2020 list - today I saw my first Speckled Wood in Station Road and there was a Holly Blue flying around a neighbour's garden but too flighty and distant to photograph. I was able to get a distant photo of an Orange-tip from my window though!

Distant Orange-tip

Speckled Wood

Today I spent much time looking out of the window - Great Tits, Robins and Woodpigeons were the main highlights.

Woodpigeon

Distant butterflies!

This morning at the station there were at least 3 Speckled Wood butterflies and a Large White butterfly, but of course they were the other side of the tracks and photographing them was a challenge!

Speckled Wood

Large White

Montpelier Station!

This morning a couple of Speckled Wood and a few Small White butterflies were enjoying the early sunshine and a Jay called. Lots of Zygiella x-notata spiders along the wall - there seemed to be one every 6 inches!

Small White

The pitiful-looking Fox was sat on the railway track again - I don't think it is going to last much longer.

St Andrews Park!

A quick wander through the park produced a Syrphus hoverfly, a Myathropa florea hoverfly, a Speckled Wood butterfly and a calling Jay.

Speckled Wood

Syrphus hoverfly