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

Willow Warbler!

Right on cue there was a Willow Warbler singing in Montpelier Park this morning. It has just arrived from sub-Saharan Africa and will not hang around very long - maybe a few days - before continuing the journey to its nesting site outside the city. Also one or two Blackcaps in song during my exercise walk and a few Goldfinches at Fairlawn Road.

Goldfinch

The little patch of wild garden at the top of St Andrews Road was very productive for hoverflies this morning with 4 species recorded - Epistrophe eligans, a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus, Meliscaeva auricollis and a Syrphus species. Also a Yellow Dung Fly and the attractive picture-winged fly Euleia heraclei (a mating pair) with quite a few Green Shieldbugs also enjoying the sunshine.

Epistrophe eligans

Euleia heraclei

Marmalade Hoverfly

Syrphus

Meliscaeva auricollis

Yellow Dung Fly

St Andrews Park!

A beautiful sunny morning but surprisingly few birds today - a Jay, a fly-over Jackdaw, a few Robins and Blackbirds, a flyover Pied Wagtail, a couple of Carrion Crows, a few Goldfinches and a Long-tailed Tit.

Carrion Crow and lunch

Insects attracted to some Ivy flowers included Syrphus and Eristalis tenax hoverflies, several Common Wasps, a Green Shieldbug and a Twin-spot Centurion soldierfly.

Syrphus

Green Shieldbug

Eristalis tenax

Twin-spot Centurion

In Montpelier another Twin-spot Centurion and a couple of Harlequin Ladybirds were on the Ivy at the station footbridge.

Harlequin Ladybird

Montpelier Station!

There was a bit of sunshine this morning and the Ivy bush near the footbridge was alive with Common Wasps and at least one Syrphus hoverfly. I was surprised to find a Hawthorn Shieldbug along the wall with a tiny (juvenile?) Woodlouse nearby.

Syrphus hoverfly

Hawthorn Shieldbug

On the way home from work this afternoon a tiny bug landed on me in Picton Street - I think it might be a Deraeocoris sp.

Montpelier Station!

 It was good to see 10 Ivy Bees on the ivy near the station this morning - my first of the year and proof that they have truly colonised Montpelier! Also lots of Common Wasps, a Hornet Hoverfly, a Syrphus hoverfly, a couple of Myathropa florea hoverflies and 2 Eristalis tenax hoverflies. A Red Admiral was nectaring on the Buddleia at the disused platform. The gang of House Sparrows was very much in evidence!

Red Admiral

Common Wasp



Female House Sparrow

Ivy Bee



Myathropa florea

Syrphus

My moth trap was surprisingly productive last night despite the lateness of the season:
Garden Carpet 1
Large Yellow Underwing 10
Box Moth 3
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 2
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1
Lesser Yellow Underwing 2
Square-spot Rustic 1

Box Moth

Also a couple of Birch Shieldbugs and a Caddis.

Caddisfly

St Andrews Park!

Had a quick look over he meadow area in the park, didn't see many insects other than Harlequin Ladybird, Thick-thighed Beetles and a couple of hoverflies - a Platycheirus sp. and a Syrphus sp. A Coal Tit was singing in the pine tree and lots of Goldfinches singing in the park.

Platycheirus

Syrphus

Thick-thighed Flower Beetle

Along Fairlawn Road, Montpelier there was a Dasysyrphus albostriatus hoverfly - my first for a couple of years. Also a Pill Woodlouse which an expert says might be a Southern Pill Woodlouse which apparently has one of its strongholds in Bristol. Nearby there was some Great Quaking Grass near Hurlingham Road which is probably a garden escape but I've not seen it before.

Possible Southern Pill Woodlouse

Dasysyrphus albostriatus

Great Quaking Grass

A Queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee was crawling along St Andrews Road - not sure if she'll survive....

Narroways!

A lovely morning on the reserve, with lots of baby Long-tailed Tits everywhere! Also a couple of Ravens, a fly-over Jackdaw, a pair of Jays, calling Bullfinches and singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs.

Jay

Young Long-tailed Tit

Insect highlights included a Cream-spot Ladybird (my first!), Harlequin Ladybirds, mating Green Shieldbugs, a Speckled Wood, and some Oedemera sp. beetles. Hoverflies included Syrphus sp., Dasysyrphus tricinctus, Myathropa florea, Marmalade Hoverfly and Helophilus pendulus. Also an attractive Ichneumon, a sleepy Common Carder Bee and a Yellow Dung Fly .

Cream-spot Ladybird

Dasysyrphus tricinctus

Marmalade Hoverfly

Helophilus pendulus

Oedemera beetles

Myathropa florea

Syrphus hoverfly

Yellow Dung Fly

Green Shieldbugs

Common Carder Bee

Back in Montpelier there was a Nomad Bee along Fairlawn Road.

Nomad Bee

In St Andrews Park the highlights were a family of Magpies and 3 Large Red Damselflies - my first of the year. Also a couple of Holly Blue butterflies near the pond. Hundreds of Toadpoles were in the pond.

Large Red Damselfly

Young Magpies

Toadpoles