Three hours on the patch produced loads of invertebrates. At Narroways, the first
Marbled White of the year and a couple of
Common Blues were the pick of the bunch, but there was also a
Burnet Companion moth.
 |
| Common Blue |
 |
| Marbled White |
There were both
Myathropa florea and
Helophilus pendulus hoverflies and a new fly for Narroways I think - a
Scorpion Fly. The Soldier Fly
Chloromyia formosa was a nice find and there were good numbers of
Honey Bees,
Buff-tailed Bumble Bees and one or two
Tree Bumble Bees. A few
Harlequin Ladybirds were around, predictably.
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| Soldier Fly |
 |
| Scorpion Fly |
Also in St Werburghs, at the Scrapstore car park, there was a new hoverfly for the patch -
Merodon equestris - a convincing bee-mimic that had me fooled for a while. Other invertebrates included a
Crab Spider (probably
Xysticus sp.) plus what I think is the hoverfly
Metasyrphus corollae and, best of all, a
Wool-carder Bee - a first for me. Lots of large ladybird larvae at this site - presumably those of
Harlequins.
 |
| Metasyrphus corollae |
 |
| Wool-carder Bee |
At Fairlawn Road there was a
Phyllobius beetle and masses of
Harlequins along with a pair of mating
Green Shieldbugs. A
Chiffchaff showed well and a party of
Long-tailed Tits also flaunted themselves shamelessly.
 |
| Long-tailed Tits |
At St Andrews Park, a
Grey Heron flew over chased by gulls and a
Coal Tit was heard. On the pond were
Azure and
Large Red Damselflies and the micro-moth
Small China-mark. Another
Merodon equestris and a couple of
Red Mason Bees were basking around the periphery of the pond.
 |
| Small China-mark |
 |
| Merodon equestris |
In the garden, a
Wren was agitated by the presence of a cat.
 |
| Wren |
