With the odd spell of actually pleasant weather there was the opportunity to find some more inverts around Reception at work and trying to educate the visiting public about just how amazing leaving a patch of grass to run wild in the garden can be.
The ‘left patches’ around the play area have several Wasp Spiders nestled away in their little open pockets in the sward. People always seem amazing that the spider actually ties each strand out of the way to create the gap.
There are still small at the moment and the hole is about tennis ball sized but before too long it will be foot sized as she increases and size and appetite from Grasshoppers and Crickets.
One of the female had a male bravely hanging around for three days waiting for the opportune moment to approach with an offer of brief love – the ultimate dangerous liaison. He is now unsurprisingly nowhere to be seen but she has already plumped up... say no more.
Wasp Spiders
Yesterday she had two Meadow Grasshoppers in the web at the same time; one being drained and the other not quite subdued. Meanwhile two more male Grasshoppers caught up on the local news with a bit or territorial stridulating seemingly oblivious of the death throes of their compadres just six inches away.
Meadow Grasshoppers
The Globe Thistles are also now in flower and are attracting many Buff-tailed Bumblebees including some glowing fresh males. Normally Spiders seem to leave big Bees alone and let them just crash around until they are out of the web but two different Candy Striped Spiders had each go them self a Bumble which possibly says something about the strength and swiftness of their venom. A couple of male Common, Brown Banded Carder and Red-tailed Bumbles were also attracted a hopefully some Shrill Carder will appear in the coming weeks as the Sedum starts to flower too.
Buff-tailed Bumblebees
Gatekeepers and Hoverflies were also attracted with a couple of fine Volucella zonaria being the stars by a mile.
Volucella zonaria - taking a breather on Annie's finger
Jersey Tigers fluttered around aimlessly sure in the fact that no self respecting bird would try tackling a gaudy black, yellow and orange flying beast. One or two were of the form lutescens with yellow, not red underwings. To think that this was once a rare visitor and has now become part of our summer insect fauna.
Jersey Tigers
Drinker and Gypsy Moths hurtled around at breakneck speed and both Pyrausta aurata and purpuralis Mint Moths were in the herb bed where the Garden Orbs were getting larger. There were several webs with Metallina spiders in them and perhaps only the time of year suggests M segmentata rather than the earlier M mengi. Interestingly all three webs I found were strung at an angle with the spider on the downward side of the web. All the Araneus were vertical.
Pyrausta aurata
Pyrausta purpuralis
Metallina sp
Araneus diadematus - The Garden Orb
Wolf (that I still have no identified), Labyrinth, Nursery and a plump female Misumena vatia that had consumed two Hoverflies, evidenced by the crispy husks discarded below her, added to the spider tally while a fine female Opilio canestrinii Harvestman ticked the primitive Arachnid order.
Misumena vatia
Opilio canestrinii
Whilst searching for more Wasp Spiders I found Roesel’s and Dark Bush Crickets and the Long-winged Coneheads are now mature. This used to be the rare species here but now Short-winged is the trickier to find.
Long-winged Conehead
Down amongst the grasses there were several Coremacera marginata with their pretty lattice work wings. Their larvae prey on terrestrial snails of which there were plenty around and up in the Phragmites I found the cigar gall of a little fly called Lipara lucens. Amazingly we also have a species of tiny bee which then only breed in the spent galls of this fly.
Coremacera marginata
Cigar Gall of Lipara lucens
Migrant Hawkers patrolled characteristically above head height and the odd Southern Hawker also came in to patrol the gardens but I have not seen a Blue-eyed here for a couple of weeks and I suspect they are now out on the ditches. Painted Ladies, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals and Commas were on the lilac Buddleias.
Painted Lady
Small Tortoiseshell
Birdwise from out front it has been quiet with a few Swift and Sand Martin moving through and Chiffchaff and Blackcap calling constantly in the gardens while Reed Warblers chicks are now being fed there too, well away from the ditches.
Little Egrets and Buzzard have drifted over and I saw one of the two Great White Egrets on a brief pop into the cafe.
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer