Wildlife summer 2012

[ronm]

Something a little different, The White Plume moth, Pterophorus pentadactyla. Larvae feed on Convolvulus sp.

[mark smyth]

wow wings made of tiny feathers

[Gerdk]

The German name is ' Geistchen '  (little ghost).

Gerd

[ronm]

A very appropriate name Gerd. I disturbed this one during the day, but they are a twilight  / night time flier usually.

[ronm]

The Magpie Moth, Abraxas grossulariata, was once considered a pest because many people grew the laval foodplant Ribes sp. in their gardens. As the trend away from ' Grow Your Own' accelerated from the eighties onwards, this species has declined rapidly, ( whatever the websites say! ).
The larva, pupa and imago all have the same colours of black, gold (?) and white. Most unusual.

[mark smyth]

I havent seen a Magpie moth in many years

[mark smyth]

north side of the sand martin colony

[ronm]

One of the most widely distributed of the British Damselflies, The Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans. The males are almost always this blue colour, the females however have at least five different colour forms. Always worth a closer look.

If you're in Scotland and interested,
http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/naturallyscottish/dragonfly/inscotland.asp

[Anthony Darby]

The Magpie Moth, Abraxas grossulariata, was once considered a pest because many people grew the laval foodplant Ribes sp. in their gardens. As the trend away from ' Grow Your Own' accelerated from the eighties onwards, this species has declined rapidly, ( whatever the websites say! ).
The larva, pupa and imago all have the same colours of black, gold (?) and white. Most unusual.

The patter of colours indicate they are distasteful to potential predators. The moths are day-fliers, so, like their larvae, pretty visible.

[Lesley Cox]

The magpie moth pictured above is quite different from what we call a magpie moth here, largely black with very few white spots. Also a daytime moth, it's larvae is known by local children as a "woolly bear." Wrong time of year to photograph it but I will when I see one. The woolly bears eat Senecio species mostly, anything from ragwort to one's precious S. magellanica (S. candicans) with it's beautiful white felted leaves.

[Anthony Darby]

The NZ magpie is a tiger moth (Arctiidae) whereas the European species is a geometrid, with a 'looper' caterpillar.

Ron, I see Sympetrum scoticum has lost its status, if it ever had such.

[ronm]

Ron, I see Sympetrum scoticum has lost its status, if it ever had such.

The Black Darter. Afraid so Anthony, its become a syn. of S. danae. A particular favourite of yours?

[daveyp1970]

Firstly i have to say a great big thank you to a fantastic chap and insect encyclopaedia Ron,for a brilliant day.
This first pic pulled on my heart strings.


And now some dragonflies,Ron can tell me the names again please.


A cockchafer.

good looking beetle.

[ronm]

A truly memorable day Davey, 

I thought on the day that the parasatized larva was the Sallow Kitten, Furcula furcula, early instar. Would have been your first. Seeing the pics I'm back to thinking early instar Puss Moth, Cerura vinula. Afraid the eyes aren't as good in the field as they once were. Still a very graphic example of the more grotesque side of nature.

The Dragonflies are, first a female Ruddy Darter, Sympetrum sanguineum, and second Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum a pair in copu. The other Dragonflies we saw were Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum, and Brown Hawker, Aeshna grandis.
Damselflies seen were Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans, Emerald Damselfly, Lestes sponsa, Azure Damselfly, Coenagrion puella, Common Blue Damselfly, Enallogma cyathigerum and one Demoiselle, The Banded Demoiselle, Caloptryx splendens. The latter led us to marvellous things!!
I don't know if we managed to picture any of the above?

[ronm]

I only managed one Davey. A female  Lestes sponsa