ChrisR

Funny field-trip today – started badly when I discovered that the Wildlife Trust had put cows into the only field with a decent patch of hogweeds and totally trashed it. Needless destruction of nectar sources really annoys me – they could have put the cows into another field while the hogweeds were flowering but no … it probably didn’t even occur to them how valuable these plants are to insects! Then again, they didn’t have to cut all the hay meadows at the same time in July either … another massive nectar source wiped out … do Wildlife Trusts actually think about insects when they do their management work?! I am beginning to wonder.

Anyway I managed to catch a few flies (Exorista rustica group, poss Phryxe, poss Epicampocera etc.) on the only flowers that hadn’t been trampled or eaten then I went around the site looking for more flowers. In the end I went around the edge of the flowery meadow that they had cut in July and found some hogweeds and Hemp Agrimony growing the other side of the fence. These flowers must be the only nectar for miles so they were covered in butterflies (Silver-washed Fritillary, Red Admiral, Peacock, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Chalk-hill Blue, Common Blue, Small Copper, Green-veined White) and a few nice flies (Tachina fera, Nowickia ferox, Phasia hemiptera male & female, Eurithia sp., poss Thelaira nigripes but not caught).

This huge concentration of insects on one small patch/row of plants shows just how vital it is to retain nectar sources and not cut hay meadows until the flowers are in seed. Also, put cattle in selected paddocks, starting with ones that have less flowers – don’t just let them into all areas so that they destroy valuable seasonal habitats.

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The cloud too a long time to clear so I only got out to Moor Copse after 2pm. Still, the insects didn’t seem to matter and the hogweeds were in full flower so it turned out to be a good day.

Some highlights are: Nowickia ferox, Phasia hemiptera, Dinera grisescens, and a really amazing Silver-washed Fritillary form valesina.

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I braved clouds of Cleg flies at Moor Copse today to take some photos and catch some flies. Saw lots of Dinera grisescens and Phasia obesa/pusilla-group and some Exorista rustica-group, a single Nowickia ferox and a superb Stratiomys potamida. One of the nicest sights though were dozens of Silver-washed Fritillaries flying along the river bank and through the sunny rides – plus a Scarlet Tiger moth flying over 5-acre Field.

* weevil ID courtesy of Nigel Jones

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Just a few tachinids today – lots of ragged Zophomyia temula and a few Tachina fera but no sign of any Eurithia yet. One nice highlight though was finding a mating pair of Scarlet Tiger moths on Comfrey. There were also quite a lot of dead Empis tesellata – parasitized by the fungus Entomophaga.

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Today the weather has been sunny but not as hot as the previous 3 days so this lunchtime I popped down to Moor Copse to see what was flying. It wasn’t very busy but there were some nice tachinids – notably: a lot of Zophomyia temula flying in and out of the low vegetation; Thelaira nigripes; quite a few Tachina fera (first brood) flying around a hedge; a nice pimpline ichneumonid with a long ovipositor; plus a selection of sarcophagids that I will have to work on over the winter

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I took these photos today on my constitutional, of the river Pang in full spate after the recent rains – quite impressive!

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For my Sunday constitutional walk I went over to Moor Copse again. The storm-force winds of the previous 2 days and night had abated and I thought it might be useful for the reserve managers if I went round to look for fallen trees.

It was a bit muddy under foot but the sun shone and it was very mild so the walk was superb … and there were no trees down. A few Oaks still had plenty of leaves (as shown on the photo).

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I made 2 quick visits to Moor Copse this weekend – the first was in light drizzle and the second was in full sun. On both visits I concentrated on visiting the Hogweeds that grow along the margins of the main wet meadow.

Diptera: Stratiomys potamida was seen on both days, along with Phasia obesa (male & female), Tachina fera, Phasia hemiptera (male), Exorista cf. rustica, Solieria sp., Eristalinus sepulchralis, Macquartia grisea(?), and Thelaira nigripes. There were also many annoying Haematopota sp. and Chrysops sp. in the wetter parts of the meadow.

Butterflies: Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Large White, Small Copper, Large Skipper, Small/Essex Skipper.

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In the afternoon I decided to head out to one of my favourite local nature reserves – Moor Copse.

Despite being pestered by clegg flies (Haematopota sp.) I managed to see some really nice insects – most notable of which was Bombus hypnorum, a recent visitor to the UK. The only problem was accidentally setting my camera to ISO-1600 so the resulting photos were rubbish … the selection below is a testament more to PhotoShop than my ability as a photographer!!

There weren’t many tachinids – just a few very tatty Zophomyia temula, the very distinctive shiny-black, spikey fly with yellow wing bases. This species has been on the wing for at least a month and seem to have become much commoner in the last 2 years.

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