Post 380 - The Spectacular, Marvellous and Fantastic St. Marks Fly

St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci) at Ripon

Hey everybody, today's Day 380 and as I haven't covered a species for a while so I thought I'd do one today. I sometimes go out to Ripon and a regular walk we do there is at a nice spot where there's a riverside walk, I see lots of species on the river and in woods. I really love it there and it is a great place to walk about. So when I was looking through my photos and I managed to find something that I saw there. It's called a St Mark's Fly, personally, I didn't know my Dad was a saint, but you learn something new everyday! These were tricky to photograph as they didn't land very often and I had to follow them around for quite a while to get some shots.

Quickly, before I start on the facts, I would like to thank every one of you that brought one of my calenders, using the proceeds my parents managed to surprise me with an Opticron telescope. I'm really happy with it and I hope that I will be able to up my list of birds dramatically with it! Can't wait to test it out at a reserve!

So, here are the facts:

Too difficult that day to photo in flight

• The main reason they are called the St Mark's Fly is because they emerge around the time of St Mark's Day.

• When I say St Mark's Day, it's about the 25th of April, so they are very much a Spring Fly.

• St Mark's Day is a festival held in Italy and is basically a huge feast to commemorate Mark the Evangelist.

• This day is celebrated globally, it seems, even though it celebrates the patron state of Venice. It's celebrated in Lithuania and Mexico.

• It has another name for the people that don't celebrate this event much: The Hawthorn Fly.

• It is 11mm long and has a black and shiny body with quite a lot of hair on it too. 

• They are found on Farmland, Woodland, Heathland, Grassland, Towns and Gardens. So a good variety I'd say.

• They have the conservation status 'common' in both Europe and England it seems.

This one looks a bit different with an antennae
- not sure if it is the same species

• In England they are found mostly in the South of England, like most bugs and Flies, but they get less common the further North you go.

• Swarms of St Mark's flies can be annoying in the early Spring but they are actually quite useful.

• As their main food source is nectar making they are very useful pollinators of fruit trees and crops.

• I must have timed my walk well to see these insects as their adult life cycle only lasts about a week.

You can see here how hairy they are.

• They spend the majority of their lifecycle as larva in the soil where they feed on rotting vegetation.

• Once they emerge as adults, the males emerge first followed by the females, they have a short time to mate and then the female lays eggs in the soil.

• The main habitat for these flies is hedgerows and woodland edges especially if it is a moist area.

Here are some links to some more information:

Buglife - St Mark's Fly

NatureSpot - St Mark's Fly

The Wildlife Trusts - St Mark's Fly

Hope you enjoyed,


Z.

Post 374 - Some Amazing News and Super Finds in Silton Forest

Post 374 - Hi everyone, well it's been another amazing week. It was the last week of school ahead of Christmas, which made it a good week anyway, but on Thursday this news was released:

Huge congratulations to @nerdboy386 who has won the junior category of the @WildlifeMag Blogger Awards! https://t.co/cAqg7D3TVn

— BBC Wildlife Mag (@WildlifeMag) December 17, 2015

I was totally amazed when I heard the news, it's still a bit hard to believe, but a big thank you to BBC Wildlife Magazine, Jo Price, @LucyMcRobert1 @juleslhoward and @StephenMoss_TV for selecting my blog as the winner. Big thanks too to everyone who nominated me. There are some great bloggers too who got highly commended awards who are really worth checking out. If you like my blog you'll love @JGHellewell @MyaBambrick1 @BirdgirlUK @Appletonwild @SCroxford @jakesbones .




Well I had been wondering about doing this but hearing the news I decided I should also enter the UK Blog Awards 2016 - I've entered in the Green and Photography sections. Voting is due to start in the New Year and I hope a few of you reading this might cast a vote for me.

It was nice to be back in the forest, still quite green in places

Well, back to normality, and as it's the first day of the holiday my family got out for a walk. In the end we decided to do a local walk in Silton Forest, just on the edge of the fabulous North York Moors. If you read my posts often you'll know I love this place for all the bugs and other wildlife I see there. Now it's Winter, well it's supposed to be, I didn't think I'd see much - the temperature gauge on our car was showing 16 degrees C!

A little fungi

As it's quite mild there were a few surprises in store as we walk around. The first was a little fungi which I didn't expect to see as most of the others had gone or were decaying badly. This one looked quite fresh, not sure what type it is but it looked quite pretty amongst the moss.

A nice Cladonia lichen I found

The next thing I found I did expect to see, and I really like looking at them as they grow almost everywhere I go, but this one really stood out today growing away on a fallen branch. It was a lovely lichen, still learning about lichens but pretty sure this is one of the Cladonia lichens because of the stalks which are the fruiting bodies where the fungus bit of the lichen produces the spores. The fruiting bits are called apothecia.

A sleepy Toad

Well not far from where I found this I was helped out by Esme, my little Jack Russell, who was sniffing at something I really wouldn't have expected to see in December usually. There was a Toad in the middle of the path! I didn't expect to see it as I did Toad patrol in the spring and thought they emerged from hibernating to breed. Well when I read up on this it seems they just lie dormant under logs and vegetation and do emerge to forage when the temperatures are warm enough. Well this one looked very sleepy and was in the middle of a path so we found a nice spot with lots of fallen leaves to put in in out of the way.

Bugs tucked up for winter.

The last little find was a group of beasties that I found under the bark of a log I trod on. A bit of bark came away and there were spiders, millipedes, beetles and an unidentified mealworm type insect tucked up underneath. Well I got a few shots and then put the piece of bark back over them to save them being disturbed or eaten!

I hope to get to some more reserves soon where I'm looking out for one or two birds I've not seen for a while so I hope to bring you some nice species posts over Christmas. I'll leave you with a few links to more information.

British Lichens

FrogLife - Frog & Toad Behaviour

Hope you enjoyed - and a big, big thank you again to BBC Wildlife Magazine, the judges and anyone who nominated me!

Z.

Day 362 - Flambouyantly Marvelous Flameshoulder Moth

Flameshoulder Moth (Ochropleura plecta) 

Hey everyone today's Day 362 with only 3 days to go. You'll have figured out already that today's post is a Moth. You'll also know that I went to the Nosterfield Open Day where they had Moth Traps set up and I helped get the moths out. While looking through them we put some into containers so we could take pictures later. I can't wait to do this again as I saw so many different varieties of moths.
Today's particular one is called the Flame Shoulder Moth. It's a beautiful moth and I can't wait to cover it.

So, here are the facts:

• They are very common around all of the UK and are more widespread than some other moth species I have covered

• Saying this, they are found less commonly in Scotland. Weirdly, they aren't found less in the West.

A bugs eye view :-)

• One last on distribution they are one of the first moths that are recorded in Northern Ireland that I have covered. 

• As for habitats they usually live in woodland edges, gardens and meadowland.

• They have a 25mm - 30mm wingspan which is actually quite a medium sized moth for the United Kingdom.

• There are 2 generations, the first flying in May and June and the second flying in August and September.

• Adults visit various flowers for nectar especially Ragwort.

They may be common but they are beautiful!

• The caterpillars are nocturnal, they are found at night, and they live on plants like Dock and plantain

• The larvae feed up through late summer into autumn and over winter as a pupa

• The name refers to the flame-like straw coloured sides that the Moth has on its wings.

Here is a link  to some more information:

NatureSpot - Flameshoulder Moth

Habitas.org.uk - Flameshoulder Moth

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 357 - A Wonderful Week & Cracking Conehead Cricket

Hey everyone, well it's day 357 and only 7 posts left to do to complete my year of nature hunting posts!

This week has been pretty awesome. If you've seen the last few days posts you'll know I was lucky enough to get a little clip of my #mypatch video on Autumnwatch Unsprung as well as being asked to do a guest blog on the Autumnwatch website.

Well to add to that I've had three more amazing things go up on the web this week. The first is a great new project called Rants for Change and I was asked to do a little video ranting about something I'd like to change, well here's my video but do check out the other videos as they're great.

I was also asked to write a blog for the #EveryChildWild campaign that the Wildlife Trusts have been running and you can see that blog here.

And finally I was invited to write a Feature Creature post for Wildlife Watch, the magazine and website by the Wildlife Trust for children - I got to write about one of my favourite beetles - the Bloody Nosed Beetle - you can see that article here.

A really amazing and wonderful week! Thank you to Autumnwatch, Rants for Change and the Wildlife Trusts for the chance to do all these things.

Short winged Conehead (Conocephalus dorsalis)

Well, back to my nature hunting and to a creature I saw on my holidays. It was one that I puzzled over for a while until I got a bit of help with identification from Dr Roger Key, thanks again Roger. I saw this one when I went to Hickling Broad in Norfolk looking for Swallowtails when I was there in the summer. Today I'm looking at the Short Winged Conehead Cricket.

So what did I find out about this little creature:

• This one was a bit confusing as it's probably not quite a full adult, this is probably the last instar before it is an adult.

• Its most likely to be a male.

• They like to live in wetlands on reed bed edges, rich fen meadows and ditches.

Impressive antennae!

• They have been spreading through the country during the last ten years from the south and are now found in most of England and Wales.

• Body length is 11-18mm long, not sure about the antennae which are very long and you can see in one photo I had to zoom out a lot to get them all in.

• Adults are around from July to October.

• They lay their eggs on leaves and stems and they overwinter as eggs.

• Larvae hatch around may and go though their instar stages before getting to the adult stage by July.

• They feed mainly on seed heads and flowers of grass, rush and sedge. They are omnivorous though and will sometimes catch and eat small insects.

If you want more photos and facts try these sites:

Devon Wildlife Trust - Short winged Conehead Cricket

Nature Guide UK - Shortwinged Conehead Cricket

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 354 - Marvellously Perfect Mother of Pearl Moths

11 days to go

Hey everyone, Day 354 today, and before I start on todays blog I want to say a big thanks to BBC Springwatch. I did a little #mypatch video and a clip was on last nights Unsprung, got a nice mention by Chris Packham too so really, really chuffed! You can see the clip here on BBC Iplayer the my patch bit at about 4 minutes in. I'm the 'Little guy in the woods in the rain' :-)

If that wasn't enough I also got asked to do a guest blog for the BBC Springwatch website which I've linked here. Please post a comment on there if you get a minute, I'd love to do some more :-).

Well after all that excitement a little update on @NormanNuthatch - bit worrying today, he flew into the window! After a bit of a rest he was alright but Mum had to keep an eye on him as it took a while for him to get back to normal. I hope Normans #MyPatch video gets on Unsprung :-)

Mother of Pearl Moth (Pleuroptya ruralis)

Well now todays species, its a Mother of Pearl moth that was trapped at the Nosterfield open day! This was a lively one so I'm glad I got my bugs eye view while he was in the container. So what did I find out about these lovely moths?

• They are found all over the UK but get less common as you travel north and west, a familiar pattern for most moths I cover.

• They have a wingspan of 26-40mm but are classed as a micromoth, surprising then that hey have a bigger wingspan than some macromoths!

• Mainly active at night they are attracted to light so no surprise it ended up in the moths trap!

• Habitats it likes include gardens, wastelands, rough pastures and nettle beds.

A bugs eye view

• They like to lay their eggs on nettles and the larvae spin the leaves together into a tube and feed out of site.

• On Wikipedia it says the rolling action of the larvae has been studied and used to make next gen robots that can roll.

• I think this refers to a tactic its larvae use to escape predators - if they meet a predator they anchor their rears to the ground, recoil rapidly making themselves in to a circle and roll away. 

• Apparently this allows them to move away from the predator 40 times more quickly than it would if it crawled!

And another but not so good

• They fly from June to September depending on location.

• Their name comes from the lustre (good word) of their wings in sunlight which have a colourful rainbow like effect like mother of pearl!

So that's about all I could find out but form more photos and facts try:

Naturespot - Mother of Peal Moth

UK Moths - Mother of Pearl Moth

Hope you enjoyed.

Z.

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Day 350 - Fabulously, Resplendently Special Fen Raft Spider

15 days to go!

Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) at Bird Fair

Hey everyone today's Day 350. Only 15 days to go! The countdown had now officially begun. Well, as it's such a special occasion, I thought I would write about a special species. Well, I chose the Fabulously Resplendently Special Fen Raft Spider. It's quite a rare species so I thought it deserved the spot of Day 350. We saw this at Birdfair, It was captive but it's such a beautiful species I felt like I had to cover it anyway.

Also, it seems fitting for Halloween Eve!

So, here are the facts:

• Specifically, this spider is called the Fen Raft Spider, Raft Spiders is the family that it comes from.

A Spiders eye view - it has one leg holding onto a leaf

• They are one of only two species of spider that are fully protected by the UK law. Don't worry, they had clearance to own them!

• This is understandable as, in the UK at least, they have been branded as 'vulnerable to extinction'! 

• Adding to this, you can see why, as they are only known to live at 3 sites across all of the United Kingdom. 

• Not only are they a beautifully coloured and marked spider they are quite big at up to 7cm across. They will live for around two years.

With a big egg sac!

• It is rather a caring mother, for 3 weeks it carries up to 700 eggs in a silk sack and then weaves a nursery web just before the eggs hatch.

• This web, which looks sort of like a tent, is found between 10cm and a metre above the water.

• Well, seen as they live right above water, they'll need some adaptations. This why their legs are kind of hairy and the hairs are very sensitive. 

• Using the surface tension of the water they spread their legs over the surface of the water and detect vibrations with the sensitive hairs. They feel for their prey's vibrations on the waters surface like most spider do on their webs.

• Also they have great eyesight and can see under the water and will pounce on fish and tadpoles that get close. I found a great video on youtube showing this - narrated by David Attenborough too!

• Apart from fish they will eat tadpoles and insects like pond skaters.

A beautiful Spider!

• They are seen, in the few places they are, from May until August. That is most commonly, they can be seen at other times.

• The Males have a body length of between 13 and 18mm and the Females have a body length of between 17 and 22mm.

Here are some links to some more information:

Bug Life - Fen Raft Spider

ARKive - Fen Raft Spider

Another video here tells you about conservation work for this wonderful Spider.

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 349 - Obviously So Magnificent - Orange Swift Moth

Orange Swift Moth (Triodia sylvina)

Hey everyone, today's Day 349 and I went to the Nosterfield Open Day, it was quite a while ago now that I think about it, almost 65 days! When I was there, though, I was granted the great job of helping to man the Moth traps. Specifically, I was told to put one of almost each species of Moth into the jars so people could look at them later. It also helped with me being able to take pictures at the end before I released them again. I learnt a lot about the different species. This lovely Orange Swift Moth turned up in the Moth trap too!

So, here are the facts:

• As in most Moths and Insects I have covered, they are quite common in England and getting less so the further North and West you go.

A side view

• Weirdly, they are found on all of the islands around Britain, such as the Isle of Wight, but not Ireland.

• They apparently fly later in the year than most of the 'Swift' moths. Some examples of these moths are: The Gold Swift and the Common Swift.

• The time that it flies most commonly is from July to September. But of course they may be seen a couple of months either side of this time scale.

• In total they have been seen with wingspans 32mm - 48mm, but, again, there will have been cases where they are bigger.

• Adding on to this fact, they do have a case of sexual dimorphism. The Males are actually smaller than the Females.

• They also have marked sexual dimorphism. In this case the Males are actually more brightly coloured than the Females.

• They inhabit mostly Gardens, Woodlands, Grasslands, Moorlands and even the verges on the side of roads!

• They choose these habitats as the larvae feed on the roots of herbaceous plants like bracken, dock and dandelion amongst others.

• They can spend two winters as larvae before the pupate, which they do underground.

And a bugs eye view :-)

• As adults they don't live long apparently as they have a short proboscis and can't feed - that seems to be a bit of a design flaw!

• There are apparently 500 species of Swift moth family (Hepialidae) in the world but we only get 5 in the UK.

Here are some links to some more information:

NatureSpot - Orange Swift 

UK Moths - Orange Swift 

First Nature - Orange Swift

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 348 - Wonderfully Whopping Wood Wasp

Wood wasp (Urocerus gigas)

Hey everyone today's Day 348 and a while ago, I was out at Nosterfield, but today's post isn't about what we saw there. Lightwater Valley (an amusement park well known in the North) is not too far away so we thought we would go out and play a little bit of mini-golf. But I keep my watchful eye out for nature wherever I am and me an my Dad saw this absolutely huge wasp flying around. As, it was a) a wasp and b) huge I got my Dad to take these pictures. Sadly we only got it with a phone as we didn't have the camera with us at that moment in time. Yes, today's post is about the Wood Wasp.

So, here are the facts:

• Funnily, the golf that we were doing was pre-historic themed and when I first saw the wasp I thought it was one of those 2 metre long pre-historic dragonflies it was so big!

• After we had taken the photograph of it, we saw that it didn't have a sting. I guess if you're that big you don't really need one!

• Adding on to this, sometimes it does have something that looks like an absolutely huge sting but it's actually only females that do and its just a large ovipositor that they use for laying eggs in wood.

It was enormous, this post was as thick as my leg!

• Well, to the people that discovered it apparently looked like a Horn which is why they granted it the name 'Horntail'. As well as the Giant Wood Wasp.

• They are found mostly in areas where there are pine or coniferous woodlands as that's where the females lay their eggs.

• They lay them in the wood and the larvae spend up to five years developing.

• They are found from May to October but most commonly they are found all of Spring from May to August inclusive.

• Now, I keep going on about how big they are without actually saying how big they are. Well, The Wildlife Trusts say that they are 7cm in length.

• Despite being big and scary looking with the 'fake' big sting, they are in fact harmless.

• They are one of the rarer species that I have covered with only about 100 records across the UK. 

• Like the last species that I covered, they don't seem to be affected by how Northerly or Easterly you are, they're found rarely basically everywhere. Including Ireland.

Here are some links to some more information:

NatureSpot - Giant Wood Wasp

The Wildlife Trusts - Giant Wood Wasp

UK Safari - Giant Wood Wasp

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 347 - A Cracking Brilliant Carder Bee & Really 'Yor-some' Radio York

Me in the Radio York studio!

Hey everyone its Day 347 and a mix of something old and new today. I'll start with the new first. I had the chance to go back on Radio York again today and I met Jonathan Cowap who thought as it was close to Autumnwatch that he'd invite me in to talk about my blog and how its been going since I talked to them last back in May (around Springwatch time). It was great to be on the radio again and I enjoyed the interview. Sorry about the poor alliteration today Jonathon but Y is really hard to deal with, even with the internet. You can hear the interview at the link below - it starts about 2 hours and 14 mins in. I really enjoyed it so thanks Jonathon and Radio York and I'll happily come back again if you want :-)

My interview on BBC Radio York with Jonathan Cowap

The meadowy bit of Geltsdale

And now for the old. The species I'm covering today will be grateful it wasn't where I first headed that day as I saw it the same day as I went to see the Bee Eaters in Cumbria. This little critter was on some plants in a meadowy part of RSPB Geltsdale. As you can see in the photos it was hard to see at first as it didn't stand out as much as some bees. Today I'm talking about the Carder Bee. So what did I find out about this lovely bee?

Not so easy to see!

• Generally the first fact I do whenever I do insects is how common they are and where they are found. Well the bottom line for this one it seems is that it's very common.

• This is relatively interesting as I haven't seen many. myself. Maybe I don't know what they look like in comparison to others.*

• Weirdly, whenever I do insects as well, they get less common the further North and East you go. Well, not in this one!

But ok when you get close

• The only place it doesn't seem common is in Ireland. There's still a couple there though! This might be because not many people report them. You don't know.

• *Well, they look rather different to any other Bumblebees that I have ever covered in my blog, they look more like a Honeybee in shape, and from the top, a Yellow front and a Black back.

• The 'Carder' Bee gets its name from the way they group materials such as wool and other materials together. Another name for this is 'Carding'. Dictionary Definition. They do this to create cover for the larvae.

• They are found most commonly flying from June to October but they can bee ( it had to bee said at come point :-) seen from March to November.

Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
on Devils Bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis)

• The colonies that they have up to 200 workers in them and only young queens survive Winters and get new nests in Spring. 

• Carder Bees are found in the usual bee-y place, meadows, other grassy areas, sometimes they are found even in gardens!

Here are some links to some more information:

NatureSpot - Carder Bees

ARKive - Carder Bees

Hope you enjoyed.

Z.

Day 344 - Extrarodinarily Lovely Ectemnius Lapidarius

Ectemnius lapidarius

Hey everyone, today's Day 344 and quite a while ago, in the lovely warm days at the end of the Summer, when it was more the just 8*C of this morning, I went to one of my favourite places to go for a walk called Silton Forest on the edge of the lovely North York Moors. I always keep my eye out on all of the Umbelliferous Plants, especially for hoverflies, beetles and wasps. Now, I used to be a little afraid of wasps but all my nature hunting has meant I've got lots closer to all sorts of bugs and learnt about them so I sort of lost that fear so I've managed to get some nice close up pictures.

Well, today's post is about the Ectemnius lapidarius. I haven't found a common name for them. This is the best guess for this Wasp and I even got help with ID from a great entomologist Dr. Roger Key. Apparently, to be sure, you need to look very closely at bits of them with strong magnifying glasses or microscopes. Ectemnius lapidarius is most likely though as it's most common of the wasps it could be.

Sharing the head of an Angelica plant with
a Tapered Drone Fly

So, here are the facts:

• Firstly, these aren't the normal type of wasp, they are what's called a Solitary Wasp.

Zoom in to see this one covered in pollen

• They like to live in places like 'woodland rides' - I like that term it describes the lovely big wide paths through Silton Forest.

• You will also find them in woodland clearings, wetlands, open countryside and the coast. You might find them in urban locations but not so often as the other habitats.

• Adults feed mostly on Umbellifers like Angelica, Hogweed, Hedge Parsley, Rough Chervil amongst others.

• They like area's where they can catch medium sized flies and hoverflies. They don't eat these but store them in their nests where they lay their eggs ready for the larvae to eat when they hatch.

• Nests are made in dead wood like tree stumps, fence posts, small bits of wood and some plant stems.

• Now looking at those few facts I'm not surprised I found this critter at the Siltons as it describes the habitat very well.

It had a really good feed.

• They are quite a small wasp, Females being smaller than Males. Males are 9 - 12mm long and Females are 7 - 11mm.

• There are not many records of this wasp that I can find, but what I have seen says that they are found mostly in the South of England and East of England (see NBN Trust map)

• They are a Solitary Wasp meaning that the egg is laid singly and the Wasp lives on its own and when it finds one Male, it mates with it, flies off, makes a nest and lays the eggs with the captured prey

Here are some links to some more information:

BWARS - Ectemnius Lapidarius-

Commanster eu - Ectemnius Lapidarius

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 343 - Brilliantly Black Vine Weevils

Black Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus)

Hey everyone today's Day 343 and I was recently out walking Esme. We've generally been taking her out to Silton Forest or the reservoir near Osmotherley while the nights are still light. There's quite a few ducks and geese at the reservoir at the moment but mainly Greylags and Mallards. I'm glad its half term as I can get out and do some proper birdwatching and nature hunting.  The bugs are not out and about much at the Forest much now it's getting colder, but the leaves and fungi are making up for that. As the bugs are not out and about much I was quite surprised to see this little critter climbing up the door frame of our house when we got back from a walk.  I really like them but have already done a post on their species in general. Today's post is about Vine Weevils.

So, here are the facts:

• Something I realised very quickly when I was researching these little creatures was that all the websites listed them as a 'garden pest' and rather than giving facts about them, it was about killing them.

• They are also known as the Black Vine Weevil for obvious reasons...

End of October and it was climbing up our door frame

• ...These reasons include their colouring but (even though their name says so) there's nothing to do with vines that I can find.

• Back to their colouring, they are matt black. They also have fused wing covers meaning they cannot fly.

• They are very small, well Weevils are, aren't they... They have been recorded as 9mm long on average.

• The adults like to feed (at night) on the outer-edges of leaves and also the roots which causes death to a lot of the plants.

• They seem to go after plants that are grown in containers so make sure to protect your plants, they are a beautiful bug though and we shouldn't hate them.

• A humane way to protect your plants is to manually remove each bug at night time where they can be found feeding on the leaves but you have to use a dim torch as they are startled by bright light and will drop to the ground and scurry away.

Tricky to photo in the dark but got a good bugs eye view!

• When I say protect, I don't mean all of them. Just the ones that they like. They particularly like soft fruits such as Strawberries and Raspberries.

• Females can reproduce Parthenogenetically. This is a rather long word and means only Females reproduce without Males. Basically, Males aren't needed...

• ...More on their lifecycle, after their larvae have become adults, they emerge between Spring and early Summer when a feeding frenzy begins. They then lay more eggs on a plant.

• Once the eggs have hatched, the larvae bury underground towards their root foods, they them moult several times over-winter before pupating at the start of Spring. The cycle restarts.

Here are some links to some more information:

Wikipedia - Black Vine Weevils

Fruit Diseases - Black Vine Weevils

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 342 - Fabulous Footmen

Common Footman (Eilema lurideola) at Titchwell
(though also told it might be Dingy Footman)

Hey Everyone, well it's Day 342 and I've got a species for you today that I've seen in several places this year. This could be one on my Titchwell Toilet series as I've seen them there. There was also one or two in the trap when we did the moth trapping at Nosterfield Open Day, and I've also had them in my house. I'm sure I've seen them other places too but these are the main ones that I remember. If you read my blog regularly you'll probably have guessed by now that its a moth that I'm covering today, and it is in fact the Fabulous Footman. It's a lovely moth, and it has quite a unique look compared to most moths I know.

So I did my research and here's what I found out about them:

And one at Nosterfield

• Well not surprisingly I found that they are found across most of England and Wales but are only found in bits of Ireland and Scotland.

• They like habitats like farmland, marshes, gardens and woodland - but there has to be lichen.

• Why does there have to be lichen? Well that because their larvae feed on it.

• They have a wingspan of 28-35mm but I've never seen one with its wings stretched out.

• I've only ever seen them like they are in the photos here where the wings are wrapped around their body.

• When they hold their wings like this they are supposed to look a bit like a Footman which was a type of servant - I looked this up and the Queen was looking for a new Footman this year so they still exist!

And a bugs eye view :-)

• Well you might see the Queens Footman all year but this moth you will most likely see between May and August with a peak in July.

• The ones I've seen are the Common Footman (or maybe the Dingy Footman) but there are at least five types of Footman moth in the UK, Common, Buff, Scarce, Dingy and Orange. The Eakringbirds website has some great pictures of them

• Well there's not so much I could find out about this moth but I did notice that the Common Footman wasn't one of the species that Linnaeus named! I haven't seen one of those for a while, this was named by some one called Johann Leopold Theodor Friedrich Zincken - a German entomologist in 1817.

If you want to see more pictures and information try these sites

eakringbirds.com - Footman Moths

NatureSpot - Common Footman

UK Moths - Common Footman

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

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Day 338 - Terrifically Handsome The Herald

The Herald - Scoliopteryx libatrix

Hey everyone today's Day 338 and as you'll all know I went to Norfolk on holiday back in August. It is an incredible place to go, not just for wildlife, but for just normal holidaying. Today will be about nature though. I guess you were expecting that but you may not expect where I found today's species. I went to Titchwell Marsh RSPB Reserve but before I didn't even get onto the reserve, I found so many moths around the toilets block so the mini-series that I am starting is called the Titchwell Toilet Series! This particular one that I found is called The Herald Moth.

So, here are the facts:

• Now, it seems logical to think that all of the Moths that I found in the Toilets at Titchwell will be attracted to light, as the lights were on during the night. I mean, why else would they be in there?

• Well, another quality that they'll have to have is they'll a) have to be able to fly and b) have to fly at night, mostly.

• All of these ring true for The Herald Moth, you can see them flying at night but they can be disturbed during the day, they fly and are attracted to light.

• These are not the most common Moth that I have ever covered in my blog. But they do seem to be quite common in Ireland. 

• Like all Moths I've covered as far as I remember, in the rest UK they are found most commonly in England getting less so the further North and West you go.

This one was high up right near the ceiling so not
much chance of different angles to get better shots.

• They have a wingspan of a quite reasonable 40mm. I have covered bigger, yet I have also covered smaller ones too.

• They aren't found in many habitats. They are apparently only seen in Broadleaf Woodlands and Gardens.

• The adults are seen mostly on Ivy Blossom and ripe Blackberries.The caterpillars are only seen on Willow, Aspen and Poplar trees.

• Now, as I said above, they are attracted to light, but they also seem to be attracted to sugar. So I am likening these today to a happy child. Likes light, loves sweets!

• I saw this one in August but, as they overwinter as adults, they are one of the last moths you see in the year and also one of the first to be seen in spring.

Here are some links to some more information:

NatureSpot - The Herald

UK Safari - The Herald

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.

Day 336 - Rippling Winged Riband Wave Moths

Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata) at Titchwell toilets

Hey everyone, Day 336 and today I've got a lovely moth that I've seen in a lot of places I go. I've seen them in Norfolk, at Nosterfield, in the Lake District and at home. I always like looking at Moths, wherever they are. Before I'd started my blog I'd seen the odd moth in our porch that had probably stopped off there after being attracted by the porch light but I hadn't seen many varieties. That has changed so much during the last year, I've see so many varieties and there are a lot more out there!

Another from Titchwell.

Apart from my moth trapping at Nosterfield the other place I've seen most varieties was, perhaps bizarrely, the toilets at RSPB Titchwell. I almost did a series of posts called the Titchwell Toilet Series as I saw so many!

I shall be looking for more chances to go moth trapping! Today's post will be on the beautiful Riband Wave Moths. They are very nice to look at, just like all nature.

So, here are the facts:

One from our caravan at Kelling

• They are very common all over the UK, like all Moths they get less common the more North and East you go.

• They are probably the most common Moth in Ireland that I have seen in my blog so far. I always liked a record beaker!

• Going back to the first fact, it seems that the reason for this is because they have a second brood in the South only.

Looking under the wings

• They are quite a small Moth, their wingspan is only 23mm - 30mm. I can't think that I've covered many smaller Moths except Agapeta Hamana which is one of my favourites! Check out the link if you cant remember why!

• They are seen flying commonly between June and August. Almost all of the moths that I have covered are found between these times.

• The larvae feed on a range of plants found down low such as Dandelion, Dock, Besdtraw and Knotgrass.

• You can find the larvae from September all the way through to May as they overwinter as larvae.

This is the version with the longer name
Idaea aversata ab. remutata 

• They are found in a lot of habitats including gardens, hedgerows, woodland, grassland and fens/lakes. 

• I have seen them in some of their different forms as you can see in the pictures.

• The typical form, the one you can see in the first pictures, it has a dark band across all four of its wings. The other form has only narrow cross lines, this form has a longer latin name!

A bugs eye view from Nosterfield

Here are some links to some more information:

NatureSpot - Riband Wave Moths

UK Moths - Riband Wave Moths

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.