One particular area is very good for leaf miners. I found the micromoth Stigmella magdalenae, which is the second NI record, and the first since 1995:
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| Mine of the micromoth Stigmella magdalenae on Rowan |
On the same tree I also found Stigmella nyrandriella:
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| Mine of Stigmella nyrandriella on Rowan |
The main difference between these two species is the frass pattern: very narrow in magdalenae and more dispersed in nyrandriella.
Both new to my Species Index.
Some leaves on Bog Myrtle are very small, but I noticed mines on even the smallest leaves. It's Stigmella salicis, which mines Willows and Bog Myrtle:
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| Mine of Stigmella salicis on Bog Myrtle |
I deliberately left my fingers in the shot for scale: the mine is around 15 mm. from left to right, and the adult moth is 4-6 mm. wingspan.
Also new to my Species Index.
Another stunner is the parasitic fly Tachina grossa. This fly is one of the largest flies in Europe, and is larger than most queen bumblebees. These parasitise larger moth larvae: the host must be large enough to support multiple larvae of this huge insect.
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| The parasitoid fly Tachina grossa |
Also new to my Species Index.
I'm not quite sure if the epithet 'grossa' refers to its size or its appearance.
As an aside, I'll mention that the fungal season has well and truly started in Northern Ireland. We found several mature fungi in good condition.
1 comment:
<> Interesting - you wouldn't have thought they were that closely related - and that the strong scent of the gale/bog myrtle would put them off. Fascinating trail that first one has followed round the edge of the leaf.
We've been seeing those T. grossa flies here in Yorkshire too. Does it specialise in any particular moth I wonder (and so its population would be tied to that)?
Very few fungi here - possibly because it's been far too dry - though today is making up for that.
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