Cryptic Wood White survey in Craigavon

It has recently been discovered that Ireland has two species of Wood White butterfly: Leptidea sinapis, which is restricted to the Burren and nearby areas (and is the same species as that found in Great Britain) and the Cryptic Wood White - Leptidea juvernica - which is found in the rest of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, but is absent from GB.

Resolution of the conflicting and confusing identifications and distributions was temporarily further confused by the suggestion that one of the species was Leptidea reali, which is found in France. It seems that the situation has now been satisfactorily resolved, and it now remains to examine local populations to be sure we have the correct distributions. There is no sure way of separating the species by morphological characters, although differences have been proposed, so the only way to be sure is to sample populations and examine the genitalia.

The purpose of yesterday's visit to Craigavon was to train recorders in the identification of Cryptic Wood White (CWW) and to demonstrate a recording system for subsequent use in tracking this (and other) species.

But me being me, I didn't restrict myself to CWW, and I recorded more or less everything else we encountered.

First, though, a shot of the courtship behaviour of CWW:

Courtship behaviour in Cryptic Wood White, Leptidea juvernica

The male (left) usually sits higher and repeatedly swipes his antennae and proboscis over the face of the female. This courtship can take up to 30 minutes to complete. If the female accepts him, mating takes place. We saw one recently-emerged female being courted by two successive males before her wings had even fully inflated.

Gorse bushes were very fruitful, and were covered with Gorse Shieldbug:

Gorse Shieldbug

And their eggs: 

Eggs of Gorse Shieldbug

I also found many specimens of the minute (3 mm.) Gorse Weevil, Exapion ulicis:

Gorse Weevil, Exapion ulicis

New to my Species List.

There were a great many Common Blue damselflies: 

Common Blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

And a few Blue-tailed damsels:

Blue-tailed Damsel

I found a few galls of the mite Eriophyes pyri quite early on in the walk:

The gall mite Eriophyes pyri on Rowan.

This appears to be the first record for NI, with one previous record from Ireland, and new to my Species List.

A record shot of the Mirid bug Harpocera thoracica. The male antennae have an interesting 'structure'.

Mirid bug Harpocera thoracica (male)

New to my Species List.

The day-flying Mother Shipton moth caught my eye, and it posed conveniently for a few shots:

Mother Shipton moth

I have seen the Lacehopper Tachycixius pilosus quite a few times, but this one seems to have a mite of some kind under the left wing. Mites usually position themselves in places where they can't be scratched off.

The Lacebug, Tachycixius pilosus

Finally, a Tetragnatha sp. 'Stretch Spider'. There are a couple of these that can't be separated without a microscope:

Tetragnatha sp. 'Stretch Spider'

Not bad for around 2 hours work, and we did count around 25 CWW. 

Different eyes

Last week I returned to my old stamping grounds in Berkshire, England, as part of a 1750 mile round trip through Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. It's 15 years since I lived there and I was astonished at how much had changed. Then I suddenly realised that it was me that had changed most of all: I instinctively knew that I was on alkaline soil (something I never knew before) and there was even evidence of chalk. This kind of information just wasn't apparent to me before I began to study wildlife seriously.

The plants, of course, are different to those that I find on my home acidic soil, and that leads to a completely different set of leaf-miners, since most miners are specific to a single plant or family of plants. Different plants, different insects, a 15 year gap. Everything seemed new and different.

One of the first 'new' species I saw was the leaf-mining micromoth Cameraria ohridella on Horse Chestnut:

Mines of the micromoth Cameraria ohridella on Horse Chestnut

This species has spread rapidly northwards and westwards since it arrived in the UK around 2001, and it has now been found in Belfast and Dublin. Described as new to science in 1986, it affects mainly Horse Chestnut, but can also be found in Acer species. Although the leaf damage is extensive, affected trees are not under threat, since the mines are started after the leaves have established.

The Harlequin Ladybird, however, is a serious problem: 

The Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis 

This is larger than our native species and out-competes them when they have a common food, such as aphids. When Harmonia arrives, the local species are all but eradicated. I saw plenty of these, but no native 7-spots, 10-spots or 14-spots.

Another interesting observation: at home I have Red Campion and Red dead-nettle. Here I found White Campion:

White Campion

And White dead-nettle:

White Dead-nettle

Coincidence?

There was also evidence of garden escapes, with some Geranium species in large swathes. I found this gall on many of the leaves:

Uromyces geranii on Geranium sp.

It seems to be the fungal rust Uromyces geranii.

All of the above species are new to my species list.

I managed to sneak up on a resting Painted Lady. These are always rather tricky to photograph:

Painted Lady butterfly

Quite pleased with that picture.

I also managed to get a shot of a male Common Blue Damsel:

Common Blue Damsel

These were particularly frisky on the day.

I still have some species that I need to identify, so I'll post more as information arrives.

Quarry visit

The local disused quarry is excellent for wildlife. It's a suntrap and the bottom level is flooded, which is good for Damselflies and Dragonflies. I also find a few plants here that I don't find locally elsewhere.

Damselflies are pink on emergence, but quickly change to their proper colour. This male Common Blue Damselfly is just showing tiny hints of blue: Enallagma cyathigerum.



And here are two females:



Last week I showed the male Large Red Damselfly. This is the female:


Heath Speedwell is one of my favourites, with its large, mauve flowers.


Mouse-ear Hawkweed is quite distinctive. This is the only place I find it locally.