The weather has been terrible for a few days, with very heavy rain and strong winds. A few specimens are still coming to light, however, including this rather wonderful red Ichneumonid:
The fact that an Ichneumonid comes to light is quite interesting, since they feed on nectar and parasitise insect larvae, neither of which would usually be found near light sources. I suppose males might be attracted to light if females were to be found there in numbers, but they're not (and female Ichneumonids don't need a male anyway). Interestingly enough, I was sent a picture of what appears to be an identical wasp that was found in a moth trap at the other end of the country. Maybe it's just a hangover from some previous dependency on a moth.
Edit on 14th July 2011. This Ichneumon has now been identified as Ophion luteus.
This Eudonis angustea micromoth is also quite interesting in its own way: I have only ever seen it once before, on 11th September 2007. At that time I thought it was an unusual record, since these are coastal moss-feeders. But a second specimen would indicate that perhaps they are a bit more local than that (I'm about 15 k from the sea).
