Wildlife on earth

I can't help but notice that NASA are now looking for wildlife on Mars. I'll stick to my Donegal Hedgerow for now.

The weather has been dull with frequent heavy showers for a few days, but today we had blue bits in the sky and everything suddenly went crazy. At one point I had three species of butterfly in view, including three Small Tortoiseshells nectaring on the much-maligned Ragwort:

Small Tortoiseshell on Ragwort

These specimens were very fresh and will be the offspring of the overwintering generation that emerged in March this year.

I also saw my first specimen of Meadow Brown for the year, although it's fairly obvious that this specimen has been around for a few days:

Meadow Brown and Herb Robert

I cropped that shot to include a Herb Robert flower because it is such an important part of this hedgerow, flowering all year round.

Evacanthus interruptus is a very easily recognised leafhopper:

Evacanthus interruptus

It's never very numerous, and there are some years when I don't see it at all.

Plant galls are made when an insect (or fungus) modifies a plant's growth patterns for its own benefit. These are the galls of Eriophyes inangulis on Alder:

Leaf galls of Eriophyes inangulis on Alder

Notice that the galls are positioned precisely on the intersection of midrib and side vein. New to my species list.

On a nearby Alder, all the galls were of the closely-related Eriophyes laevis, which is the species I find much more often:

Eriophyes laevis on Alder

In this species the galls are randomly positioned, and are clearly different in structure from the previous species.

There are two distinct forms of the Riband Wave moth. All of my local specimens are of the form f.remutata, where the darker central wing band is missing. This form seems to be the norm in more northern areas.

Riband Wave moth

The Devilsbit Scabious is just starting to flower, which tells me that the season is well advanced. Many of the leaves are marked with the parasitic fungus Ramularia succisae:

Ramularia succisae on Devilsbit Scabious

The hedgerows of western Ireland are bright red at the moment with the wild (but introduced) Fuchsia species Fuchsia magellanica. On very rare occasions we find the absolutely beautiful pale variety, Fuchsia magellanica var. Alba:

Fuchsia magellanica var. Alba

I took some cuttings earlier this year, and they have just started to flower. Absolutely gorgeous.

Occasional names

I saw what appeared to be a minute, strangely-coloured ladybird on the Ragwort and it was only when I blew up the image that I could identify it as a teneral (freshly emerged, and not yet fully-coloured) 10-spot Ladybird - Adalia decempunctata. These are about 3-4 mm. long, so that makes the beetle below it about 1 mm long.


Few Tachinids can be successfully named from pictures, but this is one of them. Eriothrix rufomaculata (named after the distinctive red marks on the abdomen) is a bit of an enigma: it is readily identifiable, but its host and larval stages are unknown. I only ever see it on Ragwort, so Cinnabar moth comes easily into the frame, but the fly has never been reared from them.


Moving on from one nameable beast to another, the ichneumonid on the left is Amblyteles armatorius. Its size can be easily reckoned from the neighbouring Tree Wasp - Dolichovespula norwegica. It's really good to be able to show these close relatives side by side. They aren't particularly dangerous to each other, but the ichneumonid is keeping a very close watch on the wasp - note the antennae.

That wasn't a chance shot, by the way: I noticed the ichneumonid was gradually approaching the Tree Wasp and waited until it was right next to the wasp before I rattled off a few shots.

Angelica is a major nectar source for many insects at this time of year. Female ichneumonids are swarming over the florets, refuelling before they go off in search of hosts.



Evacanthus interruptus is one of the more scarce leaf hoppers in this area. I might see one or two per year.

Phyllonorycter moths are minute - only a couple of millimetres long as adults. This is the mine of Phyllonorycter maestingella, on Beech. The larva tucks the lower surface of the mine a few times, contracting it and pulling the upper surface into a dome, thereby making a tube to live and feed inside.


This glimpse of the emerging Blackening Waxcap - Hygrocybe nigrescens - reminds me that the fungal season is almost upon us. It's time to dust down the fungal part of my brain.

More from the filming

I recently showed the nymph of Cicadella viridis. Here's the glorious adult:

This is the much more frequently-seen Frog-hopper, Philaneus spumarius:


And I've yet to get a completely satisfying shot of the Leafhopper Evacanthus interruptus:


The leaf-mining micromoth Mompha raschkiella appears to have been to school and learned how to keep the writing on the line:

These mines can overlap and are difficult to decipher, but I think we have 3 mines here, one of which is still occupied (you can see the 3mm yellow larva in the centre of the shot). These only mine Rosebay Willowherb.