Brief sun

We had an unexpected clear blue sky today (I say 'unexpected' because I pay little heed to weather forecasts due to their consistent inaccuracy) so I took an early trip to see what was around.

The heat had certainly brought out more insects than I had expected to see in October, starting with this Buff Ermine moth caterpillar, which is coincidentally basking on the vacated mine of the micromoth Stigmella aurella on Bramble:

The caterpillar will shortly pupate and then hibernate until summer.

The 'Noon Fly' Mesembrina meridiana is never too numerous, but I saw at least eight on this trip:

The larvae of Mesembrina meridiana live in cow-dung and are predatory on other dung-dwelling larvae, including those of the Scathophaga Dung-Fly below:

Scathophaga are dung feeders as larvae, but are voracious predators as adults, a complete reversal from the Mesembrina which only feeds on nectar as an adult.

It would be good to get a 'full-circle' photo of an adult Scathophaga with a Mesembrina as its prey, although the Mesembrina tends to be a little large for the normal prey-size of the Scathophaga.

Just as I was finishing my little survey, a Speckled Wood butterfly flew over my shoulder and landed behind me:

It's amazing what a little sun will bring out.

Continuing the excellent fungal year, I found these 'Lawyer's Wigs' - Coprinus comatus - on my lawn. These only last for a day or two at most.

The visible, reproductive, parts of fungi are the familiar, short-lived, mushrooms or toadstools, but the actual fungus (the mycelium) lies below the soil or inside some other substrate such as wood or animal debris. This mycelium will last as long as conditions are right, which is why fungi are often found in precisely the same place from year to year. This specimen of Phaeolepiota aurea was also on my lawn, and in exactly the same place as last year. This rare fungus is thought to be a nettle associate (and I have nettles within a few metres of this specimen), but there must also be some other requirement, since the vast majority of nettle patches don't have the fungus.

Gathering pace

Some images have an artistic component to them, as well as scientific fact. I rather liked this crop on the shot of a female Melanostoma scalare on Dandelion.

Melanostoma scalare is one of the more readily identified of the smaller hoverflies due to the 'oven glove' shape of the yellow markings on the abdomen.

The male hoverfly to the upper right of the next image is Platycheirus clypeatus, but I can't see enough of the female to make an attempt at identification. She might well be a female P. clypeatus, however, since I often see pairs feeding together.

St. Marks Flies are so-called because they usually emerge on or around St. Marks day - 25th April. Things are running a little late this year, however.

My first Ichneumonid of the year was this tiny (7mm) specimen running around on and under a Bramble leaf. I saw a couple of them along the hedgerow and I presume they were looking for some moth or sawfly larva that I couldn't find.

Scathophaga sp. dungflies feed on dung as larvae, but are voracious predators as adults. I often see them poised and ready to pounce when suitable prey comes along.

Biter bit, part 2

I've previously explained how Tachinids are parasitic on larvae of moths and butterflies. This shot shows a Scathophaga Dungfly with a Tachinid as its prey. And so the food chain continues.


I found this dead Cicadella viridis on a grass stem. My eyes were drawn to the open-wing configuration and immediately my fungal radar kicked in. It turns out that several species of the Entomophthora family are parasitic on leafhoppers, so the research continues.


I'm pretty sure I can see signs of pink fungus appearing between the abdominal tergites.


I'm not quite sure what's going on with this Carder Bumblebee. Its baskets are empty, and it is moribund (and wet!). Maybe the hive has run its course for the year.


This is Neuroctena anilis, a snail-killing fly. In common with most other parasites, its flight pattern is quite distinctive, with lots of controlled hovering as they search for hosts for their eggs:


This specimen of Frosted Orange moth is a little early, which is pretty surprising, considering how cold and wet it has been for the past 40 or so days.