Mixed bag

These are the last photographs from my usual stretch of hedgerow for several months. The day after I took these, the hedge was cut down to the ground to a distance of a metre from the road on each side for 200 metres. So there won't be anything worth posting from there until next spring. I don't know why the hedgecutter chose this totally inappropriate (and illegal!) time to do the cutting ("it's only weeds and bugs"), but we have to live with these decisions. Unfortunately, the wildlife can't.

Last year I showed a photograph of the capsid bug Lygus rugulipennis. This is its nymph from exactly the same area:

Nymph of  the capsid bug Lygus rugulipennis

If you follow the link back to the original picture, notice how different the adult is from the nymph. This is typical in bugs, and makes identification of nymphs that bit more difficult, since it's normally the adults that are shown.

Udea lutealis is one of the larger micromoths, and is to be seen on practically every verge and hedgerow at the moment. The faint pattern diminishes as the moth gets older, and mature specimens (i.e. a few days old) appear to be a uniform cream in colour:

The micromoth Udea lutealis

I spotted this larva of the Sawfly Arge gracilicornis on Bramble. I had hoped to follow its progress for a few days, but that is no longer possible:

Larva of the Sawfly Arge gracilicornis

I should also mention at this point that I will be unable to continue my 5 year study of the sawfly Nematus pavidus this year, since the Willows were also threshed to ground level and won't have leaves until next year. I hope I can find some more specimens elsewhere.

The fungal rust Puccinia graminis infects many different grasses. This infection is on a stem of False Oat grass:

Fungal rust Puccinia graminis on False Oat grass

I haven't seen very many specimens of the wasp-mimicking hoverfly Sericomyia silentis this year. This one was on Male Fern on the other side of a deep ditch:

Hoverfly Sericomyia silentis

Earwigs are universally despised and, I think, a bit unfairly. They are quite unusual in that they tend to stay in family groups, whereas most other insects abandon their eggs/larvae. This is a male (the pincers are curved) Forficula auricularia:

The earwig Forficula auricularia

This one was photographed in my garden: I found it when checking a pot full of Fuchsia cuttings. Notice how small the wing covers (the squarish area next to the middle leg) are. Earwigs can actually fly, but I rather suspect that they are reluctant to do so because the wings have to be folded around 40 times to get them into such a tiny space.

New identification.

Angelica est arrivé

The annual opening of the Angelica is a time to rejoice: the readily-available nectar is a major food resource for many insects, especially those with shorter tongues. Over the next few weeks I expect to photograph bees, wasps, ichneumonids, Ectemnius wasps, moths, beetles, sawflies and butterflies, many of them sharing the large flowerheads. This is a close-up of the social wasp Dolichovespula norwegica, which builds its nest in trees:

Dolichovespula sp. wasps appear to have a 'long face', which can be readily confirmed by the gap between the eye and the jaw.

Episyrphus balteatus is one of the more recognisable hoverflies, due to the unique 'twin-bar' marks on the abdomen:

Having recently shown the White Plume moth, it's nice to show the much more common Emmelina monodactyla plume for comparison:
(These also feed on Convolvulus sp. bindweed)

Family associations are a feature today. This is Udea lutealis, a very common relative of the Udea olivalis micromoth that I showed the other day:

I always think that ferns make an excellent background for insect photos.