New Science

Salmonberry - Rubus spectabilis - is a highly invasive member of the Bramble family - originating in western North America - that was originally brought into Northern Ireland as cover for game birds. I saw my first specimens about 5 years ago in a couple of places, but now it's appearing almost anywhere I look in higher locations. The flower is a bright purple, and the berry is a salmon-pink colour (and is incredibly bitter, as I found out to my cost).

I examined a few plants recently and found a couple of leaf-miners:

'Agromyza ideana' on Salmonberry

'Stigmella aurella' on Salmonberry

The first specimen looks very much like Agromyza ideana, which is usually found on Raspberry, and the second looks like Stigmella aurella, which is found on Bramble. The current literature for miners in Ireland and Britain doesn't contain any records of these miners on Salmonberry, so these relationships are both new to science. (The European literature also has no entries for Stigmella aurella on Salmonberry, so that would likely be new to European science). Both mines are well-developed, indicating that these species will be successful in this new host. I'll have to write this up for the appropriate journals once the identifications have been confirmed by the appropriate experts.

Staying with mines, I checked a stand of Bracken where I had previously found my only specimen of the leafmining fly Chirosia histricina and I found it once again:

Chirosia histricina on Bracken

Underside of Chirosia histricina

Given the amount of Bracken that doesn't have this miner, it seems to have very specific microclimate requirements. The literature says 'shady places', and this is under Ash on a north-facing bank, which would certainly qualify as a shady location.

I was actually on a fungus hunt, but I didn't find much of interest in that respect. I did, however, spot a few specimens of the excellent bumblebee-mimicking hoverfly Arctophila superbiens:

Bumblebee-mimicking hoverfly Arctophila superbiens

I had only ever seen this species once before, in a location some 40 km away, so I was delighted to find it on my local patch. Identification is mainly from the very dark wing shade, the all-black legs and the orange hair on the thorax, whilst the abdominal hair is grey.

I coincidentally spotted the bumblebee which the hoverfly is mimicking - Bombus pascuorum - which is still around, but in decreasing numbers as autumn creeps in:

Bombus pascuorum on Devilsbit Scabious

The mimicry is very well-developed here, right down to the grey patches at the base of the wings.

I also liked this shot of the female Cranefly, showing those incredibly long legs:

Female Cranefly

Eyebright is showing all along the centre of paths now:

Eyebright

Eyebright is broken down into a number of species/subspecies. I'm sticking with Eyebright.

A couple of moths came to light on the one night we've had without rain:

Lesser Yellow Underwing

I caught this one at just the right angle to reflect the flash in its eye:

Flounced Rustic

And still they come

I was walking along the hedgerow and suddenly got an irresistible urge to look at the underside of some Lady Fern. I spotted some dark objects at the limit of my unaided vision and fired off a few shots. The result? Two new species and some serious eye-strain.

The two mirid bugs (collectively called Fern bugs) that follow both feed on the spores and sporangia of ferns. First is Monalocoris filicis, about 2-3 mm. long:

(Note the 'missing' sporangia on the above frond.)

And the second is Bryocoris pteridis:

As a bonus, I found that I had incidentally photographed the nymph of Monalocoris filicis on the same frond as the Bryocoris:

The main identifying feature between the two mirids is the length of the first antennal segment, which is less than the width of the head in the Monalocoris and as wide as the head in the Bryocoris. Head colour is also different.

I'm not sure what the precise habitat requirement is for Eyebright, but I only ever find it on woodland paths:
The flower is very much like an orchid, with very clear nectar guides and carefully-positioned pollinia. When you consider that bees and flies see in the UV spectrum, those guides must be like large flashing neon signs...."Come and dine here!".

Some of the Phyllonorycter micromoths have taken leaf-mining to a new level: they mine out a section of leaf and then make creases in its lower surface. As the leaf continues to grow and the creases deepen, the upper surface of the leaf buckles upwards, making a fine tent for the larva to feed and develop inside. This enables it to reach a larger size than would be possible if the space was limited by the thickness of the leaf. The following shot shows the underside of an early mine of Phyllonorycter maestingella on Beech:

Two moths which illustrate one of the difficulties of moth identification came to light: first Udea olivalis, which feeds on bushes and shrubs and is a micromoth:

And Small Fan Foot, which is a macromoth:
These moths are roughly the same size (about 15 mm. long), but they are found in different reference manuals. So unless you know which group they belong to, you don't know which book to consult. But if you can't identify them, then you need to look them up.....

Playing catch up

In the normal order of things, higher order species tend to prey on lower-order species, so wasps and bees tend to be predators on flies (or members of their own order). The Conopid fly Sicus ferrugineus, however, reverses this trend. These are parasitic on bumblebees, stapling a single egg into the soft underside of the worker's abdomen. This oviposition is said to take place in flight, but I have never seen it happening. Once the bumblebee has been parasitised it tends to change its feeding habits, presumably to the benefit of the fly larva.


Mesembrina meridiana is easily recognisable due to the orange wing base. The name indicates that it is a noon flyer, and that's when I usually see them.


Angelica has flowered and that means plenty of shots of nectaring insects. this is the Tree Wasp - Dolichovespula sylvestris. It has an overall orange feel to the colouration and the antennae bases are yellow. Facial decoration is a single small spot.


This male hoverfly looked unusual, but it consistently keys out to the very common Eristalis pertinax.


Trombidium sp. mites are usually seen scrambling over the base of plants as they search for rotting vegetation. This one was sunning on a grass blade.


Those of you who have been following my websites for a few years will know that this is one of my favourite flowers: Slender St. John's Wort - Hypericum pulchrum. The latin name shows that I'm not alone in that opinion.


This pristine flower of Meadow Buttercup - Ranunculus acris - caught my attention:


Finally for today - Eyebright. That's as far as the id is going.

Waiting for Angelica

Wild Angelica is my summer hunting ground for insects, but it's about 2 weeks late this year. So we'll have to make do...

Yellow Rattle is present in a few of the higher areas Take a close look at the complex leaves:

Fairy Flax has the alternative name of Purging Flax. Don't be tempted to eat any part of this plant:

There are many 'subspecies' of Eyebright; some with white flowers, others with lilac. I was under the impression that I have two cohabiting varieties, but I now believe that my local ones start off with white flowers and then convert to lilac later in the year. I have marked a few white specimens and plan to monitor them over the next couple of months.

Hogweed is standing in as my nectaring umbellifer of choice at the moment. I got this shot of the hoverfly Leucozona laternaria, which looks like a strangely monochrome version of its close relative Leucozona glaucia, which I will show soon.