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.

1400 species milestone

The weather has been very wet with some torrential downpours, but there have been a few opportunities for quick forays in the bad light.

During the long periods spent indoors, I got on with a bit more watercolour painting and updated my Species Index. I was delighted to click my tally over the 1400 mark.

Just to put the 1400 species into context, the vast majority of the photographs are taken within a 2-3 kilometre radius of my house. I have made a few forays further afield to ancient woodland, beach and limestone habitats, but the 1400 species should be regarded as our 'local' wildlife. If I spent more time travelling to e.g. coastal areas, then the species list would be much higher. 

I'll start with a few moths:

Coxcomb Prominent Moth

The Coxcomb Prominent - Ptilodon capucina - feeds on a wide range of deciduous trees, and would be much better camouflaged if it was found on a branch or on leaves.

The Riband Wave has two main colour forms, but all my specimens have been f. remutata, which are missing the grey central band on the wings:

Riband Wave f. remutata

The Riband Wave feeds on many low-level herbaceous plants.

The White Ermine is a very common moth at this time of year. I saw this male specimen and decided to get a shot of those wonderful antennae:

Male White Ermine, showing antennae

White Ermine also feeds on low-lying herbaceous plants such as Docks.

Some of our tiniest moths are also the most beautiful. This Micropterix aruncella is only about 3-4 mm long:

Micromoth Micropterix aruncella

The larval stages of Micropterix aruncella are not known from the wild, but they are thought to feed at the base of plants.

Hoverflies are now becoming more numerous, despite the bad weather.

Here are a couple of shots of Episyrphus balteatus, which is very recognisable due to the paired black stripes on the abdomen:

Episyrphus balteatus hoverfly

Episyrphus balteatus hoverfly

These shots are of two different specimens, but I note that in each case the rear left leg is the one that is used to grab the first anchoring point.

One of my favourite hoverflies is Leucozona lucorum:

The hoverfly Leucozona lucorum

It's a mid-summer species, and will soon be joined by the closely-related Leucozona glaucia, and if I'm lucky Leucozona laternaria.

Last week I showed an Ichneumonid in the process of laying eggs. This week, I managed to get a shot at the moment when the ovipositor is being released from its protective sheath:

Ichneumonid deploying ovipositor

A couple of points are worth noting here: the ovipositor is bowed towards the sheath, showing that some force is required to spring it forward. This force is released very suddenly, swinging the ovipositor very quickly towards the target. I estimate that the whole process of release to target is approximately 0.3 of a second.

Although I can't identify Ichneumonids to species (a fact that annoys me more than you will ever know), I know when I see one that is new to me, and I haven't seen this wine-coloured specimen before:

The very long antennae and lack of ovipositor suggest that this might be a male. I suppose it's worth pointing out that male Ichneumonids are quite rare, since they are an 'optional extra' in their reproductive process.

At this time of year, most of the grasses are in flower, making large swathes of colour in the hedgerows. This is Yorkshire Fog - Holcus lanatus:

Yorkshire Fog - Holcus lanatus

This, on the other hand, is the fungal infection Epichloe typhina, which actually stops the plant from flowering:  there is no flowering shoot above the fungus, just a single leaf.

Grass Choke - Epichloe typhina

Moths and Beetles

A few more moths to light. First of all, Plain Golden Y - Autographa jota:



Riband Wave - Idaea aversata:


Flame Shoulder - Ochropleura plecta:


I had no idea that the female 14-spot ladybird was so much larger than the male:


And now we have it...Rhagonycha fulva, a Soldier Beetle. A clear sign that the nights are drawing in.

More moths

Micromoths can be tricky to photograph: they tend to flutter around a lot, rarely resting. And, of course, they're rather small. I tend to see them in flight and then track them, trying to get a shot as soon as they land. This micro looks to be Elachista luticomella, but I need to get the id confirmed. These are leaf-miners on grasses such as Cocks-foot grass.


I always like to show images that give some indication of size. Here is the moth next to the very well known Froghopper - Philaenus spumarius. The froghopper, incidentally, is the inhabitant (as a nymph) of 'cuckoo spit', which can be seen on verges everywhere.


Another moth to light: It's the pale form of Riband Wave - Ideaea aversata ab. remutata.

It's interesting that I appear to be getting a procession of single specimens of species that I haven't seen before coming to the lights at my front door. I did change the lamp housings, but the bulbs are the same.