Wildlife garden bug safari

After my encounter this morning with the basking Nursery web spiders, I popped back to the wildlife garden after a storm had passed and there was some promise of a sunny spell. The spiders weren't out, but I found a few interesting invertebrates about, including two new species for the garden.

A Peacock, which together with a couple of large whites were the only butterflies about.

 The first nice surprise were a couple of Green Thistle Tortoise Beetles (Cassida rubiginosa), which I had never seen before, both of them on knapweed:

Then I found some Rophalus subrufus, including a couple mating.

A Green shieldbug came out on the leaves to bask.

And then I came across some nursery web spiders, one of them a male prowling...

...demonstrating how agile they are moving across leaves, hiding behind them quickly if I moved a bit too fast or too close.

...and a placid female sunning herself on the oregano of the herb garden.

 Just before leaving, another new species for me, a very pale grass spider, Tibellus oblongus, contrasting with the green leaves.

Cherry pollinators fest!

It was a warm, sunny afternoon and the cherry was at full bloom (three weeks earlier than last year), attracting a menagerie of bees, butterflies, queen wasps and flies. I did saw a honeybee, but I think even without this species, the cherry would be fully pollinated given the number and diversity of insects on it.

 Several bees were firsts for the year, including Bombus lapidarius, B. pascuorum and Melecta albifrons. I saw the first male red mining bee yesterday but they seemed to be everywhere today.

Bombus lapidarius queen 

Anthophora plumipes female

Queen wasp grooming

Possibly a dronefly

Male Osmia bicornis

and a Peacock also settled repeatedly on the blossom to feed

A small shining metallic wasp fell on the small pond and was rescued.

The first water beetle in the Victorian bath that makes our mini pond, awaiting ID.

Melecta albifrons, a cuckoo bee that parasitises A. plumipes, feeding on Muscari

 Melecta albifrons,  resting on a daffodil

And finally, a shot of a Red Mason Bee patrolling the Muscari.

Cemetery Bugs

There is a large cemetery nearby and today me youngest daughter came with me and decided to have a bug safari. It was the first visit in the year that I have taken many more invertebrate than bird photos.

A pine Ladybird on orange lichen, Xanthoria parietina 

A group of the blind millipede Blaniulus guttulatus, with Porcellio scaber and a while slug under a piece of wood

A colourful cluster of Harlequin ladybirds appeared to have emerged from a crack in a damaged tree and some were flying off

Peacock sunbathing

A carpet of Lesser Celandines

Flowering Willow

Harlequins and Amaurobius (with nests?) under broken headstone.

Sunshine at last

After stormy, windy and very dark days, there were some long sunny spells on monday and I came across several stirring insects during my daily wanderings. A cold queen Bombus terrestris on the windowsill, with the tiny sprightly springtail, Entomobrya sp, possibly nivalis, on a walkabout around her.
 Then I disturbed a moth in the front garden, the plume moth Amblyptilia acanthadactyla.
But the best find was a very fresh looking peacock settled on the pavement by a fence, with is pictured at the top of the post.

Entomobrya sp.

Bombus terrestris queen.

The plume moth Amblyptilia acanthadactyla

Legs for laying eggs

Most Nymphalid butterflies, a group of large species that include the Peacock, Painted Lady, Comma and the Monarch, have modified forelegs, smaller than the rest of the legs and normally tucked in under the head. In the Peacock (above) the forelegs are relatively large, but not used for walking and they even have the same dark colour as the body, giving the impression that the butterfly has only four legs. Why is this? Despite their vestigial appearance, experiments have shown that the forelegs have a very important function, especially in females. In the investigated Nymphalid species (mainly the Monarch and the Queen butterfly), the tips of the reduced forelegs in females - but not males - have sensory organs associated to spines, which they use to recognise specific chemicals from the larval foodplant when ovipositing. They drum the leaves with their forelegs, puncturing the leaves and releasing plant chemicals allowing their receptors to detect them (what is known as contact chemorreception). The antennae and the tips of the other legs also contribute to selecting the foodplant, with tapping with the antennae and drumming with the mid legs also observed when selecting foodplant. The forelegs are part of a very complex sensory system, possibly providing a 'backup' with the sensory spines protected from damage, by the forelegs being reduced and not being used for walking. Butterflies can be very selective in choosing foodplants, as they not only have to determine the species of plant, but also how healthy or how old the leaves are, so it is not surprising that they use a complex sensory system to assess this, which we are only beginning to understand.

This video from Arkive, shows a female Peacock tapping a nettle leaf with its forelegs while laying eggs.



More information

Baur, R., Haribal, M., Renwich, J. A. A. and Staedler, E. (1998). Contact chemoreception related to host selection and oviposition behaviour in the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus Physiological Entomology, 23, 7-19 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-3032.1998.2310007.x

Myers, Judith. 1969 Distribution of foodplant chemoreceptors on the female Florida queen butterfly, Danaus gilippus berenice (Nymphalidae)." J. Lepid. Soc 23: 196-198.

Peacock eyes

I just like this shot from today, a Peacock nectaring on buddleia, beautifully showing its four eye spots.

Big Butterfly Count

In the last few days, I have been carrying out surveys for the Big Butterfly Count. I did a count in my garden (5 sp.), two in a local wildlife garden (5 and 6 sp.) and two in a local cemetery (3 and 6 sp.). Given the weather, mostly cloudy with some sunny spells, I am quite pleased with the results. Their results website is quite good with an interactive map where you can check the results submitted at a local scale or for a particular species (over 10,000 surveys already submitted) here. The following photos illustrate my results.

 A Common Blue male today, feeding on oregano. The male regularly patrolled his territory in the wildlife garden, stopping occasionally to feed.

Gatekeepers were plentiful today. This female rested on a Knapweed plant.

My local cemetery has a thiving population of Speckled Wood. Lots of territorial disputes were going on yesterday.

This Red Admiral took advantage from a brief sunny spell yesterday near a buddleia growing in the local cemetery.

This is the first year I see Small Coppers in the wildlife garden.

A Holly Blue feeding on lavender

A Common Blue female on Oregano.

Two small whites courting, the females abdomen raised meaning 'not interested'.

Two female Small Whites sunbathing.

Making cherries

We've got a small cherry tree in our garden. In addition to making a spectacular show when it blooms, it produces the sweetest cherries and, although the crop can be a bit hit and miss depending on the spring weather, it is a bug magnet for a few months. The tree only started flowering a week ago but today was buzzing with bees. I spent some time this morning watching the blossom and trying to ID the bees that are feeding on it or visiting. Anthophora plumipes and Osmia rufa males have incorporated the tree into their patrolling routine, circling around the blooms, chasing other bees and keeping track of the females. Beautiful, velvety shiny red female Andrena fulva were also feeding on it as were female A. plumipes. I stopped counting the honeybees as there were quite a few. To the high pitched buzz of the Anthophora bees, the deep buzz of queen Bombus lapidarius and Bombus terrestris was added. These busy lot of creatures were involved, without realising it, in fertilising the blossom and contribute to making the cherries that hopefully we'll eat this summer.

Peacock butterfly

Bombus lapidarius

A full Andrena fulva sunbathing near the tree.

Outside the blooming season, which lasts a few weeks from April to May, the tree growing buds are covered on black aphids that in june produce a sweet sap, loved by bumblebees, especially Bombus terrestris and Bombus hypnorum. I have also seen Bombus pratorum feeding on the nectaries at the end of the leave stalks. Aphids also attract scores of ladybirds. The cherries themselves are prized by wasps - and birds.