Sunday 31 July 2011

Golden eyes!

The Safari is going to start off with another wasp thingy for Cliff to have a stab at before we stick it on iSpot tomorrow morning...shame it was on the inside of the window and not in the best of light - look at that weird head shape.


This morning we opened the moth trap to find just a few Large Yellow Underwings...22 of them...had to happen sooner or later.
Dotted Clays were still on the menu, these are the two forms.

Common Rustics have several morphs - this is the palest

while this one is just about as dark as they get. Thought at first it might have been something else but about 98% sure its a Common Rustic.


And now a few unknown micros

No1...don't recall seeing this one before

No 2 - nice rusty colours - very small


No 3 - perhaps we should know this one



No 4 - one we really ought to know


No 5 - Crambus pascuella again?


And now your appitite is whetted - a pug for you to have a bash at.

Also in the trap was this Caddis Fly - not checked yet but it could be the same species as last week. A good dozen Water Boatmen - front swimmers, and a single Whirligig Beetle.


Biut what of the title - 'Golden eyes' - well have a butchers at this beauty - wouldn't mind finding one of these quartering the rough field on Patch 1 !!! This chap hasbeen rescued from someone who kept him in conditions that were far too cramped - so much so he couldn't fully open his wings. Now he is being trained to fly to the hand for displays.

We were at an event and had a Kestrel fly over, probably on the move, a Brown Hawker and what was probably a Common Hawker cruised about. butterflies included a good number of Gatekeepers ands some stonkingly fresh Red Admirals, at the death a Peacock put in an appearance in the local produce stall, probably checking out the fresh veg, pickles, cakes and jams.
Where to next? Back to the patches and things are on the move so you never know...


in the meantime let us know who's looking at you in your outback.

4 comments:

cliff said...

Evening Dave

You're waspy thing, or wasp thingy, is a beauty, I reckon it's either a Digger Wasp, namely Ectemnius continuus - or - a Bee-killer Wasp [Philanthus triangulum], I'm leaning towards the former, let me know what the Ispotter think.

Gonna thumb through my books later looking for your moths.

BTW - the Bat-ulator 2000 picked up it's 1st results from the garden last night, very fleeting, but deffo some bat activity, Pippistrelles I think.

Cliff

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

Many thanks for the possible IDs Cliff, will let you know which the iSpotters go with, interesting looking beast - wonder how many are lurking out there in the garden? Really need to invest in a good micro book
Nice one with the bats - still noteably absent here.

Cheers

D

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

Cliff was right! A digger wasp - Ectemnius sp it is...according to a entomologist chap from the Natural History Museum - well done Cliff!

Cheers
D

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

The moth we ought to know we've worked out is Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana, and the caddis is the same species as last week's.

Cheers

D