Insect of the Day

Cheryl · #1 (**permalink**) 23-05-2009, 06:51 PM

My insect of the day is this Grizzled Skipper - another first for me

Kayleigh · #2 (**permalink**) 23-05-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutmeg

Kayleigh, your damselfly is a Large Red. Nice shot

Thank you I can edit it now..
the shot could have been better the thing kept moving I couldn't get really close..

RoyW · #3 (**permalink**) 23-05-2009, 08:31 PM

My insects of the day were the Variable Damselflies that were the most numerous damselfly species at Stodmarsh/Grove Ferry.

Roy.

aeshna5 · #4 (**permalink**) 23-05-2009, 08:40 PM

A good day at Ashdown Forest where lots of Common Heaths + a few Brown Silver-lines plus good sized larvae of Drinker, Oak Eggar + Fox Moth.

Also my earliest ever Emperor dragonfly hawking , 3 Broad-bodied Chasers + a few Large Red Damsels.

Green Tiger, Cardinal (P. serraticornis) + Wasp Beetles were enjoyed by the group but my "insect" of the day wasn't one but a spider. I've only ever seen the species once before from a moth trap in Dorset, but today we had 4 of the incredibly bright green (2 also with 3 on the abdomen) of Micrommata virescens- a stunning beastie!

Wild-Woman · #5 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 06:37 AM

A couple of early Southern Hawkers were patrolling the ditches yesterday on the marshes. Good to see them back again.

Cheryl · #6 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 08:07 PM

Mine today is a Cardinal Beetle

pressld2 · #7 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 11:00 PM

My first damselflies of the year.

Azure...

And blue-tailed...

Dave P.

aeshna5 · #8 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

A couple of early Southern Hawkers were patrolling the ditches yesterday on the marshes. Good to see them back again.

Are you sure about these? it seems incredibly early + habitat possibly unusual. Just checked British Dragonfly Society sightings + there was one seen emerging yesterday in Devon which author says is their earliest ever.

Habitat makes me think possibly Hairy Dragons. Any woodland around these ditches?

aeshna5 · #9 (**permalink**) 24-05-2009, 08:51 PM

Quite a spectacle watching Painted Ladies pouring though on migration.

Otherwise my first couple of smart Burnet Companions flitting amongst the Common Blues.

RAINBOWRUSSELL · #10 (**permalink**) 28-05-2009, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jez

That's a Cockchafer/May fly you spotted RAINBOWRUSSELL!

Thanks Jez!
Is this also known as a May Bug???Seem to remember when I was young(!) swarms of them coming in over the cliffs at Burton Bradstock!!We had to stay in the car 'cos they hurt when they fly into you!!!!!

agrumpycow · #11 (**permalink**) 28-05-2009, 05:40 PM

This is my insect of the day

I have no idea what it is exactly (anyone feel free to id for me!) but it is the first 'inflight' shot I have taken so I'm quite pleased with the result!

aeshna5 · #12 (**permalink**) 28-05-2009, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agrumpycow

This is my insect of the day

I have no idea what it is exactly (anyone feel free to id for me!) but it is the first 'inflight' shot I have taken so I'm quite pleased with the result!

Good one - a relatively scarce species- it's a Downy Emerald, which favours woodland pools.

aeshna5 · #13 (**permalink**) 28-05-2009, 06:44 PM

Painted Lady has to be insect of the day again. Wonderful to watch a dozen or more fluttering around + nectaring on a clump of Red Valerian, as others flew through.

Back home they favoured the perennial wallflower, Erysimum "Bowle's Mauve" again; also a favourite with the bees. A plant worth getting as it has an extremely long flowering period.

agrumpycow · #14 (**permalink**) 28-05-2009, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Good one - a relatively scarce species- it's a Downy Emerald, which favours woodland pools.

Wow, that's great. Cheers for the id

A woodland pond was where it was found!

pressld2 · #15 (**permalink**) 29-05-2009, 05:17 PM

We saw lots of painted ladies at RSPB Bempton Cliffs yesterday. Here's one (taken with my 400mm lens, not my macro)...

Dave P.

aeshna5 · #16 (**permalink**) 29-05-2009, 06:37 PM

A beautiful fresh Brimstone Moth disturbed from some climbers- such a brilliant yellow!

nutmeg · #17 (**permalink**) 29-05-2009, 07:22 PM

Got my first definite sightings of the year of Painted Ladies this morning

. Quite a few flew at considerable speed through my garden; not really settling. Perhaps I need some of the perennial wallflower, Erysimum "Bowle's Mauve"!

Jason Green · #18 (**permalink**) 29-05-2009, 08:11 PM

Mine will have to be the stunning Sage Leafhopper Eupteryx melissae - a first for me!

LWBLA · #19 (**permalink**) 03-06-2009, 02:54 PM

Can anyone give me an idea what a uniformly light brown winged insect might be?! I know that's a huge ask, but despite this site telling me my image had been uploaded, it's now telling me I don't have any images in the Gallery so I can't show you the photo I took. It's got small wings for its body size, about one third of the way down from its head, is about 6cm long and 1cm wide. Its body has a kind of scaly look in that it has lines that kind of look like segment lines. I thought it might be a grasshopper, but it's less robust looking than a grasshopper.
This is a rubbish description isn't it?! If anyone can tell me how to upload photos in a way that actually works, I'll try sending a photo. Or, if you think you can identify the insect from that fantastic description, please send an image and I can tell you if that's it.

Thank you.

FungiJohn · #20 (**permalink**) 03-06-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWBLA

but despite this site telling me my image had been uploaded, it's now telling me I don't have any images in the Gallery so I can't show you the photo I took.

If anyone can tell me how to upload photos in a way that actually works, I'll try sending a photo.

Thank you.

Hi LWBLA

Please see:

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fo...otos-info.html

John

LWBLA · #21 (**permalink**) 03-06-2009, 03:29 PM

Thanks John. Success now I hope.

RoyW · #22 (**permalink**) 03-06-2009, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWBLA

This looks like the shed skin of an Emperor Dragonfly to me, and the quoted size of 40mm fits well with this as well (the last few segments of the abdomen are broken off, so it would actually have been slightly longer).

Presumably there is a pond somewhere near where you found it.

Roy.

LWBLA · #23 (**permalink**) 04-06-2009, 10:11 AM

Hello Roy. There is a pond about a metre away and we had a beautiful dragonfly visit it last year (see photo), so that makes a lot of sense. Thanks very much for all the help.

Jason Green · #24 (**permalink**) 04-06-2009, 01:25 PM

My IotD will be... the barkfly Valenzuela flavidus. Very pretty in all its yellow. It had a strange fascination with a snail, it kept walking in circles on one as if the snail was a raft in a pond and was trying to find a way to get off!

RoyW · #25 (**permalink**) 04-06-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWBLA

Hello Roy. There is a pond about a metre away and we had a beautiful dragonfly visit it last year (see photo), so that makes a lot of sense. Thanks very much for all the help.

As your 'beautiful dragonfly' is an egg laying female Emperor it makes even more sense! Usually Emperor larvae take two years to mature, but they can sometimes mature in one year (eg. if they are in a warm pond with plenty of food available) - most likely you also had the adults visit two summers ago.

Roy.


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