Insect of the Day

[mrs fish]

I thought this was a good time of the year to start a "Insect of the Day" thread
I'm sure like me you would all like to share your sightings of the day

Yesterday was the first real day this year to see butterflies

I was pleased to see two little blues and a peacock

Two days on the trot I have seen 14 spot ladybirds and no harlequins

[nightshade]

Mine is a solitary Bee Fly which haunts the Forget me nots, too quick for a photo (too quick for me ) I captured a little on video

[Toby]

I was at work yesterday but managed to snap a Rove Beetle (c.9mm) on a wall:

[mrs fish]

I have just seen two Scarlet Lilly Beetles, look out lillies !!

[Swirlything]

I spotted a rather nice Peacock Butterfly yesterday morning

[Wild-Woman]

Ok-I'm showing off now!

Today we've seen-
Brimstone, male and female
Large White
Peacock
Red Admiral
Dingy Skipper
Grizzled Skipper

Bee-fly
Several mining bee species
Several bumble bee species

Scorpion Fly
2 species of Pyrausta moth

Several hoverfly species.

and a Common Wasp Queen.

Phew! Great stuff!

[Geoff F]

Seen in my garden (and photographed). First Speckled Wood butterfly this year; several Melanostomas flying around; a very small cricket type creature, mostly dark brown with a full length pale top stripe. I will search my books later but may have to return to this forum to ask for an ID.

[aeshna5]

I've been to Fowlmere + Paxton Pits today + seen the following:

7 species butterfly:

Peacock
Comma
Green-veined White
Orange Tip
Brimstone (loads!)
Speckled Wood
Holly Blue

Also Large Red Damselfly, Dark Bush-cricket nymph, Tortoise Beetle, Cassida sp + 7-spot Ladybird.

[oxycera]

A local earth bank produced a male Priocnemis perturbator (Spider-hunting wasp). This enabled me to positively confirm the closely related but rarer P.susterai (2nd Yorks record) which I found at the same spot 2 years ago.
All my previous perturbator had been females. So, a great day!

[Kayleigh]

While watering some lupins in the greenhouse I saw lots of aphids Then on closer inspection of the pots I saw sucked dry aphids on the bottom of the pot. Then looking even closer found a very tiny spider you cant beat natural control..So mine is my tiny spider. Haven't a clue what it is and too small for my camera to get an id.

[jennyb]

Mrs Fish, you beat me to it. I was going to start this thread with a beautiful moth that was looking though my kitchen window.



I believe it is a Purple Thorn - Selenia tetralunaria - but I may be wrong. It is beautiful, whatever it is.

Jenny

[Robert Hooke]

I saw a Saint Mark's Fly on Friday, and it seemed a bit early in the year, but I've just checked and Friday was indeed Saint Mark's Day

[GuyF]

Yesterday I was very surprised to see my first dragonfly of the year, a Four-spotted Chaser, this seems very early?


Insect of the day though would have to have been Emperor Moth, I saw a few of the beautiful males fluttering over the heathland yesterday, the first time I've seen them. Unfortunately none of them landed so I couldn't get a photo.
Also seemed to have been a big emergence of Large Red Damselflies, there were loads around, as well as Green Tiger-Beetles, Orange-tips, Brimstones and my first Speckled Wood of the year.
Guy

[nutmeg]

What a great selection of insects, Guy!

Mine of the day is the first 14-spot ladybird I've seen this year - quite a bit later than I was seeing them last year.

[mrs fish]

I will be pleased when the warm sunshine comes back , only a house fly to report

[Malcolm Banks]

Hello, I would be grateful for some help with my insect of the day. I have just built a wildlife pond in my garden and am enjoying watching the (mostly invertebrate) colonists arriving. I have observed a small fly with a thin black body (ca 2.5-3mm long) flat skimming rapidly very close over the surface, often appearing to “ski” on the surface, creating a small wake. They can be seen to pick up small fragments (could be v small insects) from the surface and then fly off for a while, so may be scavengers/predators. I should like to identify the fly but cannot find anything that matches the description in my few insect books or on the web. Would anyone be able to help with this please, either directly or via a link to an expert?
Thanks in advance, Malcolm, Surrey






Malcolm Banks

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

While watering some lupins in the greenhouse I saw lots of aphids Then on closer inspection of the pots I saw sucked dry aphids on the bottom of the pot. Then looking even closer found a very tiny spider you cant beat natural control..So mine is my tiny spider. Haven't a clue what it is and too small for my camera to get an id.

Without the aphids you wouldn't get the spiders, bugs, ladybirds, lacewings &c so stick with it! Dried aphids ('mummies') can be sucked dry, ones dead of old age or ones from which parasitoids have emerged - it's a hard life being an aphid!

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Banks

Hello, I would be grateful for some help with my insect of the day. I have just built a wildlife pond in my garden and am enjoying watching the (mostly invertebrate) colonists arriving. I have observed a small fly with a thin black body (ca 2.5-3mm long) flat skimming rapidly very close over the surface, often appearing to “ski” on the surface, creating a small wake. They can be seen to pick up small fragments (could be v small insects) from the surface and then fly off for a while, so may be scavengers/predators. I should like to identify the fly but cannot find anything that matches the description in my few insect books or on the web. Would anyone be able to help with this please, either directly or via a link to an expert?
Thanks in advance, Malcolm, Surrey








Malcolm Banks

Pond Skaters I think!

[aeshna5]

It's been an incredibly soggy day in London today so no bugs noted but yesterday after the downpours we had some afternoon sun + on a Buddleja there were 3 pairs of copulating Common Green Shieldbugs + a couple of single ones. On adjacent foliage were several basking Harlequins.

[Kayleigh]

Mine was another damn lily beetle..On my beautiful lily's..I seem to be picking one off a day.

[derekmc]

Have just seen my first Orange-tip of the spring - always a sight that cheers me up.

Derek

[Kayleigh]

I saw 4 orange tips and evicted a shield bug from the greenhouse

[mrs fish]

A large white in the distance when the sun popped out

[nutmeg]

Two pied shield bugs (Tritomegas bicolor) and some duck-billed hoverflies (Rhingia campestris), in the garden.

There were some butterflies and other insects too, but the ones above were new for the year.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by nutmeg

Two pied shield bugs (Tritomegas bicolor) and some duck-billed hoverflies (Rhingia campestris), in the garden.

There were some butterflies and other insects too, but the ones above were new for the year.

I've never seen that common name for Rhingia campestris before- certainly a distinctive species.