Close Encounters

Here are some of the friends we made during our recent camping trip:

A Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar, who seemed intent on reaching the top of our umbrella as we curled up under it to get out of the sun for a while.  It made it, despite a few flicks into the grass when I thought it might drop on our heads.

Marbled White - rescued from the sea by Rob and drying off in Annie's hands.

 Finally ready to fly.

 Back at the tent, we had a visit from a Common Toad - caught it trying to get in the food box.

Distinguishable from the Common Frog by it's warty skin, less bulbous eyes and stumpier back legs and body.

 We all had a hold before he hopped away.  I didn't know at the time that toads secrete a poisonous substance from glands behind their eyes called Bufotoxin.  This can cause a reaction in humans from an itchy rash to cardiac failure.  Toady here must have known we were just curious and wouldn't harm it, but I think I'll be more respectful in future.

 Annie and I saw many moths over the week, some very teddy-bearish.  Unfortunately they were all in the ladies loos, and marching in there with my camera may have caused some alarm among fellow campers, so I resisted.  However, this pumpkin seed that turned out to be a  Common Footman, showed up in our tent as we were folding it away.

Here photographed on Rob's boot (after several futile attempts to focus on it while it sat on my lens, grinning at me through the barrel, well, perhaps not grinning.)

Cocooning In June

The year is racing by and photos I'd put aside for a moment are now a month out of date!  No less interesting though and now seems a good time to bring out this photograph of an Ichneumon Wasp's cocoon (probably campoplegine).  I had no idea what was in the cocoon until this morning, when David Notton, invertebrates expert from the Natural History Museum, helped me out on iSpot.

The Ichneumon's cocoon is the white bit that looks like a bird dropping (possibly to put off predators).  The dried wrinkled skin above is the remainder of the caterpillar it parasitised.  A happy coincidence that I should get this id just after posting the egg-laying Ichneumon video.

Also from June are these two photos showing weevil pupa inside intricately woven cocoons.  These are likely to be from the Curculionidae family -  'True Weevils' or 'Snout Beetles'.

I find cocoons and what's going on inside them absolutely fascinating.

Video Of Ichneumon Wasp Laying Eggs

 I was in the garden this evening, taking down the washing, when this Ichneumon Wasp caught my eye.  Needless to say, I flung the washing at the basket and ran indoors for my camera.  

Ichneumon wasps are parasitic; laying their eggs on, near or inside the larvae of other insects or spiders.  She will detect the larvae by the smell of their droppings and by sensing vibrations in the wood with her antennae.  I was incredibly lucky to have caught this female just as she was driving her long ovipositor into an old branch to lay her eggs in the crack.

You can see her walk up and down the wood, carefully laying one egg after another.  The long black sheath used to protect the ovipositor when not in use, helps her to balance.  When the eggs hatch, they will consume the host.  They will overwinter in the wood and pupate in the spring before emerging. 

Update (13/7/12) - David Notton at iSpot has given me a possible id for this ichneumon wasp of Ephialtes manifestator.  (Thanks David)

More From The Campsite

A few more photos from our recent camping trip.  We pitched our tent on a clifftop, on the south of the Island, where we had spectacular views of the English Channel at the expense of feeling the full force of the high winds I mentioned in my previous post.  This Kestrel was a frequent visitor to the skies above our tent, its source of food being a ravine 20 feet in front of our pitch.  Despite seeing it often, this was my best shot.

 When we collapsed the tent at the end of the week, we found this Dark Arches moth in the folds.  It's quite a large moth, with a wing span of 46-54mm.

I found it quite handsome, and photographing it made a good excuse for me to hide in the tent while Rob wrestled the sleeping bags back into their cases.

This Lesser Stag Beetle walked across our path later in the day, fortunately nowhere near our tent, which was now packed away and in the back of the car.  I'm not sure how well I would have handled finding this in my sleeping bag!  In fact, I have a fair idea and it wouldn't have been pretty!  At up to 32mm in length, it's a whopper of a beetle, and those mandibles are very intimidating!

Dragging out the last moments of our little holiday, we stopped in a lay-by for a picnic lunch.  After chucking half the packing out of the boot of our car to find the not-so-cool-anymore cool bag and slapping some, by now, misshaped bread round some warm cheese, I took my camera for one last walk along the hedgerow and snapped this Wasp Beetle.

As the name suggests it is a (long-horned) beetle that looks like a wasp.  These beetles also move and make buzz-like noises similar to wasps, but they are harmless.

Video Of A Click Beetle

We've just got back from a few days camping on the south of the Island.  The wind didn't let up at all and so most nature photography was impossible.  However, a few bugs took refuge from the weather in our tent and shortly after we set up, our daughter, Annie, alerted us to this acrobatic beetle.  

(Turn up your volume to hear the click)

When these little beetles are scared or upside down they snap a spine on their prosternum into a corresponding notch on their mesosternum which produces a loud click and launches them into the air.  A useful trick, and one that kept us amused for some time.

Planthopper

Another minute insect, about 3mm long.  My eye seems to be drawn to them at the moment.  This is a female Ditropis pteridis, a planthopper from the Delphacidae family.  Its wings seem ridiculously small to me, approximately 1/4 the length of the abdomen in females (as below) and 1/2 the length in the male.  I'm not sure if they can fly, but they can hop like grasshoppers for quick transportation.  Generally, though, they walk slowly to avoid detection.

This is the only Delphacid to specialize on bracken, which is where I found it.

Parasitoid Wasp (Perilampidae)

This tiny wasp, about 3mm long, has been making itself at home in our back garden.  The first time I saw it, it was hanging on to a garlic mustard leaf during the high winds of last week.  As the wind blew, the leaf flung the wasp about, flashing the brilliant red/gold of it's thorax.

My thanks to an expert at iSpot who says this is likely to be a parasitic wasp, Perilampidae.

In this species, the larva rather than the egg-laying female gains access to a host; once there, it continues to burrow into a secondary host - another parasite fly or wasp larva.  It makes me think of those wooden Russian dolls, that when taken apart reveal another smaller one, which when taken apart reveals another one, and so on.

As far as I can work out, these incredible looking wasps are not common in the UK.  It's rather special, and each time I see it I have to run for my camera.

If anyone knows more about these little wasps, I'd love to hear about it.

Common Yellow Dung Fly

As I'm still a newbie to nature blogging, I have to research most of what I post.  Thanks to this little chap, I now know a lot about poo.  I know, for example, that a mound is the best place for laying eggs, rather than a pointy bit or crevice to avoid drying out or drowning.  I know that a pile of dung is a savage hunting ground; larvae eating each other, adults ambushing other adults who come to lay their eggs.  Fortunately, adults will hunt food elsewhere too, and occasionally wash dinner down with some nectar; so I was able to capture this little beauty on some hogweed.

He appears to have jewels embedded into his thorax.  I haven't found reference to this on the internet; perhaps it's moisture catching the sunlight.

He was a willing model for me so I took advantage and photographed him from all angles.  When I left to go in search of another subject, I glanced back and saw that I had flattened out the 3 foot tall grasses surrounding him in an impressive crop circle.  Still need to work on that subtle approach, I think.

Great Green Bush-cricket

At first glance, you might think that one of Disney's most loved characters, Jiminy Cricket, is living out his retirement in our local meadow.  But if you look closer you'll notice, not only is he not wearing a top-hat, but this little cricket has yet to grow some wings, so he must be a youngster.  Thank you to experts at WAB, who helped identify this as a male Great Green Bush-cricket.

 This little nymph will grow to a massive 40-50mm, which makes him not only the largest species of cricket but the largest insect, in the UK.  Well, actually, the females claim that title, having an extra 20-25mm of ovipositor, but we'll keep that to ourselves as this species can give a nasty bite and we don't want to upset him.  Jim (as I've come to think of him) will go through several moults or morphs, finding his wings in stage 6, after which he'll earn himself another medal - loudest singer!

Great Green Bush-crickets are found in limited areas of the south.  Rob photographed an adult female, last year, in the same meadow.  I wonder if this is his mum?

Mating Glanville Fritillaries

A break in the clouds yesterday, had me reaching for my walking boots and field bag, and dashing out of the house before you could say, 'What about the washing up?'  Each year, about this time, Island nature lovers are on the look out for the Glanville Fritillary.  This stunning butterfly, once found as far north as Lincolnshire, is now mainly confined to the south coast.  A couple of weeks ago, I noticed they were about, but they didn't settle very often and when they did it was frustratingly out of reach.  Yesterday however, they were distracted, as you can see.

Below you can see the characteristic orange spots with black centres on the yellow post-discal band on the hind wings.

According to How To ID Butterflies by Richard Lewington, the male is lighter in build and colour than the female, which would make him the bottom one in my photo.  You can have a guess at the sex while in flight (the butterlies, not you) as the male will patrol habitat edges looking for a mate, while the female generally lays low among the vegetation.

239,998 Flies To Go...

When I began this blog, I imagined that I'd be posting mainly birds and butterflies, but I'm finding myself drawn more and more to the little insects.  I hadn't realized just how many and varied they are.  A fly, for example, is not just the common Housefly my mother used to swat away from our dinner, saying, 'You don't know where it's been,' well, you do, but you don't want to think about it.  In fact, there are estimated to be 240,000 species in the Diptera (two wings) order, and each one incredible close up.  This male Black Snipefly, Chrysopilus cristatus for example has a beautiful wing pattern.  The golden hairs on its thorax suggest that he is quite fresh.

This Long-footed Fly, one of the Dolichopodidae, is another attractive fly.  A female, I think, due to the gap between the eyes, not to mention the piggy tails.  

Of course, my fascination with flies might have as much to do with the weather and not much else being around as their complex beauty.  Time will tell.  Thanks to Ian at WAB for helping with ID!

Happy Families

A few nights ago, my daughter and I went for an evening stroll to our local lake.  A family of mute swans patrolled the perimeter, the parents hissing at anyone who dared to stand too close.  I must admit, while I find the cygnets adorable, adult swans make me very nervous.

Swans are family orientated.  The male and female usually stay together for many years, sometimes for life.   The male helps build the nest and look after the babies.  A stark comparison would be Mallards; a couple here, also doing a turn around the lake.  While they look like the perfect couple, I've read that the male will only stay with the female until she lays her eggs; then he'll be off to find another female, or even, occasionally, a male.  

The sun soon slid down the sky, leaving a beautiful glow on the water.  As the ducks made their way to their nests, I linked arms with my daughter and we headed home to ours.

Red Squirrel

It was a rather grey, chilly day, and this red squirrel looked like he wished he had his winter coat with him.  I know I did.

Over here, on the Isle of Wight, there are no grey squirrels; which is a relief for our native reds as greys can carry squirrel pox, a disease which shows no symptoms in greys yet is fatal for reds.  The population of reds here fluctuate, but there is enough woodland for 3,500 squirrels.  This is the first I've seen this year, and it made my day.

'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'

I imagine little kids inside bubble clusters like these, blowing into beakers of water with straws and getting rather more than they bargained for.  In reality, a froghopper or leafhopper nymph is busy sucking up sap and making a bubbly froth with the excess, in order to protect itself from predators, extreme temperature and dehydration.

I really wanted to get a shot of a nymph too, but after a lengthy search, I concluded that they must have all been busy blowing bubbles.  However, that evening, as I cleared up in the kitchen, I found one struggling to right itself on the table.  It must have hitched a ride home on my clothes.  Here it is, on the left, making some new friends.

Interesting fact:   Nymphs can jump 100 times their length, while some species of adult froghopper can jump up to 70cm vertically - which is higher than a flea can jump despite being lighter.  Impressive.

Stealth Mode

Something I need to work on is my approach.  So far, I've learnt not to come between my subject and the sun, and that a sudden sneeze is alarming for small creatures.  I followed this Greenfinch around for quite a while, but eventually managed to get a half decent shot, albeit from a distance.

 A little later, I startled this Male Common Blue, as it rested on the path in front of me.  I watched it fly around and land again, then practised my stealth skills.  After one false alarm (I'd crept excellently up to a blue flower that looked a lot like a butterfly) I managed to track it and snap it, resting on some Salad Burnet.

Guttation

The grapevine leaves in our garden, yesterday morning, had droplets of water around their margins, yet were perfectly dry in the middle.  I'm pretty sure this is an example of 'Guttation'. 

  Over night, most plants close their stomata (pores) which prevents transpiration; so, when there is high humidity or a lot of moisture in the soil, we get 'root pressure'.  Water is then forced out through 'hydathodes' (a secretory structure - either glandular hairs or water pores) which are usually found at vein endings.

  Sometimes the water droplets contain calcium salts, which leave a white crust behind (not evident here).  This is not to be confused with 'dew'.  Dew is moisture condensed from the atmosphere onto the plant surface - in guttation, the water comes from within the plant. 

Sunday in the Meadows

The metallic blue/green of this Common Malachite - Malachius bipustulatus - caught my eye yesterday, as we walked through the local meadows.  I read here at 'Bugs and Weeds', that the small buff projections at the base of it's antennae indicate a male.

We crossed the river over a little wooden bridge, and stumbled into a damselfly wonderland.  This female Azure looked like it was about to tuck into dinner.

While a male Azure warmed in the sun.  Apparently there are 5 common types of blue damselfly and it's hard to tell them apart.  A lot depends on the marking on segment 2 (in the male Azure it is a U shape) and how much blue is on segment 8 and 9.

Many thanks, again, to the folks at WAB.

Small and Spotty

I photographed this tiny ladybird in a field of buttercups, last week.  It's a 16 Spot; only 3mm long, and distinguishable from the similar 14 Spot not only by the 2 extra spots, but also by the fact that it's spots are rounder and some of them are merged.

 The following morning, as I sipped my coffee in the back garden, this little fella crawled out of a brick beside my chair.  Again, only about 3mm long, and to my unpracticed eye it looked a very interesting ladybird.

 However, Klaas, from WAB, kindly informed me that it is not a ladybird, but a Dermestidae - Attagenus pellio, more commonly known as a Two-spotted Carpet Beetle.

These seem rather scarce on the NBN Gateway map; whether that's because they are considered pests, are so small, or because they really are uncommon, I don't know.  I do know, however, that it's wings looked amazing in the morning sunshine.