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.