Hornet mimic hoverfly returns

On the evening of 28th June, I found a female Volucella zonaria resting on ivy leaves. This is one of our most impressive and I think our largest hoverfly species and one that I have recorded in the garden annually for some years. It is a hornet mimic and uses hornet nests to raise its offspring - there are certainly plenty of hornets in the vicinity. Indeed, the first time I noticed one resting on a purple verbena, I thought it was a hornet until closer inspection revealed otherwise. Initially, I had to look this one up on google as I am no expert on hoverflies, but I do enjoy seeing them each year. They were originally centred around the London area, but are undergoing a range expansion. The attached photos are two different females from previous years - the females are identified by the fact that their eyes do not meet and have a yellow line separating them. In fact, I generally record females and to date have only seen one male.

Two new moth species

I ran the moth box again on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th, as it was hot and dry. I managed to catch 340 macro moths of 61 species, which is a good catch for me. Even better, I added two new species to the garden list, to take it to 257. The first on the 26th was a Scarce Silver-lines, a lovely bright green moth that I had been hoping to catch at some stage, as they should like the local habitat. The second, the following night, was rather unexpected in the form of a Golden Plusia, one that I had to look up. Apparently common all over Britain, but not known before the late 1800s. I think the total of 36 Light Emeralds on the 26th was a new record for that species and there were quite a few year ticks.

Harlequin Ladybird breeding

Harlequin Ladybird is another species that has recently colonised Britain and is now seen with some regularity. They are very variable in terms of coloration and spotting, but are quite distinctive and fairly easy to identify from our native spotted species. I have seen a few adult Harlequin Ladybirds in the garden over the last few yeras, but not in any great numbers. Last week, I noticed a Ladybird pupa on an ornamental iris leaf and with help from the local BMERC yahoo group was able to identify it as a Harlequin Ladybird pupa, so there is evidence of breeding in the garden. The attached photos are not too good and a bit blurred, but show the black and white hairs at the front of the pupa, which is diagnostic. Curiously, when threatened, the pupa raised its back end as a form of defence, I guess to make itself look bigger.

More Bombus hypnorum sightings

Having seen a worker nectaring on bramble flowers outside the kitchen window again over the weekend, I noticed a queen and two further workers nectaring on a doitsia at lunchtime today, so there must be a nest somewhere nearby.

Two new moths

I ran the moth trap on both Friday and Saturday night (19th and 20th) and whilst numbers are still low for the time of year, I did manage to trap two new moths for the garden - one on each night. First was a Haworth's Pug, a rather small, fairly non-descript moth with a distinctive red/orange base to the abdomen. Second was a Broom Moth, which I needed some help to identify as it was rather battered, but it shows quite a pretty red and orange base colour to the wings. A probable Freyer's Pug was also trapped, but this was not identified 100% and needs further examination for confirmation - unfortunately, I no longer have the moth, so it will not be added to the list. Eyed and Poplar Hawkmoths were nice to see, the Eyed only the second adult recorded here, though I have seen a caterpillar as well.

Increase in bird activity

After the quiet spell in late May, bird numbers have picked up considerably bolstered by the new arrival of juveniles. The bird feeders are once again a hive of activity and are being emptied at quite a rate. Over the weekend, many juvenile blue, great and coal tits were seen, along with my first juvenile robin and great-spotted woodpecker of the year. Young greenfinches and chaffinches are also much in evidence. Two female blackbirds are gathering nest material again, presumably for second broods, whilst my two fledgling tawny owls can still be heard 'squeaking' in the adjacent wood.

This morning, June 22nd, a female blackcap flew through the garden, which is an interesting sighting, as there are no singing males on territory in the vacinity.

Southern Hawkers Emerge

I noticed three Southern Hawker exuvia (larval skins) in pond vegetation this morning, which are my first of the year, though I haven't seen any dragonflies as yet. This is probably the commonest dragonfly larva in the pond, though Broad-bodied Chaser used to be quite numerous. Common Darter is present in smaller numbers and Emperor only breeds erraticly. I only get two breeding damselflies, Large Red and Azure.

A Bombus hypnorum (Tree Bumblebee) worker was nectaring on bramble flowers outside the kitchen window at lunchtime.

Further to my earlier post on Broad-bodied Chasers, a male was seen last Saturday (June 13th) and looked to be territorial, which is great following a blank year. Although he was around for some hours, he has not been seen since.

Moths

Since moving here in summer 2003, I have run a moth trap (Skinner with 125W bulb). I am, however, rather erratic with its use, dependent on weather, work and family commitments. To date I have logged 253 macro species and about 70 micro, although many of the micros are a bit of an after thought and heavily reliant on local expert Peter Hall. I have a photo record of almost all moths species seen. Last weekend, I ran the trap on the nights of June 12th and 13th and had a rather disappointing cumulative catch for the time of year of 140 moths, but of 53 macro species - nothing unexpected! I have attached 2 photos of rather nice moths, a Mocha, which is a Notable b species, but regular here and a Blotched Emerald. Both were first for the year and the Mocha was one of two caught.

Bombus hypnorum - Tree Bumblebee

Just seen a Bombus hypnorum worker resting on a Magnolia on a rather damp afternoon. This very distinctive recent colonist from Europe was first noted in the garden last year when a queen appeared for a few weeks in May. She would disappear through a hole in the mortar of the house brickwork and I assume she was looking to nest, but nothing came of it, although workers were seen nectaring on bramble flowers later in the summer. This spring, another queen appeared early in the year and kept going through an external air brick and finding its way into the lounge - after three or four times of this happening, I decided it was best to relocate her. The attached photo is the queen from 2008 sunning itself on the house wall.

Broad-bodied Chasers

June 1st saw a female Broad-bodied Chaser sunning itself in the lilac for almost one hour. I had seen a Broad-bodied Chaser fly over the previous day. When the pond was first built 5 years ago, Broad-bodied Chaser was one of the first dragonflies to visit and they were regular for about 3 years, with emergent larvae seen. However, none visited last summer, although teneral dragonflies were seen to fly off, so I wonder whether the one yesterday and today were from my pond or not. I have read that this species is fond of new ponds, but can then depart, so I wonder if any will return again to breed. The attached photos are a teneral and a male on territory from previous years.

Notable Cranefly

On May 31st, my wife found a rather attractive Cranefly sitting on a leaf in a flowerbed. After posting a picture to the BMERC e-mail group, it was identified as a female Ctenophora pectinicornis, a Nationally Scarce species with larvae developing in dead wood - there's plenty of that in the adjacent wood! There are at least seven previous Bucks records, but it's not common. It held its ovipositor in a strangely upright position. Also seen in the afternoon was a Lesser Stag Beetle - seen most years.

Painted Lady Invasion

On May 25th, I witnessed a small part of the biggest Painted Lady invasion into the UK for a generation. The first butterfly seen was from the lounge, as one briefly descended to a flowerbed and then flew off south (?) over the house. Later in the garden, ones and twos were observed at tree top height flying over roughly every minute in a North to Northwesterly direction - fantastic. The attached photo is not from the garden, but from a local walk a few years ago.

Tawny Owls Fledge

Since moving here 6 years ago, a female Tawny Owl has used the garden as a regular winter roost. We put up an owl box in the lone oak tree, which has been used as an alternative roost, usually in inclement weather. Last year the box was used as a nest site for the first time and although one fledgling was seen in the entrance, a badly timed holiday meant nothing else was seen that year. Fortunately, this year the box was used again. The first of two fledglings appeared towards the end of May and was joined by its younger sibling shortly afterwards. They appeared side by side for several days. On the evening of May 28th, I watched an adult feeding the pair slow-worms, it was bringing in one every few minutes from the wood and it was quite comical to see the owlets trying to wolf down the wriggling reptiles. On this evening the elder owlet made its first jump to a nearby branch and could be seen walking around and flapping through the branches. The following evening, the second owlet made the same jump for a branch, but missed and fluttered down to the ground. The adult female was on guard for the remainder of daylight and fortunately, the youngster could be seen back up in the branches the following day. They have now both departed to the wood and can still be heard calling for food.