New species - Southern Hawker

No picture I'm afraid but I am fairly certain that the dragonfly who seems to come round regularly to check on the slowly developing pond that I created this year is a Southern Hawker (Aeshna cycnea). I am working to rectify the basic design flaw of the pond in that it has not been cut into the slope enough so it is threatening to overflow before it covers the full allocated surface area or gets deep enough at the deep part. Having laid the liner and it being fairly full of water I am having to make adjustments by gradually digging out the uphill bank and building up the downhill bank. The alternative was to drain it but once I saw the amazing variety of life it has attracted already I was not willing to go that route. The hawker appears, does one or two slow circuits of the pond as if considering carefully whether it will be a suitable place to bring up a family and then clears off.

Fleabane - interesting new species

I came across the delightful flower Fleabane yesterday growing in the least diverse of our four fields. It is interesting in a couple of ways. Firstly it is yet another example of new plant species which are still coming up three years after we bought the site and altered the management of it to a wildlife-friendly regime. I suspect that this particular plant may have germinated because of some minor disturbance of the soil as I have been removing some Alchemilla mollis that had strayed into this particular field as a result of its former use as a quad bike track. Secondly it is a plant of, and indeed an indicator species for, marshy meadows. I have seen an old map and that clearly indicates that this part of this field was boggy at one time. It is the lowest part of the site and since it has been managed for wildlife and not had quad bikes compacting it the rushes in this area are spreading slowly but surely. In terms of meadows indicator species that makes it 35 for the site (including species of neutral, calcareous, acid and marshy meadows). Some of those species are not actually in the meadows, particularly the few calcareous indicators which of course are actually found on the drive or parking area. Nonetheless it is building up to an impressive total.

New moth species - Ruby Tiger

These moths are coming thick and fast now and mainly they are coming to me rather than me having to find them. The Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa fuliginosa) flew in to the bedroom last night and displayed an stunning electric bright red body and co-ordinating lighter red underwings with beautiful reddy/orange wings. Unfortunately the picture doesn't show the bragadoccio colouring of this moth as by then it had settled down on the lampshade but it was gorgeous.

Puzzling Eyebrights

A single small patch of Eyebright appeared last year which I guess was the meadows management kicking in and providing suitable germination conditions for some existing seeds. The trouble is that Eyebrights are a very difficult area when it comes to identification. There are about 20 UK species and telling one from another is not easy - and that's before you consider their habit of hybridising. To cut a long struggle short I ended up thinking they were likely to be Euphrasia nemorosa but just might be E. confusa. This year I have four patches of Eyebright, three in the field that the original patch appeared in and one in a separate field. Here comes the puzzling part - there seem to be at least two species and maybe three. Certainly the Eyebrights in the second field are different - they have long glandular hairs on their leaves which are only found on certain species. I have measured, photographed, researched and puzzled and still have no firm conclusion on which species we have. The standard method of confiming an Eyebright ID is to send six specimens to a qualified referee but three of my four patches have less than six plants so that's a non-starter. My amateur conclusion is that I have E. confusa and E. officinalis ssp monticola. I realise that this is unlikely but I can only follow the evidence as I see it for my conclusions. At the point when I realise that I have measured some aspect of the plant in the wrong way, or not interpreted some results correctly, or whatever error it is, then I will happily defer to the experts. Pictured is part of the original patch of Eyebright that I have tentaively decided are E. confusa. How appropriate!

New moth species - Riband Wave

Another moth I found in the house and was able to identify - this is a Riband Wave (Idaea aversata) - brilliantly named as a number of moth species seem to be. I have been promised the loan of a moth trap and at that point this gentle moth identification process will become insane I am sure. Like a few of my recent photos this is not the best quality but thankfully good enough for identification.

New moth species - Snout

I didn't have any trouble identifying this latest in the series of moths I managed to find during the day and photograph. This one was in the house and clearly had a very long....well... snout. There are in fact a whole family of snouts but this is the common or garden one Hypena proboscidalis or just plain Snout.

New flower species - arable weeds

I had cause to dig over some ground in the garden (which is mainly just an extension of the meadows) for the first time this year - firstly to plant a few blackcurrant bushes and secondly to lay an electricity cable underground. Three months later I have a new set of flowers presumably from seeds that have been lying dormant since the last time some ground was dug over - probably a decade or more ago. Fat Hen, Bifid Hemp Nettle, Many-seeded Goosefoot and Lesser Swine Cress have all appeared on the disturbed ground and are all new species to me. If I am right then this is another strategy (certainly for the Fat Hen and the Goosefoot at least) - produce thousands of long-lived seeds and then wait for the ground to be disturbed again. That is why those type of flowers are regarded as pesky arable weeds because arable farming produces exactly the right conditions for them - but every year. Pictured is the Many-seeded Goosefoot (Chenopodium polyspermum).

NEW SPECIES - Dark Green Fritillary

It's a red-letter day when a new butterfly species makes its presence known here at The Beeches and particularly when that species is the magnificent Dark-green Fritillary. The picture is awful as I grabbed the nearest jar to capture the butterfly temporarily and make its ID and the glass was not conducive to a clear picture. Nonetheless it is great to post the picture of the first fritillary seen on site. I note that it was today that the idiot who used to be Environment Secretary claims that environmentalists don't know a fritillary when they see one. Well I do Paterson you complete muppet. The Dark-green Fritillary lays its eggs on violets. Hopefully our Common Dog Violets will satisfy them and I look forward to more fritillaries next year.

New species - Labrynth Spider

I usually don't even bother attempting the difficult task of trying to identify spiders but there was an extraordinary web in the grass of the meadows so I thought I would see if it belonged to any particular species. The web was a thick spiral funnel at pretty much ground level with a looser superstructure above it. A large spider sat in the mouth of the funnel and retreated into it when I made my presence felt. On checking with my spider book it seems there is only one species that builds this sort of structure in Britain and the description of the spider matches as well so I am confident this is the Labrynth Spider (Agelena labrynthica). The funnel structure is built after mating and the egg sac is suspended deep in the labrynth where the female stays until she dies. The phot doesn't do justice to the structure but it wasn't possible to get a clearer shot without disturbing the whole edifice.

New Species - Beautiful Golden Y moth

I am gradually building up the moth species for the site. I started with the day-flying ones and now I am photographing those night-flying moths that I disturb accidentally. I clocked this as a Golden Y but it was only when I got the book out that I realised there was a Beautiful Golden Y and a Plain Golden Y. Luckily the photo gave enough info to postively ID this as Autographa pulchrina. I particularly admire the green colour on the wing. I have another couple of photos of moths to ID so hopefully there will be some more new species to add to the list.