Red Admiral completes the butterfly set for 2014

The only butterfly of the 20 species I have recorded over the four years we have been here, that I hadn't seen this year, was the Red Admiral and one made itself known today. It had a large chunk taken out of its wing, possibly by the Spotted Flycatcher I saw chasing butterflies a couple of weeks ago, but suprisingly it seemed to have no trouble flying. Normally I would say the Red Admiral was a handsome butterfly but perhaps not in this case.

New species - Weasel

No photo I'm afraid - even if I had had my camera in hand I doubt I would have got the picture. A weasel stuck its head out of an entrance to the bank vole palace that is our garden wall and then disappeared again. We were wondering why we hadn't seen any sign of the bank voles for a couple of weeks and now we know why. There must be stoats around as well, given our rabbit population but no sightings yet.

First waxcap of the season - Spangle Waxcap

I'm determined to get a full list of waxcap species this year for our site. Having just found the first one I have identified it as Spangle Waxcap (Hygrocybe insipida). I find some waxcaps difficult to id but given the slimy cap and stem and the decurrent gills I am happy with this one.

New species - Wasp Spider

This startling spider has built an extraordinary web using a metal cage that was protecting an orchid from the rabbits as the main supports and featuring a vertical spiral pipe. The large spider (it's a female) sits in full view at the centre displaying its bright black and yellow colouring for all to see. These female Wasp spiders are apparently known to eat the males on ocassion starting during mating - I wasn't sure whether this was just an apochryphal story.

NEW SPECIES - CLOUDED YELLOW

Having just decided that all the butterflies around were Tortoiseshells this stunning Clouded Yellow rested briefly in front of me. A new and perhaps surprising species for our meadows here in the Wye Valley. That makes 20 species for the site since we moved in.

Plague of Tortoiseshells

Perhaps plague is the wrong word but they are certainly dominating the butterfly scene at the moment. The large quantities of Tortoiseshell caterpillars on our nettles has turned into a large quantiy of adults. The buddleia bush outside the lounge is currently hosting about 20 adults.

Industrious swallows

Swallows have been flying in and out of the barn all summer - I am wondering whether this is a third brood they are raising or a second. There seem to be two youngsters only this time. They have reused the nest used in 2012 rather than the nest they used last year. They have of course ignored all three ceramic swallows' nests I have installed.

Southern Hawker - confirmed

As per my post last week I was right that the dragonfly claiming ownership of the new pond was a Southern Hawker. It even tried to scare me off today but I managed to get a photo - not good quality but it was in flight. The pond is nearly complete and is already teemimng with insect larvae and their predators.

A good year for.......

...Common Blues (as per photo above), Gatekeepers, Burnet Companions (hundreds and hundreds earlier in the year), Eyebright ( four patches and at least two species now as opposed to one patch last year), Common Spotted Orchids (a 50% increase over last year), Lousewort (increased about fourfold), rabbits unfortunately (we have been overrun with them), yellow rattle (spreading fast and dominant in some patches this year), new plant species (notably Spring Sedge and Quaking Grass as well as a handful of new arable weeds), moths (I seem to be recording new species regularly) and Fritillaries (the first ever record for me of a fritillary was the single Dark Green Fritillary last month but it's a start).

New moth species - Cinnabar

I have a mixed view on Ragwort. On the one hand I appreciate its attractiveness to insects but I am also wary particularly if I am going to have contractors in to make hay or haylage, something I am considering just at the moment. I tend to pull it before it seeds, particularly in the fields themselves. Anyway I had a couple of plants on the parking area in front of the house and I decided to pull them as they are about to seed. I pulled one and then as I discarded it on the compost heap I noticed there were a couple of caterpillars which of course turned out to be larvae of the Cinnabar moth which relies on Ragwort. I quickly chnaged plans and translocated the caterpillars to the other Ragwort where they are happily feeding away. Anyway that is a new moth species - whcih seems to be the motif at the moment.