Excellent new species - Elephant Hawk Moth

Spotted the huge caterpillar of an Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor) in some vegetation at a field edge. If I ever get round to moth trapping I guess I would stand a good chance of seeing an adult in all its pink and green glory.

New Hoverfly Species - Eristalis horticola

I very quickly photographed four species of Hoverfly hanging around some flowers by the house. Surprisingly three of the photos were in focus and usable for id. Two turned out to be flies I had recorded before but the third is a new species for The Beeches, Eristalis horticola - the Stripe-winged Dronefly.

Roesel's Bush Cricket

I did see this for the first time last August but today I managed to get a photo and what a great looking Cricket it is.

Burnet Saxifrage

Recorded first in 2018 and then again in 2020 with both times being a single plant. This year - also a single plant though strangely I am not completely convinced it is in the same place. I think I need to preserve this plant from the deer/rabbit threat and then see if seeds develop which I can then facilitate dispersal of. That's the plan.

Scarletina Bolete

I last recorded this very colourful Bolete three years ago almost to the day. It was under Beech in the West Field. The colours are superb - a deep red/brown cap that brusies blue/black, a stipe that is scarlet flocules on a yellow ground, deep orange/red pores with yellow tubes above and yellow flesh that blues instantly when cut. There seems to be some uncertainty about nomenclature but I will follow Index Fungorum as usual and list it as Neoboletus luridiformis (Scarletina Bolete).

New Hoverfly Species - Banded Meliscaeva

I know that if I am to identify a Hoverfly to species level I am going to need photos of various parts and from various angles. Luckily today's Hoverfly stayed around long enough for me to get numerous photos and I was able to id it. The abdomen markings were quite distinctive and wing veination and the other features all check out. I can now add Meliscaeva cinctella (Banded Meliscaeva) to the short Beeches Hoverfly list.

Red Cracking Bolete

I am confident that the Bolete I found close to our Larch trees is the Red Cracking Bolete (Xerocomellus chrysenteron) despite the warnings about misidentification surrounding this particular Bolete. It ticks all the boxes,cap colour, thin red flesh layer, flesh slightly blueing when cut, angular pores turning a dirty olive yellow, red streaked stipe with a yellow apex, so I am happy to confirm. I found it in the same place a few years ago so this is not a new species for the site.

Return of a Muntjac

Last October we had a Reeves Muntjac here for the first time. Yesterday another sighting right by the house. It feels like they are increasing in the same way that all deer populations seem to be increasing in the Wye Valley. I guess control measures have taken a back seat during the pandemic. Certainly there are lots more reports of Fallow Deer in the village.

Waxcap #5 - Blackening Waxcap

Cheating slightly with an old photo as the Blackening Waxcap I found today in the East Field had been through the drum mower and was in pieces.

Good year for Slow Worms

Seen a few this year, perhaps a result of the amount of long grass and field margin areas this year. This one was a victim of the hay cutting but is a good size at more than a foot. It may be RIP but still a beautiful animal.