Orchid update

It's been a good if somewhat strange Orchid season (so far). A lot of Common Spotted rosettes were seen early- for four years I have recorded the number of rosettes spotted by 28th May. The totals for 2017- 2019 were 61, 68 and 67 respectively. The total Common Spotteds for those years were 131, 204 and 206. This year the 28th May total was 208! Actually there are a number of factors in play- first of all this year the season for flowers is clearly ahead of usual- maybe by a week or even two. Secondly the dry April and the trend through management to reduce grass volumes, has kept grass growth low so the rosettes are much easier to spot. As of today the Common Spotted count is at 268 so that is a healthy increase of 30% and there is still a chance of spotting a few more but at the end of May I was wondering how many there might be based on that huge increase from 2019. The only slightly negative factors are that I have only recorded 17 Broad-leaved Helleborines so far and last year I had 23. There's still time though so I'll leave a final report until the end of June.

Young Fallow Buck at close quarters

I had a bit of a staring match through a glass door at a young Fallow Deer about three metres away. It allowed me to get this close-up photo but the light was fading so it is a bit grainy. I think he was genuinely puzzled as to what I was, but eventually he wandered off.

New Species - Common Bracken Sawfly

I saw this insect settled on a Bracken frond and took some photos without knowing whether it was a Bee, Wasp or Fly. It turns out to be a Sawfly and that is only the second species that I have recorded here (the other being the Giant Wood Wasp - which isn't a wasp!). I'm pretty sure this is a female Common Bracken Sawfly (Strongylogaster multifasciata) although there is a very similar and rarer Sawfly that it is difficult to distinguish. However the colour of the last Abdominal segment and the colour of the hind tibia lead me to the conclusion that I have got it right. I am busy removing Bracken at the moment but I'm sure there will be plenty left for the Sawfly's purposes.

Peacock caterpillars

I'm having to leave various stands of nettles as I do some clearing in the garden area. One lot had Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars and another lot Peacock caterpillars (photo above). I returned after a couple of hours and they had almost stripped the nettle they were on and were moving onto neighbouring nettles.

New? species- Red-headed Cardinal Beetle

I am sure I have seen these critters before but I can't find that I have recorded them anywhere so I guess it is technically a new species for The Beeches. There are three Cardinal Beetles in the UK and the Red-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis) is the most common.

Dryad's Saddle - looking good

The Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) that lives on one of our big Ash trees is looking particularly fine and healthy at the moment. Given the fragile future for Ash trees it looks like it will outlive the tree it is feeding on.

Damselflies ovipositing

Despite the lack of water in our small pond and the preponderance of weed both Azure and Large Red Damselflies were busy ovipositing yesterday. It shows how a little bit of habitat, however unpromising, gets used. The photo is of Azure Damselflies which can be difficult to separate from other similar blue Damselflies but luckily the markings are clear enough to make the ID.