More critters at Cranford Park

Yesterday I arrived at the park at the same time as the Bluebell Walk was starting. But the sun was out, which meant I might get a reasonable butterfly count on the transect. Dilemma dilemma ! What to do?!? I followed my heart and set off on the 3 mile transect. More about that later.

 

In the afternoon when it was warmer I had great success with three new hoverfly species for the year. One of which I am particularly excited about as one of my sightings is not only a patch tick for me, it is also the first time I've ever seen one.

It's a very small hover called Baccha elongata and I could only find one. It was so small that the three photos I managed to grab are not that clear but I've had my identification confirmed this morning.

 I made the one mistake of looking away and lost sight of it, but at least I know the area to look for it again......

 

 

My second 'first of the year' hover was the lovely furry Cheilosia illustrata.....

 

 

and my third was the beautifully marked Myathropa florea. My photo isn't too clear but on the thorax is the 'batman' symbol, one of the best ways to ID this pretty little critter.....

 

 

But back to the butterfly transect. It seems I should have gone on the Bluebell Walk after all. It was definitely cooler in the morning than in the afternoon, in fact I saw more butterflies after I had completed my transect than during it.

The transect was very disappointing. Just 12 butterflies of three species, with the Speckled Wood being the most prolific like last weekend.....

 

12 butterflies / three species

Green-veined White 1

Orange Tip 4

Speckled Wood 7

 

The male Speckled Woods are still guarding their chosen territories and I spotted several flying around chasing everything else away from their 'patch'.....

Some are starting to look a little tatty now and that could be down to territorial fighting or could be the result of escaping from a hungry predator like a Great Tit.....

 

 

After the transect I also had several Holly Blues, a solo Peacock and two Commas....

 

Peacock

 Look at the difference between the two Commas. One is in almost pristine condition, the other is very very worn and ragged, yet was still managing to fly......

 

 

There's a nice spread of Greater Stitchwort along one path of the butterfly transect. Also know as Star of Bethlehem, you can sometimes hear the seed heads popping in June.....

 

 

The 'Lords and Ladies' at the end of the transect walk have nearly all been nibbled away......

 

but I found another spread in the copse in the Memorial Garden so hopefully some will mature enough to show the stunning but poisonous berries later in the season.

 

It wasn't a bad day for ladybirds. Three species seen.....

 

Cream-spot ladybird

7-spot ladybird

 and plenty of Harlequins. My photos show just a few of the different colourings and markings these non native ladybirds have....

 

 

Again I spent some time at the wood circle. Another wild flower that has been in bloom for a couple of weeks now is the Cuckoo Flower aka Lady's Smock. It's one of the earliest most attractive flowering wild flowers and attracts a range of insects......

 

Bee-fly on Lady's Smock

hoverfly Syrphus species on Lady's Smock

male Orange Tip butterfly on Lady's Smock

 Lastly after the success of finding my first male Scorpion Fly of the year on Friday, yesterday I found a pristine female.

You can see the difference between the two 'tails' below.....

 

Female

Male

I found this whilst researching them and it pretty much sums them up perfectly....

 

The scorpion fly is a strange looking insect which is found in gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges, particularly amongst nettles and Bramble. It has a long beak-like projection from its head that is uses to feed, scavenging on dead insects and frequently stealing the contents of spider's webs. It lives up to its name by sporting a scorpion-like tail, which the male uses in courtship displays. Adults usually mate at night, but mating can be a dangerous game for the male, who might easily be killed by the female. So he presents her with a nuptial gift of a dead insect or a mass of saliva to placate her - the equivalent of a box of chocolates! The resulting eggs are laid in the soil and the emerging larvae live and pupate at the soil surface.

 

How romantic ! I think I'd be happier with a bottle of wine.