31 July 2022 - Hollingworth Lake, Garden
« Newer | Older »Great White Egret, various invertebrates
Had a relatively quick walk around the lake this morning due to commitments at home. The Great (White) Egret was still present. I could see it from Hollingworth Road feeding on the exposed mud, but as I walked along Rakewood Road, an idiot paddle boarder got too close to the reserve and flushed all the birds including the egret, which flew over the trees onto the reserve pool. Fortunately it was still there when I reached the reserve.
In the foliage by the road just beyond the Wine Press, I came across a couple of interesting Shield bugs, which turned out to be Hairy Shieldbug, or Sloe Bug (Dolycoris baccarum). Quite common apparently, but rather spectacular with their purple colour and black-and-white edges (connexivum) and antennae. In the Pavilion Wood, a Ragwort had two or three Cinnabar larvae feeding on it, but not a great deal else was to be seen before I had to get back.
In the afternoon, it was warm and sunny, and we spent some time pottering in the garden, weeding and so forth, which presented a few opportunities to identify inverts. A small orangey Garden Spider has spun a web on the back door of the garage, and I disturbed a moth which fortunately settled on a Leylandii, proving to be Epiphyas postvittana, the Light Brown Apple Moth. There are plenty of examples of spinnings on the various garden plants which appear to be of this species.
While pulling weeds from the bed by the fence, I disturbed a tiny moth which I was able to capture, proving to be Caloptilia azaleella. I then realised that our two Azaleas were riddled with the mines and leaf-cones of this species, so there will probably be many more to come. Unfortunately I couldn't photograph the moth as it flew into the depths of one of the plants and disappeared.
Spurred on by this I had a look at the Hawthorn near the bottom of the garden and found several mines of Phyllonorycter leucographella, and some leaf-rolls or cones of Parornix anglicella. On the photo of the latter you can see two folds or leaf-cones, one at the front and a smaller one at the back of the leaf.
Hairy Shieldbug, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 800 (view full size image)
Great White Egret, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 1000 (view full size image)
Great White Egret , 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 1000 (view full size image)
Cinnabar Larva, 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 1000 (view full size image)
Garden Spider, 1/160 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 1250 (view full size image)
Light Brown Apple Moth, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 5000 (view full size image)
Caloptilia Azaleella Mine, 1/320 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 100 (view full size image)
Caloptilia Azaleella Leaf Cone, 1/250 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 100 (view full size image)
Phyllonorycter Leucographella Mine, 1/160 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 1000 (view full size image)
Parornix Devoniella Mines (view full size image)