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| looking back towards the hide from the damp meadow |
The Ladybird quickly made friends with a little girl who was visiting the Reserve with her Mum and brother. In fact, the 7-spot seemed very reluctant to fly away home and say goodbye to its new friend! It was eventually persuaded to stay behind on a Dock while the family continued their walk. These keen-eyed youngsters were very adept at spotting all kinds of bugs and beasties which I was able to photograph and sometimes identify each time our paths crossed during the afternoon.
Here is the full list that I recorded:
Birds:
A very quiet afternoon for birds - just a fleeting sight of a Wren at SC210694
Butterflies:
SC210694 2 x Holly Blue ( one on ivy, one of its caterpillar food plants); Wall Brown; Common Blue; Small Copper; 2 x Speckled Wood; unidentified white flying
SC209694 ( near Ginnie's bench) Small Copper on Cushag ( ragwort)
SC208694 ( damp meadow area) Green Veined White; 2 Small Copper in courtship behaviour; 2 x singleton Small Copper on Sneezewort; several Common Blue of both sexes, by 5 p.m. some were starting to roost. 2 x Red Admirals on Hemp Agrimony; Painted Lady on Hemp Agrimony.
SC208694 3 x Speckled Wood
SC208695 Speckled Wood
SC209695 Green Veined White x 2; 2 x Small Copper on Cushag (Ragwort)
SC209694 ( gorse boundary ) Speckled Wood x 2; Small Copper
SC209694 ( near hide) Common Blue.
SC209694 Silver Y moth
SC208695 unidentified micromoth ( hard to see markings but possibly Udea lutealis)
Numerous grass moths throughout the Reserve.
Ladybirds:
SC210694 7-spot on First Aid Box
SC209695 7-spot in gorse bush
SC209694 (gorse boundary) 7-spot x 3
Other:
SC210694 Field Grasshopper ( we now also have Common Green Grasshoppers on site this year)
SC209695 Unidentified Harvestmen + spider hanging upside down
SC208694 Gorse Shieldbug nymph in gorsebush
SC209695 4 x adult Gorse Shieldbugs + several nymphs ( various instars)
SC209695 unidentified small black bug*?
SC209695 tiny solitary bee (?) or ant (?) on the bare earth where vandals held campfire*
SC209695 tiny mating flies or possibly micro moths.*
SC208695 several species of Hoverfly throughout the reserve especially on the Hemp Agrimony
SC208694 honey bees on Hemp Agrimony.
SC210694 extremely small beetle on first aid box *
SC209694 Marsh Cudweed *
SC208694 Various Hoverflies throughout the Reserve, especially on Hemp Agrimony.
SC208694 Honey Bees on Hemp Agrimony
SC209694 Various Hoverflies on Cushag ( Ragwort)
SC209694 Leaf Hopper
Items marked * are a new record for the Reserve ( or will be once I can find out what they are!)
Those of you who regularly follow the Blog will know I have been concerned about the lack of Gorse Shieldbugs this year. So it was a real pleasure to see them and their progeny back on the reserve again on Tuesday.
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| 7-spot Ladybird with Isabella |
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| close -up of 7-spot on First Aid Box |
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| Ladybirds are often to be found in gorse bushes which probably afford them some protection from predators |
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| this 7-spot was on bracken along the gorse boundary |
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| another 7-spot well hidden in the gorse |
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| this 7-spot was on the nettles near Ginnie's Bench |
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| the damp meadow was awash with Common Blue butterflies |
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| I think we've had more Common Blues at Ballachurry this year than ever before |
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| towards 5 o'clock some of them were starting to roost |
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| here's a close-up |
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| this Hemp Agrimony was deliberately planted close to the path a few years ago so that the wildlife it attracts could be observed at close quarters. Here a Painted Lady and 2 x Red Admirals |
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| a closer view of the Red Admiral |
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| not just butterflies either- here a Hoverfly is enjoying the nectar Eristalis species |
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| and a couple more - Eristalis species |
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| another Hoverfly - Eristalis species again Hemp Agrimony is a native wild flower but worthy of any garden , I think. We have lots! |
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| Small Coppers on the other hand seem to prefer the Sneezewort |
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| they too seem to be enjoying a good year |
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| the Sneezewort is spreading - this one is near the red bed Small Copper again |
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| This Small Copper flew up into the brambles from a Cushag ( Ragwort)plant just below |
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| the Cushag ( Ragwort) near the Bowman Bench attracts Small Coppers every year |
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| one of several Speckled Woods on the reserve yesterday |
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| micro moth, possibly Udea lutealis |
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| Silver Y moth - an immigrant which usually arrives on warm, south-easterly winds |
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| a nymph which after several life stages ( called instars) will eventually be a Hawthorn Shieldbug - they also like Rowan berries, as you can see. |
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| this nymph on the other hand will become a Gorse Shieldbug |
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| here with its Mum and Dad! |
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| adult Gorse Shieldbug good to see them back, albeit in small numbers this year |
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| closer view of one of their nymphs |
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| once you get your eye in you start to see more of them - stand and stare awhile! |
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| the children's Mum spotted this one and I thought it was a very early stage of one of the Shieldbugs. Enlarged on screen though I'm not too sure - see those irridescent colours? Will try to have it identified. It is extremely small. |
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| this spider was hanging upside down, so difficult to identify |
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| Some sort of leaf hopper |
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| a new record, I think. extremely small, I thought it might be a solitary bee but enlarged on screen I can't see any wings. It has been suggested that this is a new Queen ant after her prenuptial flight so she has shed her wings and is looking for somewhere to found a new nest. |
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| something else that was very small, one of the flea beetles |
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| another interesting "spot" by the children's mother. Two mating flies, I thought, but again enlarged on screen they may turn out to be micromoths |
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| very strange looking individuals when seen close up |
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| Field Grasshopper ( I think!) |
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| Well look what's popped up in our empty grids! Marsh Cudweed - a new record for the Reserve |
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| back on the Cushag ( Ragwort) the Hoverflies were still busy |
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| view to the hills from near the |Hide |
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| and across the short open area from the old beehive loop |
