Well, I say Holiday...
...what I actually mean is: I had some time off work (always a plus) and we decided to make the most of it by going out for a few day trips to some different locations nearby.
As usual, the locations are small Nature Reserves, usually out of the way (down pokey little roads) and generally ignored by most people. This means that they are generally nice and quiet, and gives us an opportunity to take our time and explore the habitat and see what we can see.
The weather forecast for the whole week was sunshine and rain showers, so we put on our coats, and crossed our fingers...
Part 1: Digby Corner
Part 2: Bloxholm Wood
Copper Hill
After the days out earlier in the week (See parts 1 and 2), we chose to visit another local nature reserve. This one is called Copper Hill, and is actually a couple of roadside verges. By this I mean there is a road going through it, and down both sides of this road is a small area of limestone grassland (literally 2 metres wide each side). The road isn't busy but it is surprising the gaps that the wildlife cling to for survival.
The sign mentions it being a site of special scientific interest, and this is due to it being a good place for Orchids, and in particular the Man Orchid. We searched here last year for this plant and we were unsuccessful. And to be honest we were unsuccessful again today. Don't what the problem was... the location was correct, but perhaps we were too late and missed the flower stage, or maybe they didnt produce flowers this year at all.
Oh well, better luck next year.
Don't worry though, there was still plenty to see
This pretty little flower is Birds-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus). Amember of the Pea or Legume family, and gets its name from looking like a birds foot... dunno, I don't see it.
And from little to large, next up is Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) which is a large shrub which is covered in these beautiful white flowers
Underneath one of these Hawthorn shrubs, in amongst the undergrowth I spy these 22-spot Ladybirds (Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata) giving each other piggy-backs 😉
Oh look a moth!
I have mentioned in other posts this year that moth numbers seem to be much lower then expected for the time of year, this was a nice little surprise. It is a type of Tortrix Moth (Pammene rhediella), and its the first time I have seen this species before.
Oh wow another one! This one is also new to me: Incurvaria masculella. This one with the hairy antennae is a male...
...and later on in the morning I saw the female (picture above showing the thinner antennae).
It must be my lucky day... lets see what else I can find...
This tiny and delicate flower is Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)
And I spotted two of these brightly coloured caterpillars - I'm pretty sure these are Yellow-tail Moth caterpillars, but I'm happy for anyone to correct me if they know better.
These two quite happily posed for a photograph, side by side! The larger one is a type of Nomad Bee, the smaller one is a type of parasitic wasp. There are over 6000 species of wasp here in the UK, and most of those are small and black like this one, so I'm not even gonna attempt an ID on it.
Another Bee spotted, I think this is one of the Mining Bees - Andrena species. The females of this genus are failry easy to ID, but the smaller, thinner males like this one are much harder.
Another pokey little moth, this is one of the Long-horn moths (due to the long antennae. I would guess at one of the Nematopogon species but its hard to be sure.
What else is there, a tiny little black Weevil creeping along one of the Hawthorn branches
And then there was this nice hairy fly (one of the Muscidae I think...)
And then at the last minute I spotted this fantastic little wasp. It came and landed on the leaf next to the one with the hairy fly, Its another of those solitary parasitic wasps, but this one looks a little bit more interesting than those little black ones. A subtle hint of red on the abdomen and legs, and it looks to me like he's wearing yellow socks!
Annoyingly, this was the only photo I got of this indivdual, after I took this one he vanished.
Oh well. So now Orchids this time, but a nice selection of minibeasts made sure it was another grand day out.
That concludes this series. There should have been a 4th part to this series, but the reserve we went to was utterly forgettable, and not worth writing about.
Nevermind eh?
Next week we are away again, and hopefully going to go looking for more wildlife up near the Lake District National Park. The location looks fantastic and the weather looks brilliant too. Hopefully I will get a chance to see some more cool stuff, and I'll be sharing them with you soon!
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces
Further information from Wildlife Trust
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