Dragons

Moth trapping at a private site in south Bedfordshire yielded very little, but as the day warmed up a few odonata were to be seen.

Migrant Hawker

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Common Darter

Pantilius tunicatus

The Mirid bug Pantilius tunicatus turned up in the moth trap one morning. It turns to red as it ages, apparently.

Pantilius tunicatus

Green Shield Bug

A 5th (final instar) Green Shield Bug on the garden Buddleia.

Green Shield Bug
final instar

Oblique Carpet

I returned home from work at 02:30 to discover a small Geometrid in the Skinner trap that I didn't recognize. It was potted for further study the following morning, and it turned out to be a complete surprise - Oblique Carpet !

It frequents bogs, fens and marshes, the larvae feeding on bedstraws. There are two generations: months 5/6 and 7/8.
There are only a handful of records in Bedfordshire, the last was in 1973 !

Oblique Carpet
Orthonama vittata

Oblique Carpet
Orthonama vittata

Ledra aurita

This distinctive leafhopper Ledra aurita was in the Skinner moth trap this morning. At 13-18mm it is the largest UK leafhopper, and shows a preference for lichen-covered oaks.

Ledra aurita

The Gem

Quite a few moths around, the action tailing off around 01:00. Then, with a collection of moths potted up for identification in the morning, it was up the stairs to Bedfordshire.

One of the 'unknowns' proved to be The Gem (Orthonama obstipata). Not wishing to make any schoolboy errors, confirmation was sought from the macro recorders.

It is a sexually dimorphic immigrant, distributed over much of Europe, and an annual migrant to the UK. The last 'Gem' year was in 2006, apparently, when it was generally good for migrants as a whole. The recorders state that there are nine previous records in the database in Bedfordshire.

The Gem
Orthonama obstipata

Kos: 05/05/2011

Some of the wildlife of the Greek island of Kos.

Large Wall Brown
Lasiommata maera

Unknown predator feeding

Starred Agama
Laudakia stellio

Synaphe moldavica