Scadbury Park Ladybirds

24-Spot Ladybird, Subcoccinella 24-punctata.  Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.

This walk in Scadbury Park was supposed to be about ladybirds, and indeed we did look for them, but we looked for any other invertebrates that came up as well.

It was led by a local volunteer, and we walked through a meadow to a hedgerow, where we shook the branches over an upturned umbrella to see what fell in. Mostly, this was small insects, spiders, woodlice and earwigs. This tiny 24-spot ladybird was among them, as was the small spider below, with its interesting reticulated patterning. You can see the umbrella background in the photo of the spider.

But of course there were many more insects around, bigger ones too. There were a few other ladybirds, including several large and healthy 7-spots. Bees, wasps, flies and beetles were visiting the flowers, and also butterflies, of course; Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, and there were some Commas in the bramble scrub by the hedge.

Ragworts were scattered all through the meadow, and many of them were being thoroughly consumed by vivid (and poisonous) caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth. Back among in the brambles I found some snails and a tortoise bug, a close relation of the shield bugs. A little moth fluttered down and stayed long enough to be photographed. It ooks like a smear of bird dropping if you stand back, but it's colourful close to. I haven't identified it, despite having a good book on macromoths now, so either it's a micromoth species or I am still terrible at moth identification. Either or both of these could be true.

Unidentified bee, looks like an Andrena species, foraging in a thistle flower.  Ladybird walk in Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.

Unidentified spider in an umbrella. Ladybird walk in Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.

Gatekeeper butterfly, Pyronia tithonus.  Ladybird walk in Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.

Tortoise bug, Eurygaster testudinaria.  Ladybird walk in Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.

Unidentified moth imitating a bird dropping.  Ladybird walk in Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.

Cinnabar Moth caterpillars, Tyria jacobaeae, an Arctiid, on Common Ragwort,
Senecio jacobaea.  Ladybird walk in Scadbury Park, 20 July 2011.