Bramble Bank Goodies

Wasp Beetles, Clytus arietis, on Bramble, Rubus fruticosus agg.  West Wickham Common, 30 April 2014.

I was walking my butterfly transect on West Wickham Common and I stopped to look at a bramble bank that often has small wildlife for me to photograph.  I was pleased to see a stripey beetle almost at once.  And even more pleased when I saw that there were two of them, quite oblivious of me and my big camera.  These Wasp Beetles are quite showy and not hard to spot.

Close by was a small swarm of moths with long, long antennae.  Such moths are called Longhorns, and there are a couple of common species.  The males' antennae hold the sense organs that detect the female's pheromones.  They would not hold still long enough for a photo, but the female was there too, resting on a leaf.

Adela reamurella.  Female.  West Wickham Common, 30 April 2014.

This species can look bronze or greenish.  The scales that reflect golden in the camera's flash can seem almost black without it, unless they catch the sun.  It looks hairy and untidy close to, but the dancing swarm of long-horned males is delightful in the sunshine.  In fact, here is a link to part of just such a swarm of Adela reamurella that I caught with a small camera way back in 2011.

Near the swarm, also on a leaf, something just caught my eye ...

Crab Spider, Diaea dorsata.  West Wickham Common, 30 April 2014.

A crab spider, waiting for something to come close enough to be snatched.  The green colour was a perfect match for the leaf and I wonder why it is not all the same colour.  Other crab spiders can be.  Look at that turret of eyes.  Nothing above or around this creature is going to go unnoticed.

That wasn't all - as I was walking away I saw a small horde of Dock Bugs among the foliage.

Dock Bugs, Coreus marginatus.  West Wickham Common, 30 April 2014.

While I am showing a bramble bank, I will add a beetle I saw on the nearby Hayes Common, also on bramble.

Cantharis decipiens. Hayes Common, 27 April 2014.

Like other beetles, Catharis decipiens just looks shiny to the naked eye, yet close to it is quite a hairy beast.

So there is plenty of activity in the undergrowth!