August Moths in Hayes

Orange Swift, Hepialus sylvina.  Hepialidae.   Hayes, 4 August 2014.

As usual, I'm a bit behind with these posts, but there are some very pretty moths from August that are worth showing.  These are all from the light trap in my tiny garden, and this Orange Swift is on one of the pieces of bark I have collected to make some more dramatic shots.

Lesser Broad-Bordered Yellow Underwing, Noctua janthe.   Noctuidae.  Hayes, 7 August 2014.

This very similar pose is on a piece of egg carton, straight from the trap.  Whereas I was trying to make the Orange Swift look dramatic, here I wanted to show the greenish yellow "face" of the Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (the most cumbersome of the moth names).  Just the front edge of this can be seen in the usual view from above, but it is really quite distinctive and makes it twice as easy to identify.

Straw Dot, Rivula sericealis.  Noctuidae.   Hayes, 7 August 2014.

The Straw Dot is a small grass moth, easy to spot flitting away as you walk through long grass in summer. This is a particularly fresh and well-marked specimen, and this photo shows details like the double spots that you can't usually see without a hand lens.

Rosy Rustic, Hydraecia micacea.  Noctuidae.  Hayes, 16 August 2014.

I like this pretty moth.  The Rosy Rustic has a very distinctive cross-line on its wings that curves up at the edges, repeating the overall wing shape.  This was the first one I have seen in my garden trap.  It's on the edge of another of my pieces of bark.

Hayes Common Insects, August

Kite-tailed Robber Fly, Machimus atricapillus. Hayes Common, 24 August 2014.

If I take my camera while out for a local walk I can usually spot a few things to photograph.  There were several of these predatory flies in the northern grassy square on Hayes Common.  In fact they turn up in my photos from several places.  I don't really see the resemblance of its tail to a kite, but it is an easily distinguished shape.

Green Shieldbug, Palomena prasina.  Hayes Common, 24 August 2014.

  A well disguised true bug that sucks the sap from plants.  It's one of a handful of shield bug species that are easy to find in this area.

Spider, Linyphia triangularis.  Female.  Hillside Lane, Hayes, 24 August 2014.

This spider spins a hammock-like web with strands leading upwards, and waits for little insects to hit the strands and fall onto the hammock.  It runs around underneath its web and catches them.  I had to lie on my back to get a shot at this angle.

Common Grass-veneer, Agriphila tristella.  Crambidae.   Hayes Common, 24 August 2014.

There were dozens of these grass moths flitting about in the grass.  It's not that they normally fly by day, but they are very easily disturbed and move off to another piece of dry grass, where they are very well disguised when they land.  Their underwings are light grey and when they close them, they seem to disappear.

Wolf Spider, Pardosa species.  Possibly Pardosa amentata.  Hillside Lane, Hayes, 24 August 2014.

On a discarded piece of newspaper I spotted this wolf spider.  Unlike the previous one, this spider does not spin a web, but runs after its prey, hence the sturdy legs and bigger eyes.

Three insects near Downe

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas.  Near Downe, 23 August 2014

Botanising near Downe - I showed some plants from this visit earlier - I took these photos of insects.  The Small Copper butterfly is a pretty creature, always nice to see.

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis.  Near Downe, 23 August 2014.

 This is the Brown Argus whose underwing I showed in the previous post.  It's not showy, but it's good to see a variety of butterflies.

Hornet, Vespa crabro.  Near Downe, 23 August 2014.

I have seen several hornets foraging in the undergrowth recently.  People tend to be wary of them because they look like extra big wasps, and that is exactly what they are.  So try not to annoy them.

Common Blue and Brown Argus underwings

Common Blue butterfly, Polyommatus icarus, and Brown Argus, Aricia agestis.

A short post showing the difference in the underwings of two very similar butterflies, the Common Blue and the Brown Argus.  The male Common Blue is easy to tell, because it is always bright blue from above.  The female is variable and can be quite brown, though usually with a hint of blue about the body, and the Brown Argus is always brown. 

There are two features of the underwings that are easy to see in photos; rather less so on live and active creatures. 

The Brown Argus has no spots on the lower half of the underside of its forewings.  The Common Blue does. 

The Brown Argus has two spots on the leading edge of the underside of its hind wings that are aligned together, like a colon.  On the Common Blue, the equivalent spots are aligned so as to form part of an arch of spots following the line of the edge of the wing.

So now you can easily tell which of these two is which, yes?

A few plants in Knole Park

Eyebright, Euphrasia officinalis ssp. anglica.  Knole Park, 15 August 2014.

In Knole Park with my botany class, taught by Sue Buckingham, she showed us patches of this Eyebright.  It's the scarce subspecies anglica, and one of its distinguishing features is the presence of long glandular hairs all over the upper leaves.  I normally see the Common Eyebright, Euphrasia nemorosa, so this one was quite interesting.

Heath Groundsel, Senecio sylvaticus.  Knole Park, 15 August 2014.

And I normally see the common groundsel, Senecio vulgaris, so this was another interesting variation, taller and lankier than the common species.  Like S. vulgaris, and like the Ploughman's Spikenard shown in the last post, these flowers never open further than this.

Rigid Hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum.  Knole Park, 15 August 2014.

There are a few ponds in the park, and in one I was able to reach in and pull out this plant.  It lives up to its name, Rigid Hornwort, by being quite stiff, not what you would expect from a water weed.  It's a pity we could not find any of its interesting spiky fruits. 

Water-pepper, Persicaria hydropiper.  Knole Park, 15 August 2014.

This Water-pepper was growing in a marshy patch.  Apparently it used to be called Arse-smart.  It tastes particularly fiery (I tried it), and like a strong curry, apparently has the same effect when leaving the body as it does when entering it.  I did not eat enough to find out how true this is.

New Zealand Pigmyweed, Crassula helmsii.  Knole Park, 15 August 2014.

New Zealand Pigmyweed, a rampant invasive foreign species, was growing around one of the small ponds.  This stuff could become a real problem. 

Corn Mint, Mentha arvensis.  Knole Park, 15 August 2014.

The last of this interesting group of plants for today is Corn Mint.  It looks similar to Water-mint, but has flowers in groups up the stem rather than in a cluster at the apex.  The smell of the crushed leaves is very different too, not very minty at all, and some find it unpleasant.

Some Wildflowers Near Downe, August

Perennial Sowthistle, Sonchus arvensis.  Near Downe, 23 August 2014.

Here are a few flowers from the countryside near Downe, Charles Darwin's village.  This area consists mostly of shallow chalky valleys.  This first flower, the Perennial Sowthistle, can be told from many similar types by the orange-tipped glandular hairs on the flower stem and bracts.  This specimen was in a hedgerow at the side of a field.

Dwarf Thistle, Cirsium acaule.  Valley sides near Downe, 23 August 2014.

This one is typical of uncultivated chalk grassland.  It's often called the Picnic Thistlle, because it can be discovered when sat on.  Unlike other thistles, it remains as a rosette at ground level and doesn't put a stem up to flower.

Ploughman's Spikenard, Inula conyzae.  Near Downe, 23 August 2014.

Under the trees was this rather undistinguished plant, a Ploughman's Spikenard, with leaves rather like a Foxglove, whose flowers never open more than this. 

Spear-Leaved Orache, Atriplex prostrata.  Roadside near Downe, 23 August 2014.

These flowers are even less showy, and can really only be seen close up.  It's a Spear-leaved Orache.  The feature that distinguishes Oraches from similar plants is their triangular bracts, but you can hardly see the bracts on some of them, including this plant.

This and the next one were growing in a hedgerow by the roadside.

Common Blue Sowthistle, Cicerbita macrophylla.  Roadside near Downe, 23 August 2014.

I hadn't seen a Common Blue Sowthistle before.  I think "Common" relates them to the Alpine Blue Sowthistle, which grows here only in the east of Scotland, rather than any other sort of plant.  This is rather showy and pretty, not unlike a Chicory, which can be found not too far away at Jubilee Country Park. 

Petts Wood, July

Crabronid wasp, Astata boops.  Male.  St Paul's Cray Common, 30 July 2014.

In July the Orpington Field Club went to a patch of heath in the middle of a wood in St Paul's Cray.  We were looking around for insects, of which these are a few.

This predatory wasp was resting on my bag.  It seems quite alert, with its head turned to put me in the view of both its huge compound eyes.

Hoverfly, Eristalis pertinax, on Ling, Calluna vulgaris.  Male.  St Paul's Cray Common, 30 July 2014.

Two of my favourite subjects: hoverflies and flowers.  Ling heather flowers are a purple swath across nothern hillsides, but close to their colour is quite subtle, and they make a good background for this Eristalis.  You can see it has been busy with the pollen, as has this one:

Hoverfly, Helophilus pendulus.  Female.  St Paul's Cray Common, 30 July 2014.

Both these species are quite common and can be seen in a variety of habitats.  They are both in the family Eristalini, and in both photos you can see this family's distinctive loop in the wing vein near the centre of the tip of the forewing. That can be quite a handy identification guide.

Spider, Philodromus species.  Petts Wood, 30 July 2014.

This spider was in the woods, lurking in the underbrush.

Before we went into the woods, I saw a pear bush with what I thought was a major infestation of leaf mining insects.  But I was wrong; this is a rust fungus.

Pear Trellis Rust, Gymnosporangium sabinae.   Birchwood Road, Petts Wood,  30 July 2014.

It actually looks quite pretty!  But it can't be doing the bush any good.

My last photo in this group is of a field seen from the path through the wood.  It is (or was) known as the Soldiering Field, as troops were once assembled there. 

The Soldiering Field from Petts Wood.   30 July 2014.

It's full of Ragwort and is clearly not grazed or used for crops, so I do not know what its current use is.  The Ragwort, though pretty, would make it useless for hay, as it is particularly poisonous when dried.

More July Hayes Moths

Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella.  Hayes, 5 July 2014

Four more from my garden trap in July, showing the variety of creatures that arrive.  This one is tiny.  Not the smallest moth I have had in my trap, but it is only about 7mm long.  The jagged back markings that give it its name can be white or, as here, brown.

Privet Hawkmoth, Sphinx ligustri.  Hayes, 8 July 2014.

In contrast, this is the biggest moth I have had in my trap, with a forewing length of about 50 mm.  It is accurately named.  The caterpillars eat privet.  If anyone wonders why there is a big gap in my trap, it is to let beasts like this get in.

Pretty Chalk Carpet, Melantha porcellata.  Hayes, 30 July 2014.

This was probably the least expected moth of the month.  The caterpillars of this species eat the plant called Traveller's Joy in Spring and Old Man's Beard in Autumn: Clematis vitalba, a plant that prefers alkaline soils.  There is none close to me.  I do occasionally see other chalk moths, too, and I suppose they fly or are blown here.

Sallow Kitten, Furcula furcula.   Hayes, 22 July 2014.

 This was probably the prettiest of the month.  It is said to be common, but this is the first I've seen. The Sallow Kitten's caterpillars eat willows of all sorts, of which there are plenty around.