Odonata at Roxton

Scarce Chaser


Hairy Dragonflies


Female Banded Demoiselle

Green tiger beetle conga line

I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this rare phenomenon - the beginnings of a green tiger beetle conga line. Fascinating!

Wasp Beetle and Ichneumon

Both down by Jack's Pond at the lodge yesterday, any help with the ID of the Ichneumon gratefully received!

Soldier and cardinal beetles

A soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica - top and bottom) and a red-headed cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis - middle) hanging around the bramble and nettles at The Lodge yesterday.

Scarce Chaser at The Lodge

First-ever record for the reserve, found in the flowerbed at the rear of the house

Brindled White-spot (Parectropis similaria)

This distictive geometrid species came to light in Potton Wood last night. It is regarded as local and uncommon in the county, and is the first record for the wood.

Phytomyza astrantiae - new to the UK in Bedfordshire

Phytomyza astrantiae (Hendel, 1924)
An Agromyzid (Diptera) leaf-miner new to Britain.

On 16th May 2009 David Manning noticed mines on the leaves of Astrantia major in his garden in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire. Looking at the leafmine website, www.leafmines.co.uk, only one miner was recorded on this plant – the dipterous miner Phytomyza spondylii, although this record, from Kew Gardens, referred to a species normally found on Heracleum.

David sent photos to Rob Edmunds who said it looked like Phytomyza astrantiae. Dr Willem Ellis in the Netherlands confirmed this identification.
The mines of this species key out in Hering, forming blotch mines on the leaf, whereas the mines of P.spondylii are much narrower and longer.
As far as we are aware this constitutes the first record of this miner in the UK.

Phytomyza astrantiae is known from Germany, and has recently been recorded in the Netherlands.

Astrantia major is a perennial garden plant. Members are asked to look at any plants of this species that they have, and let David know if the plants have leaf-mines similar to those shown here. David's contact details are on the contacts page of the BNHS website - www.bnhs.org.uk

Miris striatus

Funky looking bug at the lodge yesterday, the nymph is surprisingly distinctive as well

Cinnabar Moth & Four-spotted Chaser - Stewartby Lake

A Cinnabar Moth and a newly emerged Four-spotted Chaser climbing away from its casing, photos by Martin Green.

Pale Tussock (or 'hop-dog') attracted to a light trap in Potton Wood last night. Note the typical resting posture with very long outstretched forelegs

Broad-bodied Chaser

This female Broad-bodied Chaser was hovering over the pond on the heath at the lodge yesterday

Four-spotted Chaser

My first Four-spotted Chaser of the year, at Rookery Pit, one of about five hanging around in a sheltered spot out of the wind.

Photo by Keith Balmer

Osmia bicolor 2

Went back to Rookery Pit today and was lucky enough to find an Osmia bicolor in the process of covering her snail shell with stems, having just sealed the cell(s) inside. Over an hour and ten minutes I repeatedly tried to photograph her in flight, broomstick-fashion, as she fetched more stems. Here's the best I could manage:

And the resulting "tepee" of stems, covering the shell:

Photos by Keith Balmer

Damsels and Dragons

Well only one of each, but both new for the year for me

Green Hairstreak - Stewartby Lake

Green Hairstreak near the edge of Steweartby Lake, photo by Martin Green.

Gems at Cooper's Hill

Just west of Cooper's Hill NR is a nice bit of "set-aside" on which were flying today Common Blue, Brown Argus, several Small Coppers including this one with rather natty lines along the veins on the hind wings, and some yet unidentified beetles that were useless at flying - just a few inches at a time!

Photos by Keith Balmer

Green Hairsteak egglaying and Grizzled Skipper at Stewartby

Downy Emerald

This Downy Emerald was flying (some of the time) at Sandhouse Lane NR today

Photo by Keith Balmer

Slow Worm in Chicksands Wood

This Slowworm was basking on the track in Chicksands Wood this afternoon, 6th May 2009. Photos by Andy Banthorpe.

Grizzled Skipper - MVCP

A couple of photos of a Grizzled Skipper taken at the MVCP today, photos by Martin Green.

Longhorn season underway

It was so overcast this morning that instead of looking for active inverts I thought I'd have a go at beating foliage in Maulden Wood to see what turned up, and on the first hawthorn found this Rhagium mordax

Photo by Keith Balmer

Blooming lovely

The bluebells and ramsons in Maulden Wood today looked and smelled wonderful
Photo by Keith Balmer

Green Hairstreak and Duke of Burgundy

A Green Hairstreak and Duke of Burgundy both out and about on Dunstable Downs this Sunday.

MVCP Skippers & Hairy Dragonfly

A couple of photos of a Dingy Skipper.
Grizzled Skipper
Two Hairy Dragonfly photos, it was still able to fly despite the damaged wing.

All photos taken today at the MVCP by Martin Green.

Osmia bicolor

This female Osmia bicolor, which nests in empty snail shells, was waiting for better weather during overcast conditions this afternoon at Rookery Pit, only coming out of her shell briefly to rotate it a few degrees.



Photos by Keith Balmer

Face-off on the heath

This female Andrena (probably Barbilabris) was being followed everywhere it went by the fly in the left of the image. I think the fly is a Leucophora sp. or Satellite Fly which parasitise the nests of Andrenid species.