Sunday 9 April 2017

Gardening for species

Nice and sunny but a gardening day,  so it might be surprise you (it did me) to get nine new species for the year, all in the garden.
I had the moth trap out overmight and apart from twenty or so Orthosia moths of various species and another five Early Greys,  there also was  a small black-marked micro-moth Semioscopis avellanella, a rather local species of birch woodland.
So after breakfast and popping to the bookies [not to collect my winnings but my money back] as the darn horse didn't even run!, it was gardening time.  Tidying up the front border amongs the 'weeds' there was a well-grown but unhealthy Goat's-beard aka 'Jack go to bed at noon'.


Tragopogon pratensis (Goat's-Beard) -
this is an old photo of a seedhead as the specimen in the garden was certainly not worth photographing

A bit of digging unearthed not one but two caterpillars. These were the larva a couple of common moths, both I'm almost certain to see soon in the case of the Angle Shades or around June in the case of a Lesser Yellow Underwing. 


Noctua comes (Lesser Yellow Underwing) caterpillar

Phlogophora meticulosa (Angle Shades) catepillar

Also un-earthed were a few worms that all keyed out as the common Earthworth or Lob Worm, a White-legged Snake Millipede and a small brown and white spider that I later got under the microscope to confirm its id (before it ran off and is probably still in the house somewhere). A White-lipped Snail was on the Cistus and I caught one of many small hoverflies buzzing around the Dandelions in the lawn,  Platycheirus albimanus, another common species.


Tachypodoiulus niger (White-legged Snake Millipede)

Platycheirus albimanus (a hoverfly)

Quite a good day.


349. Semioscopis avellanella (a moth)
350. Tragopogon pratensis (Goat's-Beard)
351. Phlogophora meticulosa (Angle Shades) larval
352. Noctua comes (Lesser Yellow Underwing) larval
353. Platycheirus albimanus (a hoverfly)
354. Tachypodoiulus niger (White-legged Snake Millipede)
355. Metellina mengei (a spider)
356. Lumbricus terrestris (Lob Worm)
357. Cepaea hortensis (White-lipped Snail)

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