that's more like it (20150620)

The highlight for me this morning was my first Pseudoips prasinanus - a stunning little moth.

Rosentorp produced a bumper haul this morning (by this season's standards anyway) that actually took some time to process. Totals: Korscheltellus lupulinus (1), Korscheltellus fusconebulosus (14),  Hepialus humuli (1), Drepana falcataria (2), Timandra comae (1),  Xanthorhoe montanata (2),  Xanthorhoe fluctuata (1),  Cosmorhoe ocellata (2), Ecliptopera silaceata (1), Colostygia pectinataria (2),  Dysstroma truncata (1), Hydriomena impluviata (2), Opisthograptis luteolata (1), Hypomecis punctinalis (7), Biston betularia (2), Siona lineata (7), Deltote pygarga (2), Charanyca trigrammica (1), Apamea crenata (2), Diarsia rubi (1),  Pseudoips prasinanus (1), Calliteara pudibunda (11), Spilosoma lubricipedum (2), Spilosoma luteum (1) and Eurrhypara hortulata (1).

 

My first Pyrochroa coccinea actually landed on Number 1 as she was walking along, she had the presence of mind to quickly pot it and run it to me. Getting them trained up nicely!

Number 2 had a poor session today but typically produced the goods with this smart staphylinid (Platydracus fulvipes). Only 8 records for Skåne for this species on Artportalen at the moment, so she got the prize for best find of the day.

In the afternoon we all went out searching out invertebrates. Just before we got to Frestensfälla we bumped into a huge female moose with a tiny youngster as they crossed the road. Big! Frestensfälla was great if a little cool and windy and we found some great stuff. Number 1 did well today finding a nice cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa coccinea), only to be trumped by Number 2's Platydracus fulvipes - a smart little staphylinid that has only been recorded in Skåne eight times! There were also a pleasing number of new micromoths during this session...

looking for bugs at Killeröd (20150605)

Took the kids out after school for a run out at Slottet and Killeröd. The highlight was bagging a new longhorn (Asemum striatum) in amongst the many new invertebrates. Nearby at the junction pond we had the three adult whooper swans that seem to be over-summering in BK. Next stop was the orchid glade at Slottet which produced another Mother Shipton moth and a few new micromoths for my list. Icterines warblers are singing in big numbers in BK this year and Slottet was dominated by the crazy song of this late migrant.

Asemum striatum - a common longhorn that I have probably overlooked until now...

starting to click (20150528)

Hovs Hallar was chilly and breezy, hardly good conditions for searching out invertebrates but we found a few nice things like this click beetle (Athous subfuscus).

Took the team out for a breath of fresh air. Terrible weather continues to dominate our month, set to become the coldest Swedish May since 1962! It has doubtless affected my search for invertebrates, for example I have yet to identify an Odonate in BK this year and I can only imagine what a normal moth trapping May would be like!

Today we worked Klarningen for birds, picking up a Temminck's stint and two ruff. Then moved on to Hovs Hallar for a picnic and a look in the bushes for invertebrates. It was appalling weatherwise and we found very little but of course I still managed to add two click-beetles (Athous subfuscus and haemorrhoidalis) and a new soldier-beetle (Cantharis nigricans) to my BK list (which hit 600 this week).

Checked Påarps Mal on the way home but it was quiet.

postcard from Corfu

 Misumena vatia

Finally got round to posting a few photographs from my Corfu trip last month!

 Southern festoon (Zerynthia polyxena) larvae were everywhere on Aristolochia, must have missed the adults?

 Number 2 found this assassin bug (Rhynocoris iracundus) on a walk along the coast.

Fireflies were everywhere at night around our riverside accommodation.

Orchids were reasonably abundant but confusing...

Calopteryx virgo

Seeing blue chaser (Libellulla fulva) is always a highlight.

The primary reason we went to Corfu was to track down some critically endangered Greek red damsels (Pyrrhosoma elisabethae), which we managed to do. Only one site seems to remain on Corfu sadly.

I was very pleased to finally catch up with Grecian copper (Lycaena ottomana) at the damsel site.

Birds were spotted during the week, invariably common migrants like this great reed warbler.

We only recorded ten species of Odonates, with most being recorded away from water like this immature Crocothemis.

Egyptian grasshoppers (Anacridium aegyptium) were egg-laying on all the sandy tracks we walked.

 The kids enjoyed finding tortoises on the trip, all were the expected Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) until we found this big marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata) on the walk up Mt Pantokrator. Perhaps a released pet? This species does occur on the nearby mainland though.

Another surprise on Corfu is the presence (again on Pantokrator) of chukar. Not present according to BWP but presumably must have been introduced for hunting?

bugging and honeys arrive

Took the kids out bugging at Greviebackar after school. When they weren't accidently whacking each other with the net things went quite smoothly in a rare patch of sun. We found several new micromoths, a new hoverfly and enjoyed being out and about. As usual the haul will take some time to fully identify... The easy bird highlight was two honey buzzards migrating overhead at the start but icterine warbler was skulking about and singing sporadically too.

 Number 2 earned an icecream by finding this smart little cantharid (Cantharis decepiens) at Greviebackar today. New for BK.

Honey buzzard falls at last, two migrated overhead at the start of our walk.

autumn

Got some pond-dipping in with the team in the afternoon by carefully dodging the downpours whilst driving between sites. We tried the small pond at Petersberg first and caught some water beetles that looked seriously confusing to the untrained eye. Not sure what this one is yet but am going to have to work out a good way of photographing them, I may have to build a small tank for on-site underwater photography. This one is so shiny that you can see a reflection of both me and Number 2 in the photo!

Actually got out early this morning for a look at Klarningen. It really felt autumnal just after dawn and birds were on the move. The access track held yellow wagtail, wheatear and whinchat and a small flock of 21 golden plover was present in the fields. Greylag geese are massing too with over 300 on site this morning. Working through the wildfowl produced a couple of pintail and two shoveler. The spotted crake was still dashing about like a mad thing along the edge of the large Juncus bed. Everything spooked briefly when a sub-adult hobby (2K?) flew down the river. Waders included some dunlin (6), ruff (1), common sandpiper (1), spotted redshank (2), greenshank (4) and 11 wood sandpiper. At least 68 yellow wagtails left the site and headed south during the session perhaps the most memorable event of the day.

Checked out Petersberg and heard what may have been a brief snatch of song from a great reed warbler, I tried tape-luring to confirm but got no response...

Mid-morning saw us all out dodging heavy rain showers whilst doing some pond-dipping. The sunny spells produced some great dragonfly action. At Petersberg we had three Aeshna species bombing about and we turned up a great crested newt and a grass snake. The pond at Frestensfälla was busy too with Sympetrum danae and Aeshna juncea all busy breeding. But more rain threatened so we headed for home a lie-down.

Low-level pan-species listing continues to provide both headaches and enjoyment, this lovely hopper (Cicadella viridis) at Frestensfälla gave itself up pretty easily but many identifications elude me and the list of TBI is growing daily. Just have to hope we get snowed in this winter I guess.

Lestes sponsa are present in good numbers at most waterbodies in BK. Still no sign of a breeding location for Lestes virens though.

post work session

 Rhagium inquisitor - a perky little longhorn beetle seen at Bränneslätt this afternoon.

Worked for five hours gardening today before the constant bending over gave me a big headache! Ears still at 50% and painful so decided to go and look at dragonflies at Bränneslätt as you do. Plenty of Leucorrhinia dubia on the wing here, plus Libellula quadrimaculata, Cordulia aenea and Coenagrion hastulatum. No surprises then on the Odo-front. I did enjoy an encounter with a small longhorn beetle, my first Rhagium inquisitor.

Afterwards I quickly checked Klarningen. Nothing too unusual here, although stuff kept popping out of the vegetation. An osprey sat on a snag by the river, the first resting bird I have ever seen here. Wildfowl included two male garganey, two gadwall, and single male shoveler and wigeon. Waders included a fluffy curlew (after last year's fox predation, it is nice to see these birds produce young), a greenshank, a green sandpiper and a few ruff.

Cordulia aenea - one of my favourite dragonflies, this one is a female caught lurking in the woods away from the the pool at Bränneslätt.