Birds aren’t the only things flying in January; there are a few moths too. Today I trapped two Pale Brindled Beauties at Rye, one melanic (monacharia) and one the normal form. Both are males, as the females are wingless. Melanics were unknown in East Sussex until the 1960s but now comprise up to 5% of the population.
We have had reports of plants flowering unusually late in December. How is the mild weather affecting insects? Today I have had a buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris worker collecting pollen on shrubby honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima in the garden. That means we have an active nest running through the winter (the same species was also foraging in the garden at the end of last month too).
This is not that unusual, as the same species has behaved in a similar way over the past decade, but over the three previous winters, which have been colder, the latest records I have of this species in Northiam are in week 47 of the year, and the earliest in week 9.
Despite the colder weather there were still a few shieldbugs today and I found a Bronze Shieldbug (Troilus luridus - above) in Malthouse Wood sunning itself on a silver birch and yesterday I found a Green Shieldbug nymph (Palomena prasina) on a fence post around the same wood.
Highlights over the past few days have included, 1500 Golden Plover and 700 Lapwing roosting on Flat Beach and the new saltmarsh area, a Merlin has been regular along Shore Ridges along with a flock of around 25 Greenfinch, less expected were 6 Brambling which passed overhead near the Red Roofed Hut, up to 18 Little Grebes are split between Ternery Pool (they can give very close views infront of Crittall Hide), Quarry and Harbour Farm Pools. At Castle Water highlights have been Barn Owl, Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier, 3 Ruff, 135 Teal, 200 Wigeon and 11 Fieldfare. Several Migrant Hawker have still be active during warm sunny periods along with a few Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell.
UPDATE - a late Swallow flew eastward along the shore today and a late Wheatear near River Mouth on 16th.
Little Grebe from Crittall Hide at Ternery Pool
This afternoon on the saltings between Rye and Northpoint, a Pale-bellied Brent (B.b. hrota) with 40 Dark-bellied Brents and 30 Canadas. And the regular adult Common Sandpiper was in position by Monkbretton Bridge. Earlier today a Cypress Carpet by my moth trap was a nice surprise – yet another recent colonist since the first East Sussex record only 15 years ago.
Today in my trap I found this small moth of the family Tortricidae. Not recognising it, I posted the photo to the ukmicromoths Yahoo group. Majority opinion is that it is Acleris umbrana (a.k.a. Dark-streaked Button), which would be about the sixth Sussex record, all but one since 2006, so it’s another of those very recent colonists from across the Channel to southern coastal counties, nationally rare and proposed as Red Data Book Class 1. BUT, there are similar Acleris that can be highly variable, so closer examination is being arranged to confirm its identity.
Should you happen to walk past a clump of ivy in flower keep a watch for this insect.
It is the bee Colletes hederae, a species that was first seen in the UK in 2001, and whose spread is being monitored by the Bee, Wasp and Ant Recording Scheme (BWARS). They are interested in studying the progress of this attractive bee as it colonises the UK.
They can also be observed on bare ground where they make their nests. With broad pale bands on the abdomen this is the only solitary bee that is likely to be flying now, so identification is not too problematical, if you find one foraging on ivy.
It seems to be getting quite well established in southern England and is spreading inland in places, but records in the RX area would be useful. We know it occurs in Hastings and at Pett but is it elsewhere? For more information on this insect, including details of where to send any records if you have seen one (ideally sending a photographic record of the insect) click here
Thanks to Ian Hunter for use of the above photograph.
Both the English and scientific names of Dewick’s Plusia (Macdunnoughia confusa) are quite bizarre, and it’s a pretty moth too, related to the familiar Silver Y but smaller and brighter with a gleaming silver mark on the wing. First found in the UK by A.J. Dewick at Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, in October 1951, it remained a rare vagrant until the last decade. Now it’s thought to be well established with at least four colonies in Sussex alone. Chris caught one at Rye Harbour on 2nd October, the fifth reserve record, but the one in my trap this morning was my first ever.
Highlights today included two Buzzards soaring low over the hide, 2 Green Sandpiper and 50 Wigeon. Dragonflies on the wing along the footpath to the hide included Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker and several Migrant Hawker.
On the floor of my moth trap in Rye this morning was this uninvited guest, which according to Chinery’s Insects guide appears to be a male Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera), a widespread species of rough verges, clearings and garden shrubberies that can be found as late as November. I’ve found crickets around the trap before but can’t recall finding one right inside!