A bit more mixed weather this month than last, but with enough moisture to see the garden vegetation get off to a flying start…
Added a few new species to the list this month, including the following
A couple of Ladybird Species…
Cream-Spot Ladybird (Calvia quatuordecimguttata), shown here and a 2-Spot Ladybird (Adalia bipunctata)
Another species of beetle..
The Common Sun beetle – Amara aenea
A couple of Wasp species…
A Pteromalidae wasp and a Ichneumon stramentor (shown here)
A true fly, in this case a Crane Fly, Tipula oleracea
A Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
We also recorded out first ever Nut-tree Tussock moth – Colacasia coryli, and once again witnessed a struggle between a lepidopteran and a Red Velvet mite, with the mite once again winning out. In September 2021 we recorded the fate of a Comma Butterfly chrysalis, which was eventually consumed by one or more red velvet mites (Click HERE).
This time around we noted the mites attacking the egg stage of the Nut-tree Tussock. HERE you can see the mite literally drinking the eggs contents. This attack continued for three days until a group of velvet mites had totally destroyed the entire clutch of eggs.
The Tadpoles finally emerged on mass around the 15th April, taking advantage of the wetland patch we created last year…
DC: 21/05/2022
Wildlife Garden 