Sutton Hoo, X Marks the Trees

 

We spent a couple of hours at NT Sutton Hoo last weekend, once again leaving the other visitors to the mounds while we sought out the more secluded corners of the site. We hoped (in vain as it turned out) to see one or two more butterflies in the brief spells of afternoon sunshine. Sadly we failed to spot any, but were rewarded with sightings of Orthoptera (two Dark Bush-Crickets) and Odonata (a Common Darter and ?a Ruddy Darter). We also noticed a few molehills in the sandy soil. 

My previous Sutton Hoo post included a modern wood carving replicating one of the wild boar designs. The photo above shows an image that puzzled me until this evening when we succeeded in tracking it down. The bird looks a bit like a Dodo to me, but I knew that couldn't be right. The original has sometimes, though not exclusively, been classified as a duck by Anglo-Saxon scholars; it adorns the exquisite Sutton Hoo purse-lid.

Autumn was much in evidence, and we noted several species of fungi. It was a joy to watch two Dark Bush-Crickets foraging in the nettles and areas of mixed hedging. I had forgotten how large these insects are, large that is until you compare them with the 6cm+ Great Green Bush-Crickets we loved to see in Cornwall back in the 1970s and 1980s.

I wonder if you know this species? If so, do please leave a comment.

Dark Bush-Cricket

Common Darter

Over to you: Common or Ruddy Darter?

View across the river Deben to Woodbridge

Spindle berries, which trigger nursery school memories - of this

I was so taken by the shiny chestnuts that I nearly missed the insect ...

A land of many molehills

X marks the spot ... Are more trees to be felled?

A ladybird at last

One and a half Dark Bush-Crickets

A favourite spot, river Deben down to the right

More toadstools

P.S. Who noticed the Sutton Hoo question on University Challenge (BBC) this evening?

Sutton Hoo - Insect Eggs

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Sae Wylfing (scaled replica of the Sutton Hoo ship)

The Sae Wylfing vessel, designed along the lines of the Sutton Hoo ship, was on display at the site last weekend. Great attention has been paid to the craftsmanship and it was good to see.

However, it was not only the ship that vied for our attention. There may be few butterflies about but it seems a good season for insect eggs. We took these photos on the edge of the burial mound site.

I have not been able to identify the egg cluster on the two photographs immediately below. I am guessing that these are moth eggs. The Sutton Hoo landscape consists of sandy heath and grassland.

In my search I came across this rather interesting post about a parasitoid wasp emerging from the egg cases of a host species that had been laid on Stachys byzantina. 

The eggs below belong to the the Pine Hawk-moth, Sphinx pinastri. I blogged about these some days ago, and in case you missed the link to the caterpillar, which is rather striking, I will post it here. They are much smaller than they appear, but shown at this size, you can see the detail.

As we walked past a small heap of sandy soil, we noticed it move, and realised that there was a mole at work practically under our feet. Of course, the digging stopped as soon as the mole became aware of our presence. On our return, the mound had grown significantly in length. It is the closest I have (knowingly) come to one of these elusive creatures for a long time.

• Back in 2013 I found these mystery 'egg cases'.