Gorse Shieldbug

This little insect, nearly 1 cm in length, was walking about on the woodbine (if that is what this kind of unruly honeysuckle is called) on Friday. I suspected it was a Shieldbug of some variety since the Dockbugs in the garden tend to be brown. The green on the scutellum was a very vivid shade and I thought the gold rim (which I believe is the connexivum) was rather unusual.

I popped the photo on iSpot and it has been identified as a Gorse Shieldbug. My immediate reaction was 'but our garden doesn't have any gorse'. However, we have sandy soil and live in the vicinity of heathland; and gorse, it seems, is not the only host plant. I wonder what other insects I will see in the days ahead: I guess I may be in the garden rather a lot (though today was bitter with strong winds, hail and snow showers) as I cannot go beyond our boundary at present in my self-isolating regime.  

Ladybird Days

Despite chilly temperatures, it has been another good day for ladybirds in the garden. 

The orange ones were all 7-spots and the tiny black ones were Pine ladybirds.

I also noticed three bees and this insect below which I suspect is either a bee or a wasp.

The tulips are adding their own splash of colour.And for more spring inspiration, do take a look at the Writes of Spring Diary here. I submitted a piece at the time, but my contribution was not among those that were selected. Never mind, I have the chance to try again for spring 2020, and you can submit a piece, too. 

And then there was one

What a difference the sunshine made yesterday when I saw notably more insects and other kinds of wildlife in the garden than I had been expecting. Today's weather is not dissimilar, but I missed the only fleetingly sunny spell, and consequently was 'rewarded' with a mere score of one, the tiny creature you see in the record shot above. My camera can just about cope with small insects in good light, but today's cloudy conditions were far from ideal.

But it seems to be an interesting sighting nevertheless. The plant is a wild Honeysuckle or Woodbine, and has earned its keep by being an excellent host in the past for insects such as Ruby-tailed Wasps, like this one, which was on my ladybird house one summer, beside the Woodbine.

Today's insect in the top photo (not the wasp above) was only a few millimetres long, possibly half a centimetre. I would describe its movement as a 'scuttle'. Centipedes, woodlice and earwigs came to mind, but it did not appear to be any of these. I thought the light brown patches might provide a clue, but it seems quite a lot of insects can boast this type of pigment.

I must add the photo to iSpot and see if help is at hand, but for now it seems to me that it might be a Rove beetle, perhaps at the nymph stage (update: 'nymph' is wrong- please read on). We have had Rove beetles in the garden before, but never so early in the season, and never above ground level. I hope I can solve today's little mystery.

Meanwhile, there are some good Rove beetle photos here, here and here. And thank you so much for yesterday's comments...

And now (20 April 2020), thank you so much for your new comments. Once again I will post Conehead's identification notes in case anyone misses them as it seems important to clear up an error on my part, an error I should never have made as I am familiar with ladybird instars and the like! ...

Conehead54 writes: Agree it's a species of rove beetle. However beetles don't have nymphs- only insects with an incomplete metamorhosis (eg true bugs, grasshoppers, dragonflies) have these. Beetles have a complete metamorphosis which means their immature stages are a series of larval instars that then pupate before becoming adult. The larvae of beetles (like caterpillar to moth or butterfly) look nothing like the adult.

Ten minutes in the garden

I usually like to know or discover the identity of what is out and about in the garden, but this morning it seemed more important to catch the warmth of the sunshine and to photograph the insects (and a few other things).

The world may seem a strange place at present, but it was heartening to look around my home patch and find that spring was definitely in the air. Ladybirds, in particular, were out in force and one pair appeared to be mating. I even caught a fleeting glimpse of what appeared to be a large wasp-like creature, almost the size of a hornet. 

Bees and hoverflies were on the wing and on the bushes

Cherry blossom is just beginning to appear

Flowering Currant

Dandelion

Two tiny ladybirds...

... I think they are Pine Ladybirds

Another tiny ladybird with rimmed elytra, perhaps 0.2-3cm

Look at those legs!

What a joy to see those pollen sacs!

I may not have known the names of all the insects and other creatures I encountered in a limited space and a short time, but it was exciting to see so many small things moving about after the long winter months. And having posted these photos, I am now keen to add some of my sightings, and especially my 'mysteries', to iSpot...

P.S. In case you miss this comment, I shall repost it here, with grateful thanks to Conehead54:

Conehead54 said...

All the small ladybirds are indeed Pine Ladybirds. The top hoverfly is one of the dronefly group. Eristalis pertinax + the small bees are some sort of Andrena.

Feed the Birds

Robin in our home patch, with currant blossom and forythia

In these days of fewer social gatherings, watching the birds and trying to keep abreast of the regulars becomes an increasingly important activity. And with birds pairing and beginning to build nests, there is plenty of action in the avian world. Our coconut feeders, with added sunflower seeds, particularly attract Blue tits, Robins, Great tits, Long-tailed tits and Starlings. Blackbirds have been known to head for them, too, but they prefer food sources like earth worms that can be pulled from the ground. 

Blue tit, one of many in the garden

Wildlife at NT Sutton Hoo

It was a very grey afternoon with a keen east wind, but we were glad nevertheless to be out in the fresh air. I had failed to check my camera, and after a couple of shots, it gave out with a flat battery. Fortunately David had our small Canon, so these photos are a mixture of his and hers!

I took the photo of the Muntjac in the first picture from a picnic bench. 

As I perched, a second deer came along. Our spirits began to lift, despite the dark clouds that were descending.

 The photo above shows Woodbridge from the Sutton Hoo side of the river Deben...

There were very few wild flowers, but the daffodils on the bank leading up to Tranmer House are beginning to look beautiful.

I kept my eyes open, and eventually I found a rather bedraggled Lesser Celandine.

As you can tell from the photo below, it will be at its best in a couple of days time.

Suddenly we noticed the distinctive white wings of a Barn Owl...

It was quartering large expanse of grass beside the river.


The owl was very active and I began to wonder if it would ever come to rest.



Eventually it landed on a post at some distance from us...

...before swooping off again.



The photo below, taken in very muted conditions, helps to show just how well the bird blends in with the reeds.

Wildlife sometimes takes us by surprise: this beautiful Barn Owl transformed a rather unpromising afternoon. 

Grey Skies over Sutton Hoo

Saturday was a very grey day, but we were keen to get some fresh air and decided that NT Sutton Hoo was our best option. There seem to be a lot of changes happening over the site at present, not least the construction of this 17 metre high viewing tower.

The Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo ship was 27 metres long, and was dragged up to the site in the photo above.

Sadly there is no lift so the tower will not be accessible to all, but for those who can climb, it will provide views not only of the Royal Burial Ground (you can see a couple of the mounds in my photo), but also of the river Deben, which lies in the valley behind. 

The sudden flicker of sunlight was a welcome sight on a grey afternoon.

The photo above was taken on Saturday, showing the work in progress at the base of the tower...

...and I took the photo above last summer when the area was being excavated. 

It is always a joy to see the Herdwick sheep on the site. Apparently, and not surprisingly with the 'wick' ending, the name comes from the Old Norse word, herdvyck, meaning sheep pasture. 

 I took the photo above on a grey day last June, but have reposted it to give a little more impression of the site.

The photos above and below show a metal installation (i.e. model/reconstruction) of the ship by the visitors' centre.

I looked so hard for some wild spring flowers, but without much success. There were some lovely daffodils, ...

...a few late snowdrops,

...and some beautiful blossom. I think it may be Blackthorn as there did not appear to be any leaves in evidence.

We noticed the raised beds and assumed they were part of a sensory garden, but it turned out to be a 'dye garden'. 



I look forward to seeing it again once the plants have grown a bit. 

The names alone conjured up aspects of Anglo-Saxon life in my imagination, but the Woad plant actually originates from the area that is now south-east Russia (K.G. Gilbert, in Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences, 2003).

These Woad plants seemed to be thriving. 

We visit Sutton Hoo several times a year. I wonder what we will see next time. The site is usually a good habitat for Skylarks and Small Copper butterflies. We noticed that a number of bramble and gorse bushes had been removed. I just hope the construction work will not disturb the wildlife habitats too much.