Otter footprint

 

An Otter footprint at Cricklepit Mill.


And the Otter's spraints in the same place.
 

Ancistoceros antilope

 

This may be the potter or mason wasp Ancistoceros antilope but there are a few very similar species so I cannot be certain. It was photographed by the River Exe.
 

Water Speedwell

 

So far as I can recall without having my list to hand Water Speedwell - found by the River Exe - was a new species for me.


I have yet to identify this plant - a clover species?
 

Yellow-barred Brindle

 
 

As Friend-who-loves-Otters was driving away from the house to take Daughter-who-takes-Photos on holiday my mind was only half on waving them goodbye. The other half was focussing the camera on a moth which was sat upon the wall of Frog End.

For me, a moth-lover, there is nothing more infuriating than a moth I cannot identify. I don't mind having to look it up if it's a new species for me but I really get worked up if I cannot find it. I think that's a sign of a happy retirement when it's just things like this that get to you.

Unfortunately I only managed to take it from the one angle before it flew off and its wing scales were so new and shiny that the pattern was not as clear as it could be in a duller light or from a different angle. Not having my moth books with me I turned to the UK moths site. This is a brilliant site from which to identify species so long as you have a basic knowledge of the subject.

My immediate reaction was to hope it was some form of Small Seraphim - if only because I love its scientific name of Pterapherapteryx sexalata.

It turned out to be the Yellow-barred Brindle (Acasis viretata).

This is a new species for me and brings my total number of macro-moths to 263.

The name refers to the colour form normally found in the wild but when freshly emerged - as this so obviously was - it usually has a greenish colour that fades rapidly. The adult moth is found in May and June and, in the southern part of its range, again in August and September.

The Yellow-barred Brindle is widely distributed but rarely common in woodland, suburban habitats and scrubland, and in northern England and southern Scotland it is scarce. The caterpillars feed on the flowers and leaves of a variety of foodplants, including holly and Ivy.

Annual Knawel

 
 


It is fairly rare nowadays for me to add a new flower to my species list. With a few exceptions anything new I see is likely to be one of a group of difficult to distinguish species (which I am too lazy to identify). There are, however, a number of species of which I do not have decent photos. Some of these are very common and have simply been ignored because I've assumed I have already taken them. This was the case with Annual Knawel (Scleranthus annuus) until Daughter-who-takes-photos asked me to identify it in her garden. Reaching up to 10cm high, it is common on dry, bare places throughout Britain and Ireland and can be an abundant garden weed. The narrow, pointed leaves are borne in opposite pairs along the stems. The flowers comprise close-knit heads of greenish white sepals with no petals and appear from May to August.


It is also known as German Moss or German Knotgrass and few of the photos on the web look like mine but I reckon I’ve identified it correctly. One that does look like mine is at Wild Plants in Netherlands and Belgium.

Calocoris quadripunctatus

 
 

This very active little bug ran up and down my hand and arm, refusing to slow for its portrait. As a result the photo is poor. This, combined with the difficulty of identifying many closely related species of Mirid Bug, makes me hesitate to be categorical but it does seem to be Calocoris quadripunctatus. If so, it is a new species for me.

Pfeiffer's Amber Snail

 
 


I'm sure some of my readers think it sad when I get excited by things like snails but that's what happened in Otter Nurseries. I do not claim to be a molluscologist (or whatever the appropriate word may be) but I decided this was a Pfeiffer's Amber Snail (Oxyloma elegans ).

I have photographed an Amber Snail before but I've never seen a Pfeiffer's Amber Snail even though they are equally common and found throughout Europe. I am assured it is pronounced Fifer's - something I should apparently have known if I watched films! Perhaps I should call this little specimen Michelle.

So, it has been added to my list of species seen. Small things (literally - it’s tiny) amuse small minds.

Oak Apple Gall and Fig Gall

I enjoy spotting and identifying galls.


I have photos of many species but have not listed them as yet. At Stover Country park on 2nd May I added this splendid young Oak Apple Gall, caused by the gall wasp Biorhiza pallida , to my photos.


This Gall on an Elm leaf was taken at the bottom of Helen and Ian's garden. It is caused by the aphid Teraneura ulmi. It is sometimes called a Fig Gall.

Common Groundhopper

At Chudleigh Knighton Heath on 2nd May I added the Common Groundhopper (Tetrix undulata) to my list of Orthoptera.

Raft Spider

I haven't kept my life list of spiders very up to date so I'm not sure this is complete but I have seen and photographed the following:-
Araneus diadematus Garden Spider
Araniella cucurbitina
Arctosa perita
Argiope bruennichi Wasp Spider
Clubonia corticalis
Clubonia Sp.
Enoplagnatha ovata
Hyposinga albovittata
Larinoides cornutus
Lepthyphantes minutus
Meta sp.
Misumena vatia
Nuctenea umbratica
Pachygnatha degeeri
Pardosa amentata
Pardosa pullata
Philodromus sp.
Pirata latitans
Pisaura mirabilis
Salticus senicus Zebra Spider
Scotophaeus blackwalli
Segestria senoculata
Steatoda bipunctata
Tegenaria domestica House Spider
Tegenaria duellica
Theridion pallens
Theridion sisyphium
Theridion varians
Xysticus cristatus
Zelotes Sp.
Zygiella x-notata

At Chudleigh Knighton Heath on 2nd May 2009 I added the Raft Spider Dolomedes fimriatus. This is the same place I saw Argiope bruennichi - the Wasp Spider - in 2007 so it has proved a good spot for spiders.