A Selection of Inverebrates from Last Year

A quick break from all the botany today with a selection of invertebrates that I've photographed throughout last year but haven't put in any blog posts yet. It wasn't all butterflies. They are from all over the country so I'll just put them in categories and state the location with the photographs.

Caterpillars and Eggs

 This Puss Moth caterpillar was on a sallow tree on Bovey Heathfield Industrial Estate, Devon 

Puss Moth - Cerura vinula

  

Privet Hawk Moth - Sphinx ligustri

Studland Village, Dorset 

Orange Tip -  Anthocharis cardamines

Ranscombe Farm Kent.

Orange Tip Egg. Ramshorn Down. Devon

On Hedge Garlic -  Alliaria petiolata

Northern Brown Argus eggs. Grantown on Spey. Scotland

On Common Rock-rose - Helianthemum nummularium

Peacock - Aglais io

These were at Studland, Dorset, and on 23rd August were very late too 

Marsh Fritillary - Euphydryas aurinia

 at Alners Gorse 

The Drinker - Euthrix potatoria

At Upton Fen Norfolk

Small Eggar - Eriogaster lanestris

Green Down Somerset

The Wormwood Moth Caterpillar has the most amazing camouflage

Wormwood - Cucullia absinthii on  
Wormwood - Artemisia absinthium

 Portland, Dorset 

Dragonflies & Damselflies

Emperor Dragonfly - Anax imperator

 Female at Bovey Heathfield , Devon

Small Red Damselfly - Ceriagrion tenellum
mating pair on Stoborough Heath, Dorset. 

Red-veined Darter - Sympetrum fonscolombii

Compton Bay Undercliffs, Isle of Wight.

Northern Damselfly -  Coenagrion hastulatum

Abernethy Forest, Speyside, Scotland.

Again in pools in Abernethy Forest. It was brilliant to see a newly emerged 

dragonfly for the first time. In this case a Four-spotted Chaser. 

 

Four-spotted Chaser - Libellula quadrimaculata

Moths

Ruby Tiger Moth - Phragmatobia fuliginosa

Mating pair at Lankham Bottom, Dorset.

Pyrausta nigrata at Denge Wood, Kent

White Spotted Sable - Anania funebris

Glasdrum Wood, Argyll, Scotland.

Rannoch Looper - Macaria brunneata

Tulloch Moor, Speyside, Scotland. 

I was fortunate to see one of my 'most wanted' moths at Portland Bird Observatory, the stunning ....

Crimson Speckled - Utetheisa pulchella

Spiders

Or spider to be more precise. There were lots of lovely big female Wasp Spiders on Ballard Down,Dorset this summer. Feasting on Adonis Blue butterflies amongst others things.

With Bumble Bee

With Adonis Blue

 Wasp Spider - Argiope bruennichi

Flies, Wasps and Ants

Tenthredo temula a sawfly, Branscombe Undercliff, Devon

A Hairy-eyed Cranefly - Pedicia rivosa

Tulloch Moor, Speyside, Scotland. 

We were fortunate enough to see quiet a few Hornet Robberflies last summer especially at Ballard Down. We even saw a mating pair.

I see he has to grip onto her eyes!

It makes me wonder if he's saying "Guess who!"

Hornet Robberfly - Asilus crabroniformis

This is the Heath Bee-fly a very rare species which can only be found in the Purbeck area of Dorset. This one was seen on Hartland Moor. They have a very high pitched buzz and you can usually hear one well before you see it.

They are really quick but fortunately they seem to love Hawkbit flowers and will visit everyone in a patch. So getting a photo isn't too tricky.

Heath Bee-fly - Bombylius minor

This is a female Heath Sand Wasp. She progressively provisions her nest with caterpillars, resealing the entrance after each caterpillar is added. She couldn't fit this caterpillar into the hole and is seen here carrying away some sand that she as just excavated from the hole. Eventually she managed to carry the paralyzed caterpillar down into the nest and filled the hole in again. It makes you wonder how on earth they know where the nest is when they return!

Heath Sand Wasp - Ammophila pubescens

Narrow-headed Ant -  Formica exsecta

  Chudleigh Knighton Heath, Devon in its only site outside of the Scottish Highlands.

Others

There was a bit of a plague of these Froghopper nymphs in the bushes at Dungeness. No idea what species they were but probably Aphrophora Sp.

This fairly large Bristletail was on limestone rocks at Gait Barrows, Cumbria.

I think it's a Dilta Sp.

Bristletail - Dilta hibernica possibly?