Another visit today to this superb site in the search for more insects, in particular Hoverflies, certainly paid dividends, with 2 new species found for my personal list and also some other cracking new insects for me also.
A quick look in the butterfly garden before i headed for the woods, certainly paid off, as a whopping female Grass Snake was watched basking in the early morning sun, a great start to the day.
After watching the lovely Grass Snake i concentrated my efforts on looking in the woodland and finding a few sunny glades with plenty of insects certainly gave some great results.
In one glade, i managed to find 2 new species of Hoverfly for myself in the forms of the very striking Volucella inflata, a typically large species like its relatives and the not so striking Xanthandrus comtus, which i found basking on a leaf in the morning sun.
Other Hovers seen included only my third sightings of Ferdinandea cuprea, with 2 individuals found and lots of Episyrphus balteatus, Cheilosia albitarsus, Cheilosia illustrata, both colour forms of Volucella bombylans and Volucella pelluscens.
A really nice find later in the day was a new species of Robber Fly for me, the aptly named Golden-haired Robberfly. This species is fairly large and its larvae prey on moth caterpillars. It is classed as a nationally scarce species with only 7 records showing on the NBN Atlas for Lincolnshire.
A new species of Longhorn Beetle was seen today, the very smart Rufous-shouldered Longhorn. This fairly small species showed really well as i watched 3 individual insects nectaring on Rough Chervil in a woodland clearing. Other Longhorn species observed during the day included Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn, Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle and Umbellifer Longhorn Beetles.
Other assorted insects included a lovely Mint Moth found near the car park, my first Large Skipper of the year, a couple of Plant Bugs/Plant Hoppers in the form of Rhabdomris striatellus and Conomelus anceps and lots of Dark-bush Cricket nymphs.
A really enjoyable visit today, the following are my favourite photos.
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| Mint Moth |
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| Hoverfly Species - Cheilosia albitarsus |
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| Hoverfly Species - Volucella bombylans |
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| Ferdinandea cuprea, What A Cracking Hoverfly! |
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| Dark-bush Cricket Nymph. |
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| Hoverfly Species - Episyrphus balteatus |
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| Golden-bloomed grey Longhorn Beetle. |
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| Plant Bug - Rhabdomris striatellus |
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| Planthopper Species - Conomelus anceps |
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| Sawfly Species - Tenthredo mesomela |
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| Hoverfly Species - Xanthandrus comtus, A New Species For Me. |
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| Female Grass Snake |
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| Large Skipper |
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| Hoverfly Species - Volucella bombylans |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Hoverfly Species - Volucella pelluscens |
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| Hoverfly Species - Ferdinandea cuprea, second individual |
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| Hoverfly Species - Volucella inflata, a new species for me. |
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| Rufous-shouldered Longhorn Beetle, another new species for me. |
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| Golden-haired Robberfly, What A Cracker!, A New Species For Me. |
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