A ladybird spot or two

On Saturday I went on another Natural History Society walk at The Spetchells in slightly gloomy weather - again.  Compared to the Morpeth one a few weeks ago it was a bit disappointing.  It was a large group of about 20, which limited the opportunity to share sightings with others and not as well organised.

The first twenty minutes of a planned two hours were actually spent foraging in the undergrowth at the edge of the Tyne leading to a sudden yomp to the Spetchells, by which time I had captured what I thought was an interesting bee but couldn't catch up with the leaders to check.  In fact it was probably just a buffish mining bee that was carrying a lot of pollen.

Buffish Mining Bee with pollen

I had been hoping to see an ashy mining bee but as far as I'm aware the subject didn't come up.  

Nevertheless some interesting sightings occurred.  While still next the Tyne I caught sight of a very small ladybird that only two spots.  It was of course a two-spot ladybird.  This was quite pleasing as it was the first time I've identified one of the less common ones.

Two-Spot Ladybird

As the main group didn't manage to get more than about three hundred yards into The Spetchells, some including myself foraged ahead.  I managed to find two dingy skipper and a couple of red-tailed bumblebees.  The photos aren't up too much, in the latter case because of the bug tube I used.

Dingy Skipper

Red-tailed Bumblebee

There were some nifty wee bees moving around the clumps of speedwell that eluded both camera and bug box though I did get a good view.  Apparently they were red-girdled mining bees.  The diversity of mining and nomad bees never ceases to amaze!

Before we got ushered back, I did a quick check for common blues but the bird's foot trefoil was only just starting to show and none were to be found.  I did however catch up with a single red admiral catching a fleeting bit of sunshine - the first I have seen this summer.

Back at the Tyne we could hear but not see a singing blackcap and earlier there had been a few willow warblers and someone reported hearing a garden warbler.  I don't even know what they sound like.

Still unsure about what to do about the ongoing jackdaw invasion, it was however interesting to observe that one of the visitors is slightly leucistic on both flanks.

Slightly leucistic Jackdaw

Hairstreaks Record Broken

Because of the uncertainty about the nomad bee (see last post) I decided to capture another the day after to study it more closely.  Typically it became evident that I had trapped a different species of nomad altogether, so I had the job of making a separate identification.  I think this one might be Marsham's Nomad Bee though it was smaller than I expected and so I wasn't altogether certain.

Marsham's Nomad Bee?

The main event of this week was an outing to Dipton Woods on the e-bike to check for green hairstreaks on the first available day that promised consistent sunshine.  For a while I thought I'd misjudged badly as there was little sun to speak of when I finally got to the area around 11.30.  I was also considerably hampered by the fact that the rough and wet track I was trying to cycle up was blocked by a couple of fallen tree trunks.

Discouraged, I considered giving the whole thing up but checked a few bilberry bushes for remaining flowers and quite by chance came across a single green hairstreak on one of them in spite of the murky light.

Morale suitably bolstered, I evaded the fallen trees by walking the bike through some rough stuff and headed for the known 'hot spot' at the other end of the track, a south-facing slope that is sheltered from the wind by a wall.  I quickly spotted a couple more hairstreaks, then the sun finally did emerge for around 40 minutes stimulating a good deal more activity.  In the end I counted a total of 25 sightings, narrowly beating the 24 I saw on my first visit three three years ago.

Green Hairstreak

In the same area a large butterfly that looked unfamiliar flew straight past me without landing, a large flying bug landed in my hair and there was a small moth I couldn't identify.

Moth

On the way to Dipton Woods I saw my first swallows of the summer near Hedley and on the way back a red kite being pursued by crows between Bywell and Wylam, the furthest West I've seen one so far.

I'm getting a bit fed up with feeding the birds at the moment as all I seem to be achieving is enabling the jackdaws and magpies to have a blowout.  So it was good to have a couple of visits in between times from this lady woodpecker.

Woodpecker

Yesterday one particular bee spent a lot of time flying low over the lawn, as if looking for something.  I suspected a chocolate mining bee but narrowly failed to trap it in the bug box.  There have been one or two honey bees too, but not as many as last year.

A Mixed Bag and a Bug Box

This post actually dates from 10th May but didn't get published at the time.

Although the red mason bee has remained the dominant species in the garden and the odd queen bumblebee continues to turn up, some more varied species have started to appear too.

Honey bees have appeared on a couple of occasions and an unidentified hoverfly that potentially looks like a nomad bee but the differences are easy to spot.

Honey Bee

Hoverfly

Today was typical in that three of the four main species of white butterfly all appeared in a short space of time, enabling some of the differences between them to be studied.

Female Orange Tip

Green-veined White

Small White

Most interesting of these is the small white, in that it showed no sign of any grey or black edging around the forewing tip.  Male orange tips have started to settle occasionally but aren't hanging around.

Yesterday I had also noticed the first garden bumblebee lying conspicuously in the flower of a californian poppy with its long tongue sticking out and today one could be seen in close-up, albeit with its tongue in.

\Garden Bumblebee

I was also able to make progress with identifying the nomad bee that has been seen frequently over the last few weeks - by trapping one in a recently purchased bug box.  Subject to confirmation, I now think it's the Flavous Nomad Bee and not Gooden's as I previously assumed.  However it could also be Panzer's Nomad Bee.

Flavous Nomad Bee

The problem previously was that I could never get a good enough view or photo to decipher the red stripe at the top of the abdomen.

Lastly, on a bike ride that wasn't intended for nature spotting, I chanced to see an urban fox with a bird in its mouth near Derwenthaugh Staithes.  Then I had to stop at Willington Quay to investigate some loud squawking from a tree I rode under.  I suspected a ring-necked parakeet but in spite of the closeness, it wasn't visible.  And riding up the coast towards Seaton Sluice, we happened on the first wheatear I've seen this summer.