February 2011

[Gibster]

Hi Susie, I was in your neck of the woods today...terrible mistake, I'm never leaving Surrey again

I found a Carabid covered in mites which reminded me of the time I found a dead shrew on Epsom Common. Turning it over I showed Sam a Sexton Beetle which had been feeding on the carcass. Cue 10+ mites to emerge from beneath the elytra, scurry across the beetle and just as quickly disappear again. Bluuuuurrgghh

Managed to flush a Woodcock whilst 7 Buzzards called overhead. Lovely and sunny, but the air temperature was a little too low for the hoped for butterflies. Can't be long though!....A handful of Colt's Foot was hosting some sort of small bee species plus a big one with white 'bum' which shot off over trees as I closed in for the killer pic. How can anybody be better at bees than butterflies? They're a bloomin' nightmare lol! I'm guessing I'll get stung if I net one for a proper look?

Gibster the Inept.

[Susie]

I was over the border in Surrey today.

I am very bad at butterflies! Lol

Sexton beetles are FAB! I had one come to the trap when mothing and it stank to high heaven. They are amazing little critters

[Gibster]

I can only offer this advice - if you are intent on potting stuff like Sexton Beetles or dung-community critters, make sure the tube has sufficient air-holes. You DO NOT want to unscrew a tube containing such critters whilst having a lunch stop...BLUUUURRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!! Big time lol! Doesn't matter how clean they appear to be, they simply ooze stenches best left in a crypt!

[Gibster]

Mate, I know I'm right on this one. I'm better at IDing bees than butterflies and this is an easy one. The hairy legs, yellow face and time of year is a dead give away. The females are completely black. I've been looking for these since my lungwort started flowering. I say looking out, but really I've been listening out, these chaps have a very noisy buzz

Exciting news, chaps! Today (5th March, so I know I'm on the wrong thread...) I saw a bee hovering at a daffodil, smaller than a bumblebee with a really obvious pale yellow face (paler than the golden body). I wondered if it could be Susie's Hairy-footed Bee (sorry, couldn't really see the feet) when an all black bee flew to the yellow-faced one. A pair! They flew up and down, then around each other before zipping off round the corner in tandem. Aaaaah, true love. But more importantly, thanks to this thread I've seen (and enjoyed seeing) a new species for me.

Gibster (bee list now stands at FOUR species, lol!)

[Wildmoreway]

My pics of the Small Tortoiseshell seem at Starcross on 19th Feb are not really up to standard as I could not get close enough, but I notice that this fellow was feeding, Not sure what the flower was.

[Pawpawsaurus]

Not sure what the flower was.

Looks like one of the Speedwells, which can be tricky to distinguish at the best of times.

Paul

[David M]

Not sure what the flower was.

Looks like one of the Speedwells, which can be tricky to distinguish at the best of times.

Paul

Is it normal for Speedwell to be flowering in February?

[Pawpawsaurus]

Is it normal for Speedwell to be flowering in February?

I'm no expert, so I've consulted Roger Phillips' 'Wild Flowers of Britain'. It gives the flowering period of Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica) to be Jan-Dec and that of Field Speedwell (Veronica agrestis) to be Feb-Oct.

Many of the other speedwells begin flowering in March, so it's possible that a few early individuals of those species might be seen in February, too.

Paul

[David M]

I never knew they flowered that early. I'll keep an eye open for it when I'm out in the field over the next week or two.

[FISHiEE]

I noticed plenty of it about when I was looking in vain for butterflies last weekend.