Common/Smooth Newt
And a cropped version of the above photo
There was lots of newt activity again last night - we counted 14 individuals. Plenty of courtship behaviour with the males moving their tails from side to side to try and attract a female.
Moth Update
Despite a minimum temperature of 6.6 degrees centigrade (with the temperature ranging between 15.2 and 6.6 degrees centigrade) there were only 3 moths in the trap this morning.
I did manage to trap a wasp - in 18 months of moth trapping this is the first wasp I have caught! Luckily it was very dozy so I risked getting up close for a photo before it eventually warmed up and flew off.
There was also a Black Sexton beetle (Nicrophorus humator) (a burying beetle) hidden away in the crevices of an egg box. I catch loads of these.
Summary of Moth Trapping Session Friday, 8th April, 2011
8.00 p.m. until dawn
15w Actinic Skinner Trap
1 x Hebrew Character
1 x Early Grey
1 x Common Quaker
Number of species seen in the garden in 2011 remains at 9 - I don't think I shall be breaking any records this year!
2 comments:
How wonderful to have sexton beetles in your garden.
Its great Andrew. Although to be honest I have only ever seen them in the moth trap. I wish I could get a decent photo because they are fascinating to look at but they never keep still for a minute!
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