Shadowbrook Meadows NR, Scarecrows and Emperor Moth Caterpillar Update

Last week I finally went to a local Warwickshire Wildlife Trust meadow I've been meaning to visit for years. Shadowbrook Meadows fall within the much larger designated area of Bickenhill Meadows. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and covers 4.4 hectares. The reserve consists of two dry meadows and 2 wet meadows bisected by a small stream and each field is surrounded by hedgerows believed to be 600 years old.

What makes these meadows so special is the fact that over the centuries they have never been sprayed, fertilised or ploughed. This unimproved grassland demonstrates what much of our countryside would have looked like before the changes in agricultural practice last century. The biodiversity of the meadows has been maintained by using unaltered traditional hay cutting and grazing regimes.

The meadows are full of wildflowers and grasses in the summer. Butterflies seen include Common Blue and Small Copper and Pignut flowers attract Chimney Sweeper moths together and 6 nationally scarce insect species occur. In autumn several species of waxcap fungi can be found in the meadows.

My first view of the reserve

One of the Tenthredo sawflies (probably T arcuata). This individual is covered in yellow pollen but the yellow markings of the insect mimic wasps.

I was really chuffed to see the "Footballer" Hoverfly (so named because of the stripes). Also known as the Brindled Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus).

Marsh Thistle

The first of the two "dry" meadows

The second "dry" meadow

Following the path round the edge of the meadows

I don't think I've ever seen so many Yellow Rattle Plants - they were growing everywhere.

Honeysuckle in the hedgerows

Hogweed

Red clover and Yellow Rattle

Clover

There were some beautiful trees along the hedgerow

Ash

Sorrel

Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica)

Buttercups

Various Grasses

Record shot of a Lacewing - it was very windy when we were walking round which probably accounted for the lack of butterflies. We only saw a few Speckled Woods and "whites" and one of the blues too far away to be identified.

A large mass of Speedwell was flowering at the base of a hedgerow

Sawfly - Tethredo livida

I was really pleased to find this Scorpion Fly

The meadows are on the flight path to Birmingham International Airport and there were lots of these flying over every 5 minutes!

I would have liked to visit the wet meadows to see the Heath-spotted Orchids but after an hour and a half I'd managed to run out of time.


We drove home via Hampton-in-Arden. Last year I visited their Scarecrow Festival but I'd missed this year's so I took a few photos of this year's scarecrows from the car window as we drove through the village.

The four week old Emperor Moth caterpillars - now turning green!! They are rather a nightmare to clean out as when you try to transfer them with a paintbrush to a spare container they just cling onto leaves/kitchen paper in the container that needs cleaning. I am spending ages persuading each and everyone onto a leaf to get them into another container!

Garden Bioblitz 2014

Last weekend I took part in Garden Bioblitz 2014. The event took place on Saturday 31st May and Sunday 1st June and the idea is to pick 24 hours over the weekend and list all the species that have colonised or arrived in your garden of their own accord. If you have problems with identifying a species or desire confirmation you can visit i-spot and post a photo. I found this site very useful and helpful. Finally, you need to visit i-record to submit the species you have seen adding any photos you have taken. Its great fun to take part and it really does increase your knowledge of biodiversity in your garden. In addition, the records are stored at the Biological Records Centre and can help local record centres, conservation organisations, natural history societies and local government make decisions about conservation projects, land management and planning permission.

I started my 24 hour bioblitz at 9.00 p.m. on the Saturday and here's a list and some photos (sorry many are poor record shots) of the species seen. I tended to take quick photos of species where I wasn't sure of the identification or where I thought my records might be queried.


Lepidoptera

Moths - results from the moth trap were disappointing but I started my list with

Brimstone Moth
Heart and Dart
Small Shuttle-shaped Dart
Light Brown Apple Moth
Common Pug

and this

Middle-barred Minor

There were a lot of leaf mines on lilac leaves in the garden and after posting on i-spot I discovered they are made by the larvae of the Common Slender Moth (Gracillaria syringella)

Butterflies seen in the garden during the day were

Holly Blue
Speckled Wood



Birds

House Sparrow
Wood Pigeon
Blackbird
Coal Tit
Goldfinch
Robin
Blue Tit
Magpie
Great Tit
Stock Dove
Dunnock
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Greenfinch



Amphibians seen were:

Common/Smooth Newt still lots of these in the pond and I found lots of young frogs in the wildflower meadow.

Common Frog

Mammals

Grey Squirrel



Bugs - Hemiptera

Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)

Black Bean Aphid (Aphis fabae)

Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)

A photo of the frothy, bubbly "cuckoo-spit" which the froghopper nymphs create to protect themselves. Adult Froghoppers are incredible jumpers and can leap 70cm into the air!

Common Pondskater (Gerris lacustris)



Beetles - Coleoptera

Harlequin Ladybird - this individual was fished out of the pond

D helped me for part of the time and he spotted a yellow native ladybird hiding amongst peony leaves. Unfortunately it flew off before the spots could be counted!


We had great fun at one point spreading a white sheet on the floor in the wooded area at the top of the garden and shaking the branches. Several spiders and this weevil appeared on the sheet.

Weevils

Clay-coloured Weevil (Otiorhynctius (Dorymerus) singularis)

Hymenoptera

Bees

Tree Bumble Bee
White-tailed Bumble Bee
Buff-tailed Bumble Bee

Thanks to i-spot who identified this as a Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis). If you click on the photo to enlarge it you might be able to make out the horns on its face!

This is one of the insects I couldn't get down to species level although I think its a Solitary Bee (Lasioglossum species)

Red-tailed Bumble Bee

Wasps

Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Ants

Black Garden Ant (Lassius niger)
Red Ant (Myrmica rubra)



Flies

Bluebottle
House Fly


Flowering Plants

I had to be very careful what I counted here as over the years we have planted a lot of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers which I have excluded.

Wall Speedwell (Veronica arvensis)

Dandelion
Smooth Sow-thistle
Lesser Trefoil
Upright Yellow Sorrel
Daisy
Herb Robert

Common Mouse-ear (Cerastium fontantum)

Corydalis
Bramble
Common Netttle
Groundsel
Dock
Alkanet
Ribwort Plantain (found this plant in the front lawn - well away from the wildflower meadow at the top of the back garden so I have counted this one :)
Wood Avens

Cat's Ear growing in the "nomow" zone of the main back lawn

Trees which have self-seeded

Sycamore
Oak
Rowan
Common Whitebeam



Bryohpytes

Rough-stalked feather-moss

Back to invertebrates!

Annelida

Common Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)


Grasshoppers/Crickets

I found this grasshopper on the front lawn and its been identified on i-spot as an Acrididae grasshopper (Probably Common Green - its a young one who hasn't yet developed its adult wings.

Spiders -Arachnids

I found this spider in its web amongst reeds in the pond and believe its a Stretch Spider (Tetragnatha extensa) one of the long-jawed orb weaver spiders

Large House Spider (Tegenaria gigantea)

Molluscs - Snails

White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Garden Snail (Helix aspersa)

Centipedes and Millipedes

Millipede (Cylindroilus caeruleocinctus)

Centipede - unable to get this to species level buts its a Cryptops sp.

Crustaceans - Woodlouse

Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)

There were a few species I couldn't identify such as this tiny black beetle on a grass stalk - I haven't put this on i-spot as the photo is so heavily cropped and there seem to be few distinctive features

and this spider (Drassodeus cupreus???)

Unfortunately, I ran out of time so pond-dipping and dissecting the log pile will have to wait until another day. I had set myself a target of 50 species so I was really pleased to reach just over 70. I've also added nearly 20 species to my 365 garden challenge list :)


Many thanks to Duncan for persuading me to take part and to experts at i-spot for confirming or identifying species and to the team at Garden Bioblitz.


Apologies in advance for any typing errors especially in the scientific names. I'm typing this in a bit of a rush as the family has gone out for an hour and, instead of doing the ironing, I am "skiving" off yet again on the internet! :)


If you want to find out more about the Garden Bioblitz please visit

www.gardenbioblitz.org.

A Few Flowers from the Garden, a Conopid Fly and Emperor Moth Caterpillar Update

The mini garden wildflower meadow is starting to look more colourful as more plants start flowering. It also attracts a great variety of pollinating insects.

Meadow Buttercup

Red Campion

Common Sorrel

White Campion

Ribwort Plantain.

Elsewhere in the garden geums are finally starting to flower in the herbaceous border.

Valerian - this is very popular with Silver y moths, bees and hoverflies. Hummingbird Hawkmoths apparently love these flowers too - I live in hope!!

Cranesbill Geranium - another flower the bees love

Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom

Clematis has put on a good show this year.

A Hawthorn Shieldbug found on nettles when I was looking for caterpillars.

I spotted this rather unusual fly yesterday on valerian leaves. I couldn't find it in any of my insect books so I posted a photo on i-spot (I can highly recommend this website for help with identifying or clarifying ids of species) and very shortly I got an answer identifying it as a parasitic conopid fly - Sicus ferrugineus

The larvae are endoparasites of bumble bees of the genus Bombus - they pupate and then overwinter in their victims! Unfortunately the fly was very close to the Tree Bumble Bee (Bombus hypnorum) nest in the roof! :(

Tree Bumble Bee - photos taken before I released the two individuals from the garage in 2012 when I first saw them in the garden.

Tree Bumble bees only appeared in the UK in 2001 - they were first found in Wiltshire presumably arriving from the continent. The species has a natural distribution in mainland Europe and through Asia and even up to the Arctic circle. It has spread rapidly over England and is also now found in Wales although it hasn't yet been recorded in Scotland. It is believed its rapid colonisation is most likely due to its habit of nesting in bird boxes.



Finally, a photo of my Emperor Moth caterpillars now three weeks old. They never seem to stop munching on hawthorn and bramble leaves and are growing rapidly.

Last weekend I did a bioblitz of the garden - I'll do a post in a few days on the species I found. There are still a few insects I am trying to get down to species level!