False Widow

With the onset of warmer days the insect life in the garden has slowly picked up and my searches have started to reveal some interesting subjects. They may not be the birds that I would normally be looking for but at least I have some interesting subjects to photograph.

Actually taking the photograph is relatively easy. Putting a name to the subject is the difficult part and I have spent many an interesting hour searching the web and reference books to confirm identities.

As with all my insect pictures, there is a health warning. I am not an expert, I will make mistakes from time to time, so treat my labelling with a degree of suspicion, and let me know if you find any mistakes.



First up is a Spider, Steatoda grossa commonly known as the Cupboard Spider  and one of the group of False Widow spiders that the tabloids like to make so much fuss about. An easy one to identify, it has clear markings of a crescent followed by three or four chevrons down its abdomen. The markings are clearer on the male.

Steatoda grossa

Steatoda grossa

Does it bite, yes, but it's not aggressive. I haven't had the opportunity to try it, but like its close relation, the Noble False Widow Steatoda nobilis, the spiders bite can sometimes be painful. It is said to be something like a bee or wasp sting.The venom of spiders in the Steatoda group can also cause steatodism. This presents as a set of symptoms, most notably pain radiating from the bite, fever, nausea, headache, malaise, lethargy and even chest pains. Such severe reactions are apparently very rare and there has never been a fatality in the UK from a false widow spider bite.


The venom  delivered by the genus Steatoda is a neurotoxin that attacks the nervous system not a necrotic venom that attacks the flesh. Pictures that you see in the tabloids of puss filled arms and legs having to be amputated, if genuine, would have to be the result of some secondary infection. Like any cut or bite, clean it properly and you should be OK.

I found the spider on the underside of the garden table as I carried it out of the garage. There are still a few spiders nests under there, so I am pleased I did the research. I will at least be able to explain what they are if they suddenly appear crawling across the table whilst we are in the middle of eating the barbecue. 

I have not been able to identify the spider pictured below. It doesn't seem to have any markings on the abdomen. It may be a female Steatoda grossa which I have read can be found without any markings but it was a lot bigger than the male above.

Possibly a female Steatoda grossa 

Next up is a Wasp, this one the German Wasp - Vespula germanica. Whilst referred to as German it is native to the UK and Europe and has spread across most of the world where it is often seen as a pest threatening crops, native flora and fauna, and peoples life styles.

It being the spring I assume the wasp shown in this picture is a Queen. She would have overwintered in hibernation and emerged towards the end of spring. She already carries sperm impregnated last autumn and will search out a nest site and establish a new colony with workers emerging around June/July time.

German Wasp  -  Vespula germanica

Looking very much like a wasp the next one is a Solitary Bee, a Gooden's Nomad Bee - Nomada goodeniana. The black on the back of some of the antenna segments identifies this one as a male. It is one of the largest and most common of the Nomad bees in the UK and like all Nomads it is a cleptoparasite. It targets a number of mining bees laying eggs inside their unsealed, pollen-stocked, nest cells. A cuckoo of the bee world.

 Gooden's Nomad Bee  -   Nomada goodeniana

Hoverflies - the first is Epistrophe eligans. It is a spring hoverfly widespread and common in the south of England. It does also occur in Northern England and around the coast in Scotland but in much smaller numbers.

Hoverfly -  Epistrophe eligans 

Next up two examples of  Myathropa florea. Another one that is easy to identify. It has a distinctive "Batman" marking on its thorax, which is not that distinctive in either of these pictures due to reflected light. It also has an unusual wing vein pattern.

Hoverfly  -  Myathropa florea

Hoverfly  -  Myathropa florea

Veins reach wing margin separately - diagnostic

The next one is not so easy. It is of the tribe Syrphini probably of the genus Syrphus but this can only be confirmed using a microscope. Even if you get that far there are five different hoverflies in the genus, three of which are widespread and common.

Syrphus sp

And another hoverfly that I cannot identify. This one I can narrow down to the genus Eupeodes. There are nine UK species of which three are common. The guides quote them as being very challenging to identify so there is no point in me going further other than to say on balance of location and flight time I would guess Eupiodes luniger. I should have taken a side view, it may have helped with the identification.

Eupeodes sp

I even found some Ladybirds. These are Two Spot Adalia bipunctata and probably less than 4mm in length. They still show in a lot of literature as being our most common Ladybird in the UK but I rarely see them these days. It seems to be Harlequins everywhere.


Nice find though, I now have my own pair of biological control agents. I just hope they are hungry.

Two Spot Ladybird  Adalia bipunctata

Harlequin Ladybirds worry me. They are an invasive species and they are here to stay. They are a good way of controlling aphids but they also prey on other insects and on their eggs and larvae including those of other ladybirds. You might expect that over time they would reach some form equilibrium with the existing UK species but it seems to me that most ladybirds that I see now are the various forms of Harlequins.

Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis

The most common fly in the garden, a Green Bottle Fly, this one I think is Lucia sericata based on the presence of a pale basicosta - don't worry, I had to look it up as well.

Green Bottle Fly - Lucilia sericata

There is still not the variety of insects in the garden that I had expected but it is improving as the weather warms up. If this continues for much longer I could end up with a decent garden list.

Garganey

There have been a few reports of Garganey putting in appearances along the South Coast this spring. However, with restrictions on travel and with most stopping for no more than a day, seeing any of them was out of the question. Fortunately we then had one on the Ferry Pool at Pagham Harbour that stayed for three days. I couldn't make the first two but with pandemic restrictions being relaxed on the third I was able to take my daily exercise around the harbour area. Better still, with all the RSPB car parks being closed the only place to park was the lay-by just by the Ferry Pool.

This is usually a secretive bird that stays hidden in the reeds but this one was easy to spot, feeding out in the middle of the lake, amongst a good selection of other ducks and waders. I managed a couple of pictures but unfortunately it was a good distance away and spent most of the time with its head underwater skimming for food.

Garganey

Garganey

Always a nice bird to see but I couldn't stop, I had my daily exercise to complete. A quick picture of a Black-tailed Godwit, one of many on the pool and I was on my way.

Black-tailed Godwit

Just a quick birding session but it was good to see a some birds again and to be able to publish a blog. It will be a while until things get back to something resembling normal but I am at least making a start.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

For me the emergence of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary marks the start of the butterfly season. There are butterflies on the wing earlier in the year, Brimstone, Comma, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral that have spent the winter hibernating. Holly Blues are in the garden, Dingy and Chequered Skippers as well as Green Hairstreaks and even Duke of Burgundy are out on the downs.


Lots of butterflies flying but the Pearl-bordered is the first one that I have to search for and there is always the fear that it may not be there. Lockdown posed a problem this year but I have been good so far so the short drive over to Rewell Wood seemed like just reward.

Slightly worn Pearl-bordered Fritillary

It was good to see that they were still there and in what appeared to be increasing numbers. I saw somewhere between twelve and sixteen specimens in a couple of hours searching as compared to six or seven years ago when you would be lucky to spot one or two flying.

As butterflies go it was as annoying as ever. You see them in the distance, some even come close but they have an uncanny ability to just change direction and seemingly disappear completely, right in front of you. I also got there too early in the day and the males seemed hyperactive. The best picture I managed was the slightly worn specimen above. The shot below is from a previous year and shows a more pristine image.

My suggestion is aim for mid or late afternoon when the males are starting to tire and can be found nectaring. Stake out a patch of Bugle and wait for them to come to you. If you are worried about self isolating, the woods were very quiet, I only saw one other person in the time I was there.

A better specimen from 2018

It was also nice to get a decent shot of a Lesser Treble-bar, one of the day flying moths.

Lesser Treble-bar

Having found my main target for the day I decided to call in at Kithurst Meadow, on the way home, to see what else was about. The Duke of Burgundy is a much more accommodating butterfly. It doesn't fly very far or very fast and seems quite happy to pose for pictures although not always on such a good perch as the one below.

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy Skippers were easy to find but the only Chequered Skippers  I saw were two that were involved in an aerial skirmish which gradually took them away down the hill and out of sight.

Dingy Skipper

Also a Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak

 and back home one of the many Holly Blues we have had in the garden this year.

Holly Blue

Holly Blue open wing shot

Not a bad start to the butterfly year but the most impressive thing is the continuing recovery of both the Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and the Duke of Bugundys. Work in West Sussex by the Butterfly Conservation Organisation and some of the more enlightened landowners is really starting to have an impact.                                                                                                                                                         

Lockdown Birding

Like many others I didn't see lockdown as a problem. I have a garden, there are birds, butterflies and a wealth of macro photography opportunities with the insects that inhabit the garden. It would be a chance to increase my knowledge of the natural world and would open up new areas of interest.

I was wrong. The birds have been limited to the usual half dozen or so garden regulars. Flyovers have been few and far between and of course don't really give picture opportunities. There have been a few butterflies through but other than the Holly Blues none have stopped to pose for a picture. There are  some flies and hoverflies around but nothing like the varieties I had expected to see. It seems almost as if I see the same three or four insects in the same location every day. I knew that Hoverflies could be territorial but assumed that this was just for a short period as they moved through an area. Do they establish long term territories?

One from the garden - not the smartest looking Blackbird that I have ever seen but the song was wonderful 

I usually take my daily exercise along the seashore when the tide is out. There is never anyone close and the sense of open space and freedom is invigorating. In these times I am truly fortunate in living just a couple of hundred metres from the sea. Unfortunately birdwise it has been a bit disappointing.

Sanderlings on Worthing Beach

There are flocks of Turnstones and Sanderlings along the tide line, the occasional Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin going over, but I seem to have missed the Wheatears and where are the sea birds. This should be peak migration time but I have seen little sign of any Skuas, Divers, or Sea Ducks going through. Are they in lockdown as well or have they all gone up the west coast route this year?

My first Swallow of the year 

My longer walks have given me a little more variety. Ferring Rife was full of bird song, Reed Warblers, Cetti's and Blackcaps but also a lot of dog walkers. Few birds were displaying but I did get decent views of a Whitethroat.

Whitethroat

Widewater also had some decent birds on offer with Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and Dunlin on the lagoon. Looking out to sea was not quite as interesting with nothing seen flying through or sitting on the sea other than a few of the usual gulls.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Whimbrel walking through what looks like Sea Campion flowers

Dunlin

And a couple of shots from before the current restrictions, both taken at Brooklands Park, a Pochard and a Song Thrush.

Pochard

Song Thrush

It's good to get a few decent pictures and to be able to produce a blog again. The opportunities are all around me, I just have to manage my expectations and see the beauty in the common species rather than go looking for the exceptional.

Lesser Redpoll

I always look forward to birding during January and February. Cold, crisp clear days with beautiful soft lighting and always the prospect of some good photographs. It just didn't happen this year.  Wind, rain and dull weather and a seeming lack of interesting birds. This part driven by a lack of a real cold spell to drive the birds south but also a function of my reluctance to venture out into the storms looking for them.

I did go out on Wednesday, not with any great hope but I had given a commitment to a friend, Jim, and I needed to make the effort and get out birding again. The problem was where to go that wasn't a foot deep in mud. We ended up at Warnham LNR up near Horsham and I will be forever grateful to Jim, for levering me out from sitting in front of the computer. I just needed a good bird and a picture opportunity to get me fired up again......... and it turned up

Lesser Redpoll

There is nothing like a bit of colour to brighten up both the day and the spirits. Lesser Redpolls are not that common on the south coast and when you do find them they usually stay in the tops of the trees.

Lesser Redpoll

It showed well and although there were the usual problems with branches in the way, I did get a couple of decent shots.

Lesser Redpoll

Even the Blue Tits and Robins suddenly seemed worth photographing.

Blue Tit

Robin  - just in case you didn't recognise it!

A scruffy looking Coal Tit stopped long enough for a photograph but I couldn't get clear shots of the Marsh Tit and Nuthatch that were also around the feeders. Nor could I piece together the full details on the Coal Tits leg ring.

Coal Tit

Walking round the plantation later we also had an obliging Treecreeper.

Treecreeper

Reed Bunting

Warnham is well worth a visit. It has always been good for photography, a place where you can get close to the birds without disturbing them but with recent additions, it now has a mix of seven screens and hides so gives even more opportunities. It costs £2 to get in but it's well worth the money. Whilst you are there have a look for some of the other wildlife. Bank Voles are guaranteed under the feeders and later in the year it's worth looking for the Willow Emerald Damselfly.