NORWICH: Spitting spider and pick of the moths from July

Late July 2018

A brief catchup of some interesting wildlife seen at home or in Norwich city centre.

I'm not a spider fan, but having noticed a distinctive looking small spider at work, I caught and photographed it in case it was one of the relatively few species that can be identified without examination. As luck had it this one was identifiable and also rather interesting. It is Scytodes thoracica is a 'spitting spider', which can catch prey by shooting out silk at them. Pip Collyer, the Norfolk spider recorder, says that it is seldom seen so a good find. A second new species found at work was a Cream-streaked Ladybird, which was found on the outside of my office window.

I've been running my actinic moth trap fairly regularly at home, and by the end of July had reached about 130 species for the year - relatively modest compared to those with larger gardens or close to green spaces, but pleasing for me given the light pollution and housing estate setting. The highlight in terms of rarity was the Goosefoot Owlet (Scythris limbella), only the second Norfolk record! In terms of looks Small Ranunculus was the pick of the bunch, a Red Data Book species and my first new macro trapped at this house. Wax Moth and Ribwort Slender were also new ones for me.

 Goosefoot Owlet

 Small Ranunculus

 Wax Moth

Ribwort Slender

BRECKLAND: Weeting bioblitz

22nd July 2018

A while back Chris Packham announced that he would be doing a series of bioblitzes around the UK. Looking at the detail I was a little bit sceptical - Chris is a very knowledgeable and passionate naturalist, but it seemed to be trying to cram in too much. The marketing information suggested creating a benchmark for each reserve, but with five reserves a day that's not a great amount of data. The tagline 'reserves are not enough', whilst in itself very true, also seemed rather odd considering most of the sites being visited were nature reserves. Scanning down the list the only Norfolk venue was Weeting Heath and was listed as invite-only, so I didn't give it any more thought.

A few weeks later I was invited to help out. It turned out that although Chris and his team would only be present at each site for a few hours, the idea was that local naturalists did the actual recording and then there would be interviews and footage of some of the more interesting finds. I was asked to help record fungi, although as it happened the weather was so dry there wasn't any, so I just recorded as many miscellaneous species as possible.

The warden at Weeting, James, was an excellent host, and briefed the assembled group about the plan for the day, and also left cake and tea making facilities in his dormitory. I opted to stay near the visitors centre whilst the moth trap was emptied in the hope of seeing some Breckland specialties. As it was I didn't see any new macro moths (I was hoping for Tawny Wave or a late Cream-spot Tiger, but Oblique-striped and Mere Wainscot were the main Breckland species). I did however see quite a few new micros as several were retained for checking, and Oak Eggar is always nice to see.

Heading across the road it didn't take long for me to realise that I hadn't brought enough drink, as the heat was scorching. I began by checking the flowerheads, mostly Ragwort and Yarrow, and soon saw a Brassy Longhorn moth (Nemophora metallica) and several Forester moths.

I was also able to take advantage of the numerous experts present to identify some of the things I didn't recognise. Pip Collyer and Helen Smith were looking at an attractive spider, Neoscona adianta, whilst Nick Owens identified a solitary wasp I'd caught as Oxybelus uniglumis. Steve Lane helped with the beetles, with Gastrophysa polygoni, Galeruca tanaceti and Silpha laevigata all seen.

Returning to the visitors centre I caught up with Joe Harkness and Andy Musgrove & family. After re-hydrating I had a quick look around, seeing the Broad-leaved Helleborines and noting the leaf mines of Bucculatrix frangutella on Buckthorn. Chris Packham arrived at around 17:45, and after introducing himself and getting distracted by a dog, he gave a passionate address about the need to act now to protect and enhance our wildlife, which will culminate in a walk for wildlife in London (click here for more details). He also said that some of the sites visited had never had a bioblitz or wide-scale recording before, so for some sites at least they do indeed now have a benchmark for the future. All in all despite the heat it was an enjoyable day, and many thanks go to James and the NWT staff for their organisation.

NORWICH AREA: Plants and moths at Trowse

17th July 2018

Having a spare hour one evening I decided to do a quick lap around Trowse Meadow before heading off patch and walking along the river between Trowse and Old Lakenham. I speculatively checked an area of Common Meadow-rue for the caterpillars of Marsh Carpet, a rare and attractive moth that is occasionally caught west of the city. Sadly I couldn't find any. I did find a new plant, Ploughman's Spikenard, followed by a leaf mine of the micro moth Flame Crest (Chrysoesthia drurella). Sadly the mine was vacant so no chance of rearing out the moth.

YARE VALLEY: Cramp Ball Weevil at last

15th July 2018

In May I had the opportunity to visit a private wood at Postwick along with Jeremy, Vanna and Ian  to record wildlife for the owner. We had a good time and recorded some interesting species, so had agreed to visit again in July to do more recording. The England football team had briefly threatened to alter my plans by getting to the world cup semi-finals, but by losing meant that I didn't have to leave early to watch the final.

We recorded a good range of species, many different to those recorded on our previous visit. The undoubted highlight for me was the Cramp Ball Weevil (Platyrhinus resinosus), a species I've wanted to see for years but despite seeing hundreds of Cramp Balls had not come across. It could have got away again, as when Vanna noticed something on a plant stem it dropped to the ground, a common beetle defence mechanism. Fortunately I had seen enough to think that it looked interesting, so I kept looking until I located it on the ground, even with the very passable bird-dropping camouflage on the underside.

Of the rest of the species several interesting micro-moths were seen, including the mine of Heliozela resplendella, Ash Bud Moth and Alder Signal. I recorded 17 Agromyzid leaf mines, including Phytomyza agromyzina on Dogwood, probably the commonest species that I had yet to see.

The leafhopper Evacanthus interruptus, conopid Conops flavipes and soldierfly Dioctria baumhaueri were also of note.

WHITLINGHAM: July WeBS count and zigzag sawfly

15th July 2018

A hot morning at Whitlingham for the July WeBS count, with only the expected waterbirds recorded. A Reed Warbler was still singing, and some Swifts were screeching around overhead although I've not seen any near the Swift tower in the car park. Mute Swan and Greylag numbers were much higher than the past two July counts. Mallard numbers were much lower than 2017, but in line with 2016.

Mute Swan: 114 (2017: 85, 2016: 74)
Greylag Goose: 72 (2017: 26, 2016: 20)
Mallard:83 (2017: 155, 2016: 81)
Tufted Duck: 2 (2017: 0, 2016: 7)

I had arranged to go on to Postwick after Whitlingham, so didn't have time to linger, but did quickly nip to the picnic meadow. This year has been good for Hairstreaks, and after years of looking I managed to see my first patch Purple Hairstreak around the top of a large Oak. I couldn't find any White-letter Hairstreaks around some Elms, but did find Elm Zigzag Sawfly feeding signs and a larva. This species is a recent non-native arrival and can quickly defoliate trees, making it a potential pest species. A leaf mine in Water Mint caused by Phytomyza tetrasticha was a new one for me.

EAST NORFOLK: Winterton sharp-tailed bee

12th July 2018

During a work trip to Winterton Dunes I noticed a few species of interest, notably Large Sharp-tailed Bee (Coelioxys conoidea), the beetle Sermylassa halensis and Long-legged Tabby moth (Synaphe punctalis). Three Brent Geese flew south over the sea and terns called in the distance.

NORWICH: Local moth highlights

Late June/early July

In addition to leaf mines and bees, I've also seen some nice moths around Norwich in the past few weeks. Horehound Longhorn moth (Nemophora fasciella) is a scarce day-flying moth that I have been looking out for since one was seen at Whitlingham a few years ago. I finally managed to see one on my way home via Train Wood. Even then I almost missed it, as it was on some 2metre high Hogweed. Fortunately I noticed the antennae sticking up over the edge and having held my camera above my head, gently bent the stem down until I could see it.

A second highlight was an Orache moth, a rare migrant species (formally resident in East Anglia over 100 years ago) with bright mossy green areas. James Lowen had caught one, and kindly allowed me to pop over and have a look.

Other moths of interest were commoner species attracted to my garden for the first time, of which Elephant Hawk Moth, Green Silver-lines and Scallop Shell were all great to see.

NORWICH: Flower Bees and Wool Carder Bees

Late June 2018

This year appears to be a very good one locally for the Four-banded Flower Bee, Anthophora quadrimaculata. There have been reports from several places around Norwich, but I have been enjoying watching up to four on the strip of garden along the front of city hall. They have pale green eyes, and are not to be confused with the rarer Anthophora bimaculata, which tends to be found in heathy areas.

The other species of solitary bee to keep an eye out for is the Wool Carder Bee. It favours a plant called Lamb's Ear, and has been seen nectaring on populations of this plant at Earlham Cemetery and Waterloo Park - unfortunately not so far on the plants near city hall where I watch the Anthophoras. Last year I saw a female, a smart looking but small bee. This year I saw a male in Waterloo Park, a much bigger creature with spikes at the back. Definitely worth checking any Lamb's Ear near you.

NORWICH: June/July leaf-miner catchup

Late June/July

My target for the spring had been to reach 50 species of Agromyzid leaf miner, but actually I've now passed 60 species, not counting various species pairs and aggregates. I won't inflict all of them on you, but some of the more interesting ones are shown below, along with a couple of interesting moth mines.

Probably the pick of the bunch was Nemorimyza posticata in Canadian Goldenrod in the city centre, a new species for Norfolk with about 15 records for the UK.

Next up was Liriomyza puella, a recent colonist on Nipplewort. My find of it in a friend's garden was only the 6th UK record, so it would have taken top billing had I not found the 4th UK record (and 1st Norfolk record) last year! As often happens, I found it again a few days later.

You'd struggle to call many leaf mines spectacular to look at, but I think that Phytomyza bipunctata on Globe Thistle qualifies. This was new to Norfolk when I found it last year at Waterloo Park.

Another species I'd been trying to find was Aulagromyza tremulae on Aspen, and I managed to find it on a tree near the Wensum.

Other new species for me included Phytomyza aquilegia, Liriomyza sonchi, Agromyza nigrescens and Phytomyza hellebori.

In terms of moths I found mines of Chrysoesthia sexguttella on Chenopodium, the first city centre record for 15 years, before finding it again in TG21 where it was a new 10km square record. This was followed by a Phyllonorycter-like fold on Rowan caused by Parornix scoticella, again a new TG21 record.