Late August 2021
Pensthorpe is known for many things, including the wildlife-friendly farming, reintroduction programmes and of course the large wildfowl collection. It will however perhaps not be much of a shock to regular readers that the wildlife highlights of my visit with the family were actually both found on a small birch tree outside the toilet block before you enter the main reserve. On this particular birch I found three Solitary Birch Aphids (Monaphis antennata), a rare aphid that is unusual because it occurs on the upper side of the leaf rather than underneath, relying on its colour and solitary nature to hide it from predators. On the same tree I noticed a small caterpillar partly suspended on silky threads. This was Birch Ermel (Swammerdamia caesiella), a new species for me. In the wooded area a really nice ichneumon, Opheltes glaucopterus obliged for photos. The ducks were nice too of course.
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