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CENTRAL NORFOLK: Spiders, hoverflies and moths at Buxton Heath

Late August 2022

An hour spent at Buxton Heath is seldom wasted. I spent a bit of time watching ants running up Oak trunks in the hope of seeing a rare aphid, Stompaphis quercus, but had no luck (I did find a couple of bugs though). As the hot weather had parched the heath I then headed to the mire, where the course of the stream was very obvious!



 

I managed to find some interesting bits and pieces. I was probably most happy with a Didea fasciata hoverfly, a fairly common species but one I'd not seen before, along with a Helophanus spider. There are two similar species, but I have a soft spot for the Salticidae (jumping spiders) and had wanted to see one of these tiny yellow palped species for a while. I found it completely by chance whilst checking heather for Heather Ladybird, a long-term target that I once again failed to find.



 

Other finds included a Wasp Spider (now common in Norfolk but I'd not seen one at Buxton before),  Buff Birch Case-bearer (Coleophora milvipennis), Wood Grass-veneer (Crambus silvella) and a gall on Fen Bedstraw caused by Dasineura galiicola.





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