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.

BRECKLAND: Field Wormwood and Wasp Spider

5th August 2017

Having returned from our Weeting plant walk and bought a cake from the cake stall, it began to rain. We retreated to the car for lunch as the rain pelted down. The rain looked set, but we agreed to call in to the Artemisia reserve at Brandon on our way home. This unlikely nature reserve is a small rectangle of grassland on an industrial estate - the last bastion of the rare Field Wormwood.

As we parked up the Field Wormwood was immediately visible from the car, but as the rain was beginning to relent all four of us decided to go and have a closer look. We managed to find some flowering, although it wasn't much more spectacular than the ones that weren't. The reddish stems were probably the nicest bit about it actually.

There were a few more plants of interest such as Blue Fleabane and Lucerne, whilst I found a young Tortoise Shieldbug, an adult Crucifer Sheildbug and quite a few Stripe-winged Grasshoppers. As we were about to leave Vanna called out "Argiope", which just got here a blank look from me. She pointed out the Argiope, and it clicked that it was a Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi). It was probably a youngish female as the colours weren't as bright as they can be, but a new species for me and a nice one at that. The rain even abated to allow Vanna to sketch the spider. It had an orthopteran wrapped up in silk - probably one of the Stripe-winged Grasshoppers, although there were quite a few Long-winged Coneheads about too.

 Tortoise Sheidlbug late instar

 Cruficer (Brassica) Shieldbug

 Wasp Spider

Long-winged Conehead (this one is an extra-long, i.e. macropterous female)