Early June 2023
One of the places we like to visit in spring is Sheringham Park when the rhododendron collection is in flower. Fortunately there are lots of native plants there too and it is a great place to see invertebrates. On this visit I saw several new or interesting things including the safly Macrophya blanda, the bug Rhabdomiris striatellus, the spider Micaria micans and some weevils, Phyllobius oblongus.
Early June 2023
I'd not visited the Museum of Rural Life at Gressenhall since I was a child, so a visit seemed long overdue. There was something of interest for everyone, taking in the museum, old workhouse, farm and some of the rewilded land along the river. I was particularly keen to have a look around the orchard, but was a bit underwhelmed at how big it was! I failed to find my main target species, the psyllid Cacopsylla mali that feeds on apple, but did find a Plum Longhorn beetle and some very nice barkflies, Mesopsocus sp (probably M. immunis).
Along the river I noticed some beetles egg-laying on the lily pads, making them Galerucella nymphaea (there are similar looking ones that feed on other plants). The scarcest sighting of the visit was probably a weevil associated with Bird Cherry, Furcipus rectirostris. Back in the main grounds I just had time to check some Eleagnus and found Cacopsylla fulguralis, new to west Norfolk.
Late May 2023
A couple of hours spent around a sunny Thorpe Marshes. A good sign that it wasn't too busy was a Grey Heron beside the path out onto the marsh, which reluctantly flew as I approached. Two recently fledged Stonechats could be seen further across the marsh, pleasing to see this species is still hanging on in this urban-ish location. The highlight of the visit was a new bug for me, Pachybrachius fracticollis, but there was plenty else of interest including lots of European Chinchbugs, several Anasimyia lineata hoverflies and great views of a settled Hairy Dragonfly. A smut fungus, Anthracoidea subinclusa, was found on Carex riparia, whilst on Hawthorn were some adult Cacopsylla peregrina psyllids.
27th May 2023
Brachyopa is an interesting genus of small hoverflies that at first glance look more like fruit flies than hoverflies. They are often found around sap runs on tree trunks rather than visiting flowers. They can also be tricky to separate, with ID based on a combination of scutellum colour and the presence/absence/shape of a small pit on the first antennal segment. Earlier in the month Vanna Bartlett had noticed several Brachyopa visiting a tree in Earlham Cemetery and managed to confirm that they were Brachyopa insensilis. Having only ever seen one Brachyopa before (and not confirmed that to species), I gratefully accepted directions and spent some time near the tree in question. During my stay I saw two individuals coming and going, completely non-plussed about my presence.
21st May 2023
The most notable thing about May's Whitlingham WeBS count was getting to see the new hide. From a distance it looks very nice, blending in with the landscape. Unfortunately as an actual bird hide there are a few issues. The curved roof means that you cannot stand up near the edges of it, so you can only use it by sitting down. There is one moveable bench to allow you to do this - I really hope that this is treated respectfully and remains there, but the idea of having an unfixed bench on an urban nature reserve is not one I would have suggested.
In terms of birdlife, two sets of juvenile Grey Herons were visible (there were three nests this year, I'm not sure if young fledged from the third one), a Cuckoo was calling and I heard my first Reed and Garden Warblers of the year as both had been absent during my April visit.
I checked quite a few willows for psyllids, and was rewarded with my first Cacopsylla ambigua.
20th May 2023
As part of the ongoing wildlife recording at Broadland Country Park, the Norfolk Fungus Study Group visited in May to look for spring fungi. The dry conditions meant that there was not too much found, however there was a nice display of Bog Beacons, a scarce species in East Anglia, and the highlight was a tiny fungus called Polycephalomyces tomentosus found growing on a slime mould.
There were some rather interesting invertebrates including a hopper on heather called Ulopa reticulata, a woodland cranefly Ctenophora pectinicornis, the weevil Attelabus nitens, Black-headed Cardinal Beetle and the beetle Elaphrus riparius.
Mid-May 2023
This year I have taken on the role of county recorder for psyllids, bugs resembling small leafhoppers although more closely related to aphids. An article and county list will be published in NNNS Transactions either late 2023 or early 2024.
All but a handful of gall-causing species are under-recorded in Norfolk, so I have been checking possible host plants all around the city. I had no luck checking the Laburnum trees in Waterloo Park, but one on the edge of Clapham Wood held a small population of Livilla variegata, a rather distinctive species due to the narrow wings and angle that the wings are held at.
Mid-May 2023
Sometimes interesting species just turn up in the garden, and on this occasion I was locking up ready to go out when I noticed an interesting bug on an outside wall. It was one of the flatbugs, a group of very thin bugs resembling flakes of bark. This one is the commonest one, Aradus depressus, but was still a new species for me.
Late April 2023
Near the end of the month someone found a Firebug in Rosary Cemetery. There are few records of this attractive red-and-black bug in Norfolk, although they are spreading northwards (and be aware there is another red-and-black bug that is common in Norfolk, Corizus hysoscyami). On my first visit to the cemetery I didn't see any Firebugs, but did find a Bordered Shieldbug, which was a decent sighting. Soon after both Vanna Bartlett and Chris Lansdell had seen large numbers of Firebugs, suggesting that there was a breeding colony. I returned for a quick visit and this time soon found them. The foodplants are Lime trees (Tilia) and Mallow (Malva), both of which are plentiful around Norwich, so it is likely we will be seeing more Firebugs soon.
Mid-April 2023
The April WeBS count turned up the expected range of common wildfowl, plus my first Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Common Tern, Swallow, Sand Martin and House Martin of the year. Two Cuckoos were present and at one point I watched one chase the other along the treeline. A Skylark singing opposite the large car park was unusual here despite their presence on nearby farmland. Five Pochard were still present, along with a scattering of Gadwall, Teal and Tufted Duck, whilst a Canada Goose had five goslings. The most notable observation of the visit however were several Cormorants on nests, which as far as I am aware is the first time here and is still unusual in a Norfolk context, despite the large numbers of wintering birds. Grey Herons also nested successfully, with three large young visible in the nest used last year. Other than birds, both Aglaostigma sawflies were seen in several places around the site.
Early April 2023
I visited Earlham Cemetery twice in April, firstly for an event organised by the Friends of Earlham Cemetery to look at mosses, and secondly for a few hours on a sunny day looking for hoverflies. Most of the mosses were species that I had seen before, but a couple pointed out by East Norfolk bryophyte recorder Mary Ghullam that I hadn't seen were Hooded Bristle-moss (Orthotrichum cupulatum) and Streblotrichum convolutum (=Barbula convoluta).
On my second visit I failed to find any Criorhina species, but did find a few new bits and bobs. I typically don't pay much attention to bluebottle and greenbottle type flies because many need close examination for ID, but I had seen pictures of one called Eudasyphora cyanella that has a small area of white at the front of the thorax, and I amanged to find one of those. I also saw the tephritid fly Tephritis formosa, a leafhopper Acericerus heydenii, the bug Stygnocoris fuligineus and a caterpillar of the Tree Lichen Beauty moth.
