Covid limitations

For a month now I have restricted myself to visiting just two locations, Stefen Hill Pocket Park and Foxhill Farm. The total number of invertebrate species recorded for these sites currently stands at 292 for the pocket park and 510 for Foxhill Farm. Stefen Hill Pocket Park is only a few hundred yards away but the farm is a longer walk, not a pleasant walk in anything but fine weather.


Some of the figures obtained have been interesting. I have recorded (number of species):


                                                    'Money spiders'   Beetles  Ladybirds    Hoverflies
      
            Stefen Hill Pocket Park                4                32           7                  23
            
            Foxhill Farm                               26              110          12                 33




Anyway, I yet again visited our pocket park earlier today. Once more there were many true bugs about, including the year's first Cinnamon Bug, Corizus hyoscyami. I failed to secure a decent photograph - annoying because it was by far the most colourful insect I saw all day.


I had more luck with a Brassica Bug, Eurydema oleracea. It comes with red, yellow or white markings and all three forms were seen today on Garlic Mustard but they do dash about and securing a decent picture was difficult.

Brassica bugs were common on Garlic Mustard. Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

16 April, 2020 

Dock Bugs enjoy the sunshine and were noted in several places today, but oddly enough none was seen on dock even though plenty of plants were about.

This dock bug was nowhere near a dock plant.. Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

16 April, 2020

But the commonest of all were Sloe Bugs. They were on plants ranging from garlic mustard to grasses and I have never found them so abundant. Their black and white banded antennae makes these pretty bugs easy to identify.

Sloe bug on garlic mustard. Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

16 April, 2020

Ash trees are at the stage where their fruits are just beginning to develop. They will eventually form the familiar bunches of 'keys'.

The 'keys' on ash trees were just beginning to develop.

Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 16 April, 2020

Hawthorns were also developing but were at an even earlier stage. The flower buds of Common Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, were looking like tiny white spheres.

The flowers of common hawthorn were yet to open...

A short distance away Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata, was growing, its flowers slightly more advanced. I leaned forwards for a sniff and yes, a rank smell of stale fish assaulted my nostrils. When the Common Hawthorn flowers it will be altogether more pleasantly fragrant.

...but those of midland hawthorn were more advanced, releasing a smell of

stale fish. Stefen Hill Pocket Park, 16 April, 2020

I got home to find, yes, more sloe bugs, this time on a dwarf conifer in our front garden.