Friday 26 July 2019

1st Scymnus suturalis ladybird for Scilly

Great find by Jo Turner with this tiny ladybird, SEYMNUS SUTURALIS, first record for Scilly,at Carreg Dhu Gardens three days ago.

  Three days ago, Just as Jo and I were putting the 4 ducklings that we are rearing at the moment, into the Star Castle Pond, a large dragonfly came in and circled the pond, almost touching the water and flew out SW. There were also other folk with us and I shouted that was black and yellow. Everyone agreed and Jo identified it as a GOLD-RINGED DRAGONFLY. Only the second record for Scilly after a single on Tresco in 1996! We hung around for a while hoping it might return but no sign after an hour. Yesterday, a Emperor Dragonfly also visited the garden pond.
  In the last ten days, Jo and I, and sometimes joined by other folk, have been out and about in the dark searching for insects at various sites on the island. As a result it has paid off and we've observed lots of new species that were never seen before.


There are less than ten records on Scilly of the Oak Nycteoline and this individual was trapped in Bobby 'Dazzlers' Dawson garden in Hugh Town, 23 7 19


Last week at Porth Hellick we found these shieldbug eggs including from top Gorse and Common Green Shieldbug

This is the nymph of the latter species

With the crazy eyes we had Eristalinus sepulchrallis at Standing Stones Field with others at Rose Hill

Male Kite-tailed Robberfly at Sunnyside

We had 3 Badister bullatus Beetle on Elms next to the house on the Garrison


A half an hour wander around the Star Castle Gardens produced mainly spiders and moths including this Harvestmen (Leiobunum rotundumwas getting stuck into a feast 

While this individual was taking a Leafhopper for a ride around the garden

Cucumber Spider


Metelliana merianae Spider

Eudonia mercurella Moth

Moth sp?

Smoky Wainscot

Male Bee Moth

Lesser broad-borded Yellowunderwing 

Common Footman

Yellowshell

  On the evening of the 23/7/19, three of us spent two hours in Carreg Dhu Gardens and Jo turned up a mega! She found a SCYMNUS SUTURALIS and at 1.5-2 mm, this tiny ladybird was a first for Scilly! We also saw some great species and all the images below were all new for us all except the earwig and orb spider

A cracker of a fly Euleia heraclsei with it's crazy wings

We only had 2 Negro Ant in the garden

Micromus variegatus A small lacewing

Possible Campopleginae or Ichneumoninae Wasp

Common Earwig nymph feeding on a Psyche casta Moth larva 


This amazing structure is the egg-sac of the Pirate Spider

Possible Dicranopalpus ramosus Harvestmen

Enoplognatha Spider, possibly E.ovata 

Note the parasitic larva feeding on this Orb Spider

Endotricha flammealis Moth

Moth sp





And here are the ducklings taken a month ago at Rose Hill when they were only two days old

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